Electricity Bill? How Much is safe? (in the usa)

[Ak49]

 

So I've been looking at some grow setups that people have, and a few of them are using anywhere from 4-7 thousand watts, just in lighting. So my question is what is a safe power consumption in watts or dollar$ amount that you can consume before the power companies will get suspicious? Do they even care about your consumption if you pay on time?

[IndicaMeltGuy]

 

Originally Posted by Ak49

So I've been looking at some grow setups that people have, and a few of them are using anywhere from 4-7 thousand watts, just in lighting. So my question is what is a safe power consumption in watts or dollar$ amount that you can consume before the power companies will get suspicious? Do they even care about your consumption if you pay on time?

I'm not sure,..it may attract attention but there are so many people that use a lot of power. Like places with kilns and stuff.

[jalfredprufrock]

 

it's not about total power consumption as much as it is about sudden spikes in power consumption

[alteredreality]

 

As others have said there are a number of factors. One thing you can't do though as jalfred mentioned is to all of a sudden start a 4k watt grow because your power spike will most certainly raise suspicion. That said, if properly planned I think a 4k watt grow can easily be run without raising much suspicion.

[Ak49]

 

so basically your saying is all sum1 would have to do is have a constant load, with minimal spikes :P nice, thanks

[alteredreality]

 

Originally Posted by Ak49

so basically your saying is all sum1 would have to do is have a constant load, with minimal spikes :P nice, thanks

Not exactly. I was saying you can't go one day from having no grow and the next morning switching on 5k watts. That also though. There is really a lot more to consider with the kind of wattage you are talking about. There are all kinds of variables and if you are seriously considering doing this I think you need to sit and brainstorm a little in addition to asking questions on forums. If anything on a project like this information of this sort found on grow forum should be supplementary at most.

[DeathRace2000]

 

4000-5000 watts in just lighting is a pretty decent sized grow operation. How much space do you have that can be used for growing, and how many plants do you plan to grow at a time? If you plan to grow year round, and just for personal use, I would think you could get by on about 1000-1600 watts for sure.

[Ak49]

 

Originally Posted by alteredreality

Not exactly. I was saying you can't go one day from having no grow and the next morning switching on 5k watts. That also though. There is really a lot more to consider with the kind of wattage you are talking about. There are all kinds of variables and if you are seriously considering doing this I think you need to sit and brainstorm a little in addition to asking questions on forums. If anything on a project like this information of this sort found on grow forum should be supplementary at most.

Ya no doubt lol, im not saying i want a grow that big, maybe a 1.5k to 2k watt max, i was just wondering how big you could go before someone would care :P

[Ak49]

 

LOL guys i dont want to grow that much, i probably just worded it wrong ~_~, basically i just want a small personal grow, harvest a few ounces at a time, thats it :/

[EEbrew]

 

1.5k-2k is not a small personal grow....

How much do smoke on a daily basis?