Need to power Greenhouse, Solar maybe?

Bulldog420 · Jul 4, 2014

Hello everybody,

I am new to the greenhouse sub forum and it looks like I can gain tons of knowledge here. I am in the building phase of my greenhouse and was starting to plan out electrical. My needs would be:

4 20x20 fans

1 large 42" fan

Auto ridge vent

Auto side walls

Last but not least maybe some led lights for supplemental lighting.

The greenhouse it self is over 1400sq ft and needs to have air circulation at the least. The led lights would more be used for starting early plants and finishing sativa's.

I have a couple options, and digging a 18" trench from my main panel to the greenhouse would be one option. However, that is over 500 ft away and would take a lot of work. The second option that is looking more and more appealing is solar power. I have seen decent options on Lowe's and Home Depot web sites that even include batteries for prolonged energy at night. 3rd option might be a diesel generator, but I don't like how noisy that could be. Just wondering if anybody else has encountered these problems, and if so, what was a solution that worked out. Any and all advice is welcome, and Happy 4th!!

HidingInTheHaze · Jul 4, 2014

Well the best option I could think would be to run it off of house power, then you would have all the power you could ever want with like a 50 amp sub panel out there. You will have to up size the wire due to voltage drop at that distance however.

Other than that I would go for a generator that runs off of propane or natural gas and have a 500 gal tank put out there so you don't have to shuttle diesel out there every day and can just have it filled every so often and it would run a little more efficiently.

Solar would be good too, but you would need a decent sized array and a place to store batteries, without being connected to street power you will be completely dependent on the solar I dont know what kind of area you are in but it might get tough if you get a string of rainy days, this is why houses with solar generally have back up of utility power.

Bulldog420 · Jul 4, 2014

Thanks for the input. I am an electrician so running the wire from the house is an option. However I like your idea of a propane generator that hooks up to a 500 gallon tank. This might be the best option. Thanks for your input, anybody else?

Bulldog420 · Jul 4, 2014

Starting looking into propane generators and for over half the cost of a 400w solar, I can buy a 7000w propane generator. Good looking out HidingInThehaze.

Hillside Growin · Jul 4, 2014

Storing power is the biggest expense with solar. You may be able to use solar for the fans and daytime accessories. Noise and maintenance are the biggest drawbacks to gennies but there are ways to hide the noise.

Backyard Farmer · Jul 7, 2014

Call the power company and get your greenhouse it's own transformer and panel if you're on the grid.

Bulldog420 · Jul 7, 2014

Not sure I need an entire new panel. That would be nice, don't get me wrong. However I don't see me ever needing more than 2000w total. I am going to call today and find out what the costs might be, thanks BackyardFarmer.

Backyard Farmer · Jul 7, 2014

One day you may decide to put HID instead of LED . In that scenario, you will need much more than 2000 watts, you will also need more than 2000w if you plan on running all your ventilation at once.

Bulldog420 · Jul 7, 2014

Yea, I really need to calculate my power needs for just my fans. Maybe I will make that a priority today. I assume my power needs are low, but I should calculate everything. Thanks again BYF.

EsterEssence · Jul 7, 2014

Generators make noise, my neighbor runs one and it is annoying as hell.

HidingInTheHaze · Jul 7, 2014

The utilities will run a new service for your greenhouse, but if it's 500 feet from your house I'd assume that's pretty F'in far from the street and they'd have to put in power poles to reach the GH.

I dont know how you feel about putting power poles on your property, they will do underground services too but if you run underground most utilities will make you pay for the wire anyhow, so at that rate just run power from the house.

It's one of those situations, there really is no easy way to do it. All options are expensive and labor intensive. Me personally I would just rent a ditch witch digging machine and run off the house power. The cost to rent the machine will still be cheaper then all of the other options, you could probably have the ditch dug and the wire pulled in a weekend. Put a 50 amp sub panel out there and call it a day.

Bulldog420 · Jul 7, 2014

I have a PG&E easements on my property about 100 ft from the greenhouse with power poles running through my property. Might not have to do much to get them to drop new lines, I am going to call once 8am comes around.

rives · Jul 7, 2014

Utilities can refuse to provide more than one service point for a given piece of property. It's up to them, but if you tell them that your load is going to be that minimal (no payback), they may be reluctant to grant an exemption unless you pay for all of the infrastructure improvements.

Bulldog420 · Jul 7, 2014

My house is zoned as a farm, so that might help. I am literally on hold with them right now. Good idea to tell them I will be using more power than that.

Bulldog420 · Jul 7, 2014

LOL Government.............

So here is the deal. If I want PG&E to run a new line from their power poles to the greenhouse I have to: start the process by requesting a pg&e inspector to come out and see if it's possible and this can take up to 3 weeks. Then, if possible, I have to file for a permit with the county which is currently running 4 weeks behind on approving plans. Once those get approved, and engineering is paid for, then I can get pg&e to run the main line, followed by an inspection from the city for a final...........

So if I start now, maybe by January of next year it will be done........

Backyard Farmer · Jul 8, 2014

Bro it's July, did you expect to grow trees in it this year?

Do it right, with its own service, especially if it isn't a big deal to do a drop a service by your greenhouse.

How is EGS treating you?

Bulldog420 · Jul 8, 2014

I got some 3' tall plants ready to go in. Still have to up pot my plants, so, no monsters but I hope to get something out of the greenhouse this year.

I work in the trades and I know how important a solid foundation is on a project. Knowing how important planning is, I know putting in my own service is the correct thing to do. However I don't really want to finish any plants outdoors this year, that is why I bought the greenhouse. Maybe I will have to finish up this year, then land the sevice. I am starting the process now however.

EGS has been treating me great here in the final stretch. I had some bumps in the road, but Zev truly is an all star and got my project back on track. The quality of the greenhouse appears to be top quality also. Overall, I would recommend EGS for sure.

Bulldog420 · Jul 9, 2014

The story with PG&E is a little complicated. If anybody wants to know the exact details go ahead and ask, but long story short, PG&E could drop a new service for 6 grand minimum. Not a bad option.

rives · Jul 9, 2014

Check their proposal over carefully. If the feed is underground, their base pricing is probably based on you purchasing/installing the conduit.

Bulldog420 · Jul 9, 2014

Yea, PG&E will put up a new transformer and supply the feed overhead. I have to land the 25ft power pole, supply the service drop and panel, and hook it up myself. However, if I pulled from the main panel all those other charges apply anyway minus the pole.

Need to power Greenhouse, Solar maybe?

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