# highest electric bill without worry



## masterblaster26

So i havent started to grow or anything but have been thinkin about but my issue is my place has terrible heat so we are always running a bunch of those electric suckin box heaters. my bill this month was high as hell and now dont even wanna start because i dont wanna raise my electric any higher and raise suspicion. has anyone had a huge electric bill and no 5-0 problems


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## maineharvest

The last time I checked it was costing me like 14 dollars a month to run my 400hps.  Someone sent me a link to a web page that had a calculater on it and you just punch in how many watts and how many hours a day you are using it and it gives you an estimated cost.  Fourteen dollars is nothing when you see the buds at harvest time.  I cant find the link but im sure someone else can help you out.   What kind of lights will you be growing with?


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## 4u2sm0ke

Its hard to say for you..But as 4me mine like doubled...as long as you pay your bill on time they dont care what you use electric 4..I would worry if I was running [email protected] 1000 watts ...but we all ajust useages where we can to try and keep them low...Maybe grow in summer time?


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## the widowmaker

depending on where you have your grow room and what time you run the lights you can make this all quite easy.


Most of these on the wall electric box heater pieces of doodah **** up loads of energy like you say.  A small electric heater can take upto 3k an hour, and 3k of electricity for that is just the same as for 3k of hps lighting so fitting in even upto 2k isn't going to cause any suspscion.

Say you got a 3 bedroom house and a 3k heater in each room you got a lounge and kitchen but the kitchen maybe you don't heat so much i dunno whatever.

so really you got 4+ rooms worth of 3k heat so thats 12k upwards, slotting in an extra bit now with it being so cold will go totally un noticed not that they will be looking anyways.

if you wanted to feel totally better about it you could always use the heat from your grow room to heat other rooms, so instead of venting it directly outside you vent it back into the house which could act as a heater and you wouldn't have to run the one in that room or whatever.

really though when it comes down to it do you think the electric company is watching peoples bills to see who has a gain and who doesn't, most of the stuff that is done is all automated now anyways so if you pay the bill on time and as far as anyone from outside of your house can tell theres no growing going on, why would anyone take the time to look specifically at your account and say, damn you know what bob jones just went from using 10k an hour to 12k an hour, i think we got a grower, lets call the cops or would they just see that your bill went up and that they are making more money so unless there is any reason for them to investigate why should they use their own money to do so.


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## storzbickel

law enforcement really doesnt assume that increases in electric bills mean that someone is up to no good. 

theres many common reasons- running space heaters (as you said you do) in the winter is not an uncommnon practice and those little thigs run on like 1500w. So that would spike it. 

theres lots of little reasons people increase their electric bills , so theres no reason for them to root out growers that way, too inconclusive.


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## Growdude

i just started a new grow and had a 1500w electric heater in my bedroom.
So I removed the heater and setup 2 400 watt HPS and leave the closet door open and it seems to keep my room about where it was with the heater.


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## slick

heres the link to the calculator hope it helps  http://www.hydroponics.net/learn/hid_lamp_op_cost.asp


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## sweetnug

I agree that a lot electricity can be used without any problem.  If you think of all the things people have that pull a ton of electric; Dryers,  washers, stove, jacuzzi, kiln, tanning bed, TVs.....etc.  Almost everything nowadays is run by electric.  Right now add up all the bulbs that are on in your house and thats probably 4-6 hundred right there.  My dryer uses 5500 watts!!!!  I have it on 3-7 hours a day.  Thats a lot of power and I would say 1200 watts per child haha!!  They can't turn s*** off.


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## Ekoostik_Hookah

DUDE, JUST  screw the heaters...
  Buy two 1000w hps.....that should heat your house just fine...
  You could also vent the heat into rooms that you want heated.

LOL im kidding kinda...but it could work.
 3 HPS's might heat a house


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## Fretless

Ekoostik_Hookah said:
			
		

> DUDE, JUST screw the heaters...
> Buy two 1000w hps.....that should heat your house just fine...
> You could also vent the heat into rooms that you want heated.
> 
> LOL im kidding kinda...but it could work.
> 3 HPS's might heat a house


 
   It definetly works, for apartments anyway.  I lament not having a grow going this winter.  I use a 600watt and while it's not going to heat the whole place to 75F, it is enough to bring the temps up noticably and I'm sure I wouldn't be using the electric baseboards much at all, were the light running.  Small apartment, and I only heat one room + bathroom anyway.
   If the wattages on those space heaters are very high, you could actually reduce your electric bill by growing.  How green is that?


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## snuggles

Also be concious of your other electric items. Put cfl bulbs in all your lights. Unplug cell chargers, turn off all lights at night, shut down the computer...etc. As for worrying, as long as you don't go nuts and PAY the bill you are golden.


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## Ekoostik_Hookah

bearfootbob said:
			
		

> It definetly works, for apartments anyway. I lament not having a grow going this winter. I use a 600watt and while it's not going to heat the whole place to 75F, it is enough to bring the temps up noticably and I'm sure I wouldn't be using the electric baseboards much at all, were the light running. Small apartment, and I only heat one room + bathroom anyway.
> If the wattages on those space heaters are very high, you could actually reduce your electric bill by growing. How green is that?




ITS GREEN......VERY GREEN 

Right on dude


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## Ganja_Greg

Dude get CFL's bulbs , you could have 12 in a box and still not use as much power as a 400w HPS.. 

all these ppl on here saying that law enforcement doesnt look at electric bills are just ignorant ppl who dont know any better...

Here in cali i know that the police work with gas/electric/water utilitie companys and they look for power spikes that run in 12/12 cycles or 24/7 cycles.. they know how pot is grown they know when its being grown especially if you use HPS lights , ya they work the best im not saying they dont

but plenty of ppl use CFL's and grow some dank weed soo thats always an option for ya.

I wont touch an HPS with all the cali bust recently from using simple 400w hps lights..


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## Kupunakane

Yo Ho Guys ,
 Read this stuff and save electrical energy and costs;
http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15831

smoke in peace
KingKahuuna


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## snuggles

Ganja_Greg said:
			
		

> Dude get CFL's bulbs , you could have 12 in a box and still not use as much power as a 400w HPS..
> 
> all these ppl on here saying that law enforcement doesnt look at electric bills are just ignorant ppl who dont know any better...
> 
> Here in cali i know that the police work with gas/electric/water utilitie companys and they look for power spikes that run in 12/12 cycles or 24/7 cycles.. they know how pot is grown they know when its being grown especially if you use HPS lights , ya they work the best im not saying they dont
> 
> but plenty of ppl use CFL's and grow some dank weed soo thats always an option for ya.
> 
> I wont touch an HPS with all the cali bust recently from using simple 400w hps lights..



You have a point sorta, the cfls still have to go on 12/12 light schedule. And last but not least I have tons of stuff on 12/12 time....like the lights in my front windows and my yard and they are way past 400 Watts. Also with cfls you aren't going to get the nice dense bud. Keep in mind too that 400 watts is nothing...NOTHING zilch nada...look at your TV, look at your space heater etc. Also there are tons of people who grow in their house/greenhouse, legal stuff. The biggest demographic of gardeners is the elderly and also schools. So I know you're trying to help the dude out but come on one 400 watt light is getting no one busted not even where you live. Also looking at your electric usage is not grounds for a LEO action. They would have to bust every house on the block. You are 100% fine. Like someone said earlier if you are running 10 1k lights then maybe you should worry. I have 3 400 watt lights, 2 600 watt, and 1 1000 watt not to mention all my hydro pumps and CFLs etc. I've had some of the lights on 12/12 same schedule for a year at least....it's something they MIGHT look at if you are being dumb, like dealing massive quantities at your grow house.


Also 12 CFLs aren't gonna touch the HID and like I said they go on 12/12 too, don't freak the guy out...seriously man!!! If you can show us proof that 400 watt of power is getting people busted I'll shut up...like I said look at the appliances you already have like your CPU. 400 watts is maybe going to 15.00USD to a bill.

Edit: Also my bill doubled easy all I do is pay it and that's that.


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## maineharvest

:yeahthat: :yeahthat: :yeahthat:


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## sweetnug

Snuggles hit it on the head.  A 400 watt is 1/15 of my A/C!!  General rule of thumb is 2500 watts plus 1000 per bedroom.  So you could use 5500 watts on 24 hrs. a day and just meet that.  Also you can't compare HIDs to cfls, HIDs will BLOW them out of the water.


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## Growdude

Ganja_Greg said:
			
		

> Dude get CFL's bulbs , you could have 12 in a box and still not use as much power as a 400w HPS..


 
12 42 watt CFL's = 504 watts and put out less lumens than a 400 watt HPS.


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## Puffin Afatty

my electricity costs me $200 per month on average.  I have several out buildings and a 4500 sq ft house. 

it's not the amount you use, it's the historical average and any changes showing increased useage.  I could probably go unnoticed at twice my current use, historically we use alot of electricity, LP and gasoline here on the farm.


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## dankbud420

if u can, put every thing on 240v insted of 120. what i mean is ur a/c is runnig on 120v which means ur pullin a lot of amps. if u get 240v a/c, light ballast it cuts the amps in half which means less power to run. like say, i have a 400w hps on 120v she draws 4amps but 240v she draws 1.8amps. all u need is two hots and a ground from ur panel.


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## the widowmaker

dankbud420 said:
			
		

> if u can, put every thing on 240v insted of 120. what i mean is ur a/c is runnig on 120v which means ur pullin a lot of amps. if u get 240v a/c, light ballast it cuts the amps in half which means less power to run. like say, i have a 400w hps on 120v she draws 4amps but 240v she draws 1.8amps. all u need is two hots and a ground from ur panel.



I understand what your saying bro and you are correct but unfortunately the electricity company bills us in kilowatt hours so it doesn't matter which you run on the electric bill will be about the same, it would be less of a fire hazard and you could run more lights on 240v but really theres no price saving


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## headband

Ganja_Greg said:
			
		

> Dude get CFL's bulbs , you could have 12 in a box and still not use as much power as a 400w HPS..
> 
> all these ppl on here saying that law enforcement doesnt look at electric bills are just ignorant ppl who dont know any better...
> 
> Here in cali i know that the police work with gas/electric/water utilitie companys and they look for power spikes that run in 12/12 cycles or 24/7 cycles.. they know how pot is grown they know when its being grown especially if you use HPS lights


you can grow legally in cali, then you dont have to worrry about anything, thanks prop 215,sb420   o ya, screw the cfl's, hps is proven.


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## THCPezDispenser

the widowmaker said:
			
		

> really though when it comes down to it do you think the electric company is watching peoples bills to see who has a gain and who doesn't, most of the stuff that is done is all automated now anyways so if you pay the bill on time and as far as anyone from outside of your house can tell theres no growing going on, why would anyone take the time to look specifically at your account and say, damn you know what bob jones just went from using 10k an hour to 12k an hour


 
Oh they do look, that's for sure.  Check this out from BC Hydro:

hxxp://www.bchydro.com/rx_files/safety/safety46140.pdf (Copy & paste and replace xx with tt)

But as they say in this pamphlet, they are looking for the big guys, so someone running a single 400 or even 1000 isn't going to trip the panic alarm at the electric company.

*"Consumption information will be provided only for residences that exceed a range of usual consumption (that is, several times the normal consumption).  The average consumer would not appear on such a list."*


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## Hick

Ganja_Greg said:
			
		

> Dude get CFL's bulbs , you could have 12 in a box and still not use as much power as a 400w HPS..
> 
> all these ppl on here saying that law enforcement doesnt look at electric bills are just ignorant ppl who dont know any better...
> 
> Here in cali i know that the police work with gas/electric/water utilitie companys and they look for power spikes that run in 12/12 cycles or 24/7 cycles.. they know how pot is grown they know when its being grown especially if you use HPS lights , ya they work the best im not saying they dont
> 
> but plenty of ppl use CFL's and grow some dank weed soo thats always an option for ya.
> 
> I wont touch an HPS with all the cali bust recently from using simple 400w hps lights..



They ar busting 400 watt grows in CA?.. AMAZING!.. I thought CA was the forefront for decriminalization, legalization. Do they check to see if the resident has a liscense, before they bust 'em?.. 
  I'm "betting"" their electrical useage has absolutely nothing to do with it. A 400 watt light most certainly is NOT going to raise the bill significantly. In addition, "12 - 40 watt cfls *IS* _over_ 400 watts. 
  You really shouldn' throw that "ignorant people" around, quite so freely.


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## the widowmaker

I still fully believe that they will not initiate investigations based on electricity usage.  They will use it as evidence but they will start the case from somewhere else first, it never begins with electricity unless you are stealing it or not paying the bill they don't have the right because of data protection, they would have to be investigating you first.


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## headband

Hick said:
			
		

> They ar busting 400 watt grows in CA?.. AMAZING!.. I thought CA was the forefront for decriminalization, legalization. In addition, "12 - 40 watt cfls *IS* _over_ 400 watts.


so y waist 400 watts of your electricity using crappy cfl's to grow bud. GG your using 400 watts anyways, why not use a 400hps, you arnt saving any $$$ with cfls, your actually runnin 80 watts over, so its more expensive, and less effective than an hps. In california grow ops are the ones being taken down, the large medical marijuana ops. Some growers out grow, what they are aloud, this is when they get taken down. They have to file paper work with the state, to be a  caregiver, so they can grow other peoples limit.  But more times than not, they are growing over the legal limit without being a caregiver. Depends on where you live, in oakland, its a 72 plant limit, where i live its a 6 plant limit. Then going to the state to become a caregiver, you can grow other patients scrips, with there approval. The pigs in california, will bust anyone with weed, they hate it, they will try to get you in the most trouble possible.


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## Sin inc

all i know is that where i live the electrick company is sueing the state people at around this time last year  they risre thier price's up around 70% and now they rised them antoher 30%. so bacily the ele company is sueing everybody in the state. my bill before was around 200$ now its aorund 500+ some jump!!! thier putting in are a$$$$ now we can't doing ant thing


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## dankbud420

when winter comes around they raise gas prices, and spring-summer they raise eletric bill thats the way it goes. nothing we can do to make them change there ways but u can change how we use our power. get every thing 240v cuts amps in half. kilowats are used less by 240v than 120v because it clean power instead of dirty power. which means two hots is cleaner than one hot with a nutral. less amps means less kilowats used.


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## Useless

dankbud420 said:
			
		

> get every thing 240v cuts amps in half. kilowats are used less by 240v than 120v because it clean power instead of dirty power. which means two hots is cleaner than one hot with a nutral. less amps means less kilowats used.


 
Running 240 only cuts the amperage draw in half because it is running on two legs instead of one. The total amperage draw at the panel is the same. Therefore kilowatt hours are the same.
The benifit, as you touched on in your post, is that 240 will run the ballasts in a balanced power draw. Therefore, the ballasts run more efficiently and cooler. This reduces resistance in the ballast, and as a result requires less energy to use. So you can get about a 10% avg. drop in elecrictal usage (kwh) and an increase in balast efficiency resulting in higher output at the bulb. 
Saying that running at 240v vs. 120v will drop your bill in half is completely incorrect.


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## dankbud420

all i know is that i got everything running on 240v and my eletric bill droped like 20 bucks. 2 window ac units, 400w ballast and air purafire all switched to 240v.


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