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Landlord pays my electrical bill. Is a 600watt grow "safe"???

RobMarley420

RobMarley420

Member
I live in a house that is spilt into 3 different apartments and the electricty bill is included in the rent. So my landlord is paying the electrical bill, but not just for my apartment, the whole entire house of 3 apartments. She would not get an individual bill for my apartment alone. Do you think my landlord would notice the jump in electricity from a 600watt grow?

How much should I expect my electricity bill to rise for a 600watt grow? $10-$20 a month?
 
Z

Zen Master

Cannasseur
Veteran
My coffee pot uses 900 watts. when its on of course....

if you dont have other high use items you could easily get away with a 600 and not raise eyebrows.

check your last bill for your areas rate on kWh, it varies widely.

I pay over 25 cents a kWh. Here you're lookin at ~$55 a month to run a 600w 12on/12off.
 
Rednick

Rednick

One day you will have to answer to the children of
Veteran
Depends on your KWH rate.
After all the adjustments and such, mine is about $0.12 KWH.
$20-30 a mo for a 600w.
Call your local power company, use a different phone if wanted. Give them a different addy, too.
Then one could calculate the effect on the power bill.
KWH used per month x KWH usage cost. You want to know not just their base KWH but also the adjustments and fees, ect...

Or...
Put a 300+gal coral reef tank in your apt and watch your landlord get the electric company out there to put in meters for each individual apt asap. :)
 
Cojito

Cojito

Active member
you're probably safe. but you might try cutting back in other areas to offset the difference. for example, does the apt have incandescent lights? swap them out for lower wattage cfls. or don't have the tv on while you surf the web for porn etc.
 
I

In~Plain~Site

It definitely depends on what the costs for electric are in your area.

With that being said:

If the last guy was frugal and kept his bills down, the landlord WILL notice a difference....you could always turn the laptop off(unplug) or other power consumers while the light is on....CFL bulbs in all your other light receptables and such. Cut where you can, when you can...should be fine. :yes:
 
I

In~Plain~Site

Cojito said:
you're probably safe. but you might try cutting back in other areas to offset the difference. for example, does the apt have incandescent lights? swap them out for lower wattage cfls. or don't have the tv on while you surf the web for porn etc.
Click to expand...

HAHA...perfect timing ;)


To add, let's not forget it's only 600 watts, they get hot and cooling/fans also need to be a consideration.

I'd say you'll need 1200w/24, just to be on the safe side.

Good Luck
 
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Z

zen_trikester

Go to your power companies web site. There should be a power calculator and you can type in 6 @ 100 incandescent bulbs for 12hrs, 30 days per week and get your info. If not, then you can find out what your cost is per kw hr and then google to find out how to convert your light to kw hours.

In my neck of the woods a 600w light on for 12 hrs is about $30 per month. For the record, a 600 on for 12 hrs translates to 216 kwh. You also need to factor in for fans and veg/mom lighting if you are going to hold moms. Veg lighting is burned longer obviously, so you will use almost 2x the power for the same wattage bulbs.

If it were me I would start with a cfl micro cabinet and get that rolling and then in a year or two think again about a hps. Actually, that is exactly what I do.
 
I

Iron_Lion

600w + 200W for assorted fans for cooling =

800w x 18hrs x 31 days per month x .14 cents per kWh = 62496 / 1000 = $62.50 per month additionally to your standard electric bill.

it will be approx $42 for 12/12 cycle, and these are low estimates as I would recommend running a 6" fan w/scrubber 24/7.

this is quite a bit of extra money per month, and in the summer months you might even need a window a/c which would tack on even more $.

Think of what other kinds of things you'd have to do to tack on an extra 65$ per month to your electric bill, leave every light on in the house 24-7, leave the refridgerator door open all the time, run space heaters. I doubt he would question you over the additional $65 per month but I know he will atleast say to himself wtf is this guy up to especially if the other tenants are much lower. If you install cfl light bulbs every where else in the house this will help you hide it a little bit.

Also think about how your bill will fluctuate depending on the light cycle, your bill is going to flip flop flop $20+ dollars every few months. Another thing to think about is you will probly want a veg box to keep clones which will be a few bucks more for those lights.

I'd say a 250w hps is about as big as I would go before you become noticeable, if you paid for your own electric this would be a totally different story.

Oh and just an FYI, to be a legal rental space in the US each apartment MUST HAVE ITS OWN METER, this means he will see what your individual bill in comparison to everyone else's.

I guess a lot of this would come down to how much you LL pays attention, if he's got lots of properties he might not give a shit about such mundane details, if he is a cheap ass nickle and dimer he might pay more attention.
 
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W

w.wonka

on the east coast, i also live in a house that has 3 apt in the building with 1 meter for all that the landlord pays the bill.. when i first moved in i was told not to abuse the electric cause i didnt have to pay it... so i started out with a 600 in a 3x3 tent n a 4 bulb t-5 set up for veg.. did this for over a year and didnt watch what electric i used... space heaters, lights on, ect, ect.. well a few months ago i decided to go too 2-600 in a 4x4 and nothing has been said about it but i also have been more aware of what else i leave on... i think u should be fine with the 600, in-line fan, and light for veg and make sure u have some kind of carbon filter for smells.. i would be more worried about that then the electric cause that will be what throws up a red flag if any!!!

w.wonka
 
J

JOJO420

Active member
Veteran
I just had a successful op in a studio apt. We had 7 42w compact flouro's and a 25w t-5 for clones going 24-7 since Dec. of last year. Not to mention the 4'' vortex,lol. We also cooked out of a microwave and had 2 guys living in the space. We worked from home so the computers and internet and everything was always on, we have 2 monitors each and all kinds of extra gadgets and gizmo's. We also are charging 2 cellphones and listing to the stereo loud :)
Remember one thing. No one except you knows what your doing. Its not a given that your bill increasing means GROWER ,lol. Be cool, be smart and you should have no problems. I mean we just BLEW up a studio in Los angeles, no one had a clue. I mean not a word, from anyone.Not a peep about the electric bill from the landlord OR the girl we subleted it from.
I am currently in a bigger better space, same deal though. Landlord pays all utilities. :)
We r going with the same veg setup, BUT adding 2 400w digital ballasts to the setup. Plus a http://www.google.com/products/cata...F-8&cid=8882273009819702384&sa=X&ei=Y8CkTcGxH
Im not worried about it cause the bill will be what 2 guys in a 2 bedroom are allowed :)
Our killowat per hour is .14 cents, give or take. might be 13.6 cents or so,lol
 
T

thesloppy

As noted by Iron_Lion, the light is not likely to be your only electricity sink, and you could possibly even double that 600W if you get enthusiastic about fans/veg lights/pumps/AC. I've got a pair of cabs running about 800W of lights, and my electric bill pretty much quadrupled, from $30-$40 to $100-$150 a month in summer months.

If those other apartments in your complex were averaging a somewhat normal load, that might be $30 per apartment, or $120 per month before your involvement. If that bill suddenly doubles, and the entire building is effectively using double the electricity after you move in, she'll probably notice.
 
Maj.Cottonmouth

Maj.Cottonmouth

We are Farmers
Veteran
jm420 said:
have a fifty on hand if he knocks at the door ,He'll walk away happy
Click to expand...

Actually sounds like a good idea, if he were to say something about it you could tell him you run several computers and would not mind chipping in a little extra for the higher electrical usage.
 
Rednick

Rednick

One day you will have to answer to the children of
Veteran
Full on coral reef tanks, in excess of 1,000 gal and 10k worth of lighting. He will have the electric company there tomorrow.
In my state, most 'addresses' are supposed (?required?) to have their own meter.

Otherwise, money talks bullshit walks. Have more than a fity handy.
 
the_extremist

the_extremist

Member
Fucking 25 cents a kwh? Jeebus.

I couldn't fathom paying that much. I pay a little less than 6 cents per kwh. Under a hundred bucks a month for 1kw veg and 3kw bloom.

Anyhow, good luck trying to fool a landlord that has split one home into several apartments. People like that are experts at maximizing efficiency (money) out of their resources. Also, check your local laws, but I'm gonna have to assume this landlord is breaking the law by not having individual dwellings metered.
 
ijim

ijim

Member
What kind of meter?

What kind of meter?

Do you have a digital or analog meter? If it is a digital meter then the power company and landlord may see exactly when and how much power is used during a 24 hour period. Like your timer coming on and off. He may get a little suspicious if there is a 1200 watt draw starting and ending the same time every day. But not all digital meters are hooked up to a central station that records power usage. Just go outside and see if there are digital numbers or a wheel spinning. If it is digital call the power company and ask if they record daily power use so you can use their data to conserve power. Take what you learn and make an educated decision.
 
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