What is the maximum size grow a house can support?

[MedGuy510]

Assuming a person is living in suburban norcal, and growing in subdivided, insulated rooms. I assume most electric panels used in residential homes are the same amp rating, but a 2 bedroom house may have half the amp rating than a 4 bedroom, i don't know. What is this amp rating? 60amps?

So, assuming lights, fans, AC, how many 1000w (running on 240v) can fit in a house? I can add the amps of the lights and fans easily but I'm not familiar with how much power AC units consume and how often they run.

This would be a perpetual grow, so add 500w for every 1000w of the flower room. ex. 8000w flower means 4000w veg, 12000w total.

 

[milehighmedical]

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[bterzz]

Hey great explanation Milehigh! I just received a nice gift for using my flying miles! heheh your name made me think of it.

Anyways, I just got to thinking about electricity usage...

My bill jumped insane amounts after adding 1800w worth of grow, 1200w AC and 200w in fans. total of 3200w.

I began to think about the 1000w computers that everybody is using now days, as well as the 1500w heater in my room cuz ive been cold as fuck, as well as the second fridge most people I know have in there garage...

Now, i started talking to a long time friend who has been installing solar panels for a living...claimed he just did an install on a guy who had 99 solar panels installed. claimed his bill was over 8k a month...

I can't even imagine the huge wide range of electricity bills used throughout the state, from residential to commercial..

My neighbor, in a 3BR town home, has like 8 people living in the house, that i know of! What is there bill like?! Probably similar to mine and im growing weed !! haha..

Really, is a $1300, $1500, $2000 residential electricity bill ALLLLL THAT out of the ordinary?? This Tier system is really a great way to rape there customers here on the west coast, I can only imagine how quickly an electricity bill skyrockets..

50 cents pkwh? lmao fucking insanity.

 

[MedGuy510]

Good advice. I know I can always check the panel when i go house hunting but if it is 100amp then, yeah, that would absolutely be plenty. I knew somebody that did 12kw flower but I don't know if they did veg at the same time.

I like the idea of 16,000 flip flop, but that's getting into danger territory in my region regarding plant limit numbers. am i right in thinking a 4000w veg room would be able to supply an 8000w flower room every 8 weeks?

 

[SmokinErb]

I have a question, sort of regarding this subject. Don't really want to start my own thread over it =/

But like, how much does a 1k light setup actually jack up the electric bill? I've always grown with a 400w and now plan on doing a 2kw vertical setup. My 400w was also done in an apartment that had all utilities included, so I have no basis for comparison.

 

[bterzz]

If you're on the west coast figure 100$ per 1k watt. Anything over 3, and figure like 175$ per 1k watt.

 

[milehighmedical]

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[MedGuy510]

unless you are eligble for PG&E's CARE program (low income household). I wonder if they'll find it fishy that their CARE account holder is using 4,000kwh per month

 

[MedGuy510]

Milehigh, I have definitely done that same math, I like how beautifully 1 harvest each month works out with veg at 4 weeks and two flower rooms set 4 weeks apart. BUT, 4 weeks veg doesn't seem like a long enough time to get a decent harvest out of a setup with 4 plants per light. my buddy grows 4-5 plants per light with a 7 or 8 week veg and says he only gets 1.25# per light at his best.

 

[LiLWaynE]

pay your bill on time or even early and you can run as many watts as your service will allow you.....

 

[SmokinErb]

I intend on growing both trees and SOG. I'll be growing vertically in an octagon, 3 of the 8 legs will be dedicated to trees, and the other 5 are going to be a perpetual SOG.

I'll be starting with 1kw, and hopefully adding a 2nd 1kw on top of it before it comes time to switch the trees to 12/12. Eventually I'd like to be running 3kw floor-to-ceiling vertical. Just sorta wondering how much all of this to expect to cost electrically.

 

[SmokinErb]

Oh, and MedGuy, don't take my word for it, but I've heard several times that the "safe" number to go by is 1kw of light per bedroom in the house. Keeps the suspicion down from the electric company or whatever.

That's not exactly what the place is capable of, though. It's an interesting question though.

 

[philfish]

I know plenty of folks grow in commercial spaces. Rent and all they can take is your equip and product(not your land). Plus its safer, the electrical will probably be more robust, and most likely you can have sprinkler systems.

 

[milehighmedical]

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[MedGuy510]

commercial spaces are subject to fire inspection annually if they have sprinkler systems,etc. I think most towns require this type of inspection even if you don't have sprinklers. that would be a real drag to deal with.

it was my first choice to get inside a commercial space to take advantage of cheaper rent and electricity but i emailed the city fire inspector and he said they try to do inspections once a year on all registered businesses. He said they don't inspect all businesses, but definitely inspect the more hazardous businesses first. He said the business address gets auto-logged into the computer when you file for a business permit and they do the first inspection.

this means, if you don't file or request and inspection, they won't come. but, the landlord (or leasing agency) may require all kinds of things from business license to insurance. so, a house might be most practical after all.

 

[milehighmedical]

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[krunchbubble]

maximum size grow a house can support? depends on your service panel. ive ran several 20k+ houses before. some kats in sacramento were doing 70k. pg@e dont give the slightest shit how much power you use, they give a shit if you pay the bill or not.....

 

[DIGITALHIPPY]

maximum size grow a house can support? depends on your service panel. ive ran several 20k+ houses before. some kats in sacramento were doing 70k. pg@e dont give the slightest shit how much power you use, they give a shit if you pay the bill or not.....

work with that 20kw, then do a flip/flop

 

[krunchbubble]

work with that 20kw, then do a flip/flop

killin it..........

 

[Lazyman]

Good advice. I know I can always check the panel when i go house hunting but if it is 100amp then, yeah, that would absolutely be plenty. I knew somebody that did 12kw flower but I don't know if they did veg at the same time.

I like the idea of 16,000 flip flop, but that's getting into danger territory in my region regarding plant limit numbers. am i right in thinking a 4000w veg room would be able to supply an 8000w flower room every 8 weeks?

What plant limits? SB420 was deemed unconstitutional and repealed.

Anyway, I have a 100A main panel, and my 8KW grow used half of that. Fluorescent lighting in the main house was very slow to light when the lights were on and the rest of the house was lit up (big house and tons of electrical devices, including hot tub etc) but now it's all broken down, fluoros in the kitchen spark right up.

Your veg room lighting is a bit high, I'm setting up a 16kw room as we speak, I'm going to veg 75 plants or so for a month under 4 8-bulb 4-foot T-5's, then move them into the 30 day-staggered flowering room. Add 75 a month and harvest 75 a month, a 1 month veg is a lot so plant counts needn't be ridiculous. Not doing a flip, power is cheaper at night on TOU meters, and the outside air is cooler for air cooling too.

I've filled an 8 light grow with 33 plants before, ChemDawg D vegged 6 weeks. A sealed AC 16kw grow (plus veg) you'd need at least a 150A SUBpanel, I'm doing a 200a off a 700a main panel. Heavy duty shit! Gonna be $30K by the time it's done but it will make that per month after month 3.