What's new
  • Happy Birthday ICMag! Been 20 years since Gypsy Nirvana created the forum! We are celebrating with a 4/20 Giveaway and by launching a new Patreon tier called "420club". You can read more here.
  • Important notice: ICMag's T.O.U. has been updated. Please review it here. For your convenience, it is also available in the main forum menu, under 'Quick Links"!

$1400 Electric Bill for 1 Bdrm Apt (HELP)

A

AlterEgo860

trying using a caluculator and see how much your using per day.. anddo it out.. see if it comes out to wat they say your using or close.. and then if it doesn't call and ask them to send some1 out... and if ur legal or not.. rent a moving truck.. and stash ur shit in there.. kuz its not worth some1 knowing about ur situation. just say ur running a few servers but they are out for repair.. to make sure there not causing the spike.
 
RB26

RB26

Vendor
Veteran
Joaltman88 said:
If you go on the CARE program, your bill will be cut tremendously. I am in Southern California as well. I had a one bedroom apartment with 5000 watts and was paying $750 a month. Then, I got onto the CARE program with SDGE and the bill went down to $400.
Click to expand...

I would not recommend doing this anymore. The CARE program is for low-income families and PGE has cracked down substantially in the last two months.

Now, if you are on the CARE plan and have a high bill, PGE is allowed to come to your home and do an inspection, inside and outside the house. Even if your grow is legal, do you want that?

Pay the bill and move on would be my advice.
 
C

Cabbby

Member
I did this for a little over a year in BC. Even had a two ton ac condensor on my balcony and a bunch of spruce bushes to block is from the street.

I was using 110kw a day roughly

4k setup, 2 ton ac, dehum, condensate pump, little gian pump, 6X honeywell small turbo fans, 12" vortex on a can.

Never had an issue even though it was a warning to be over 92-94kw a day. Either way it was a little stressful to be running those bills in a one bedroom. I was living there and had a 65" plasma, and a heater and/or ac running for me as well. I was comfy and even cooked with the stove etc and had a washer and dryer.
 
V

VenturaHwy

Active member
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Just add up your KWH's. The lights are easy how much does the ac draw? Turn it off when you are not home.
 
Holdin'

Holdin'

Moon-grass farmer
Veteran
Oh my...

I have a 5000 sq ft house, running 8kw total, 7.5 tons of cooling...

I hit $500 for my highest month in the summer, a little more in the winter, and I pay it with a smile. Average a fair bit less than that though.

I feel for you .20/kwh guys... I really do.
 
J

Jack Harer

Member
Man, I run 2 1K's in flower room, 2 1K's in the veg, 2 4' T-5 fixtures in the propagation room, several fans, extraction fans, an A/C unit, dehumidifier, all the associated pumps, and other crap, NOT to mention the rest of the house, and MY bill is under $450/mo.

You have officially been raped!
 
D

drsmoke69

Member
my 600w digital hps costs around $50.00 per month at 12 on - 12 off. with all the other equipment (fans, pumps, ac) the bill averages around $150.00 per month. checked my bill and the rate fluctuates between 3 - 6 cents per kw/h. i don't live in a medical state, so it is important i keep my electrical bill less than the houses surrounding me.
 
A

AlterEgo860

I will say this.. big bills usually mean that something is working hard.. AC is proly the culprit here.. but I had a friend.. who went and got those hood covers.. and relined his walls with white plastic.. sealing his room very well.. and got a few sizes bigger of an AC.. and his bill dropped a lot.. I think his ac was running full boar trying to keep up with the temps..

I run my lights at night in the summer.. it saves me on cooling BIGTIME.
 
P

ProvisionSeeds

Member
What you need to do is check for any fees as well. Sometimes there are peak hours where the price per watt is higher and sometimes it changes per season. And im pretty sure some ballasts take more watt when it starts up then it evens out later on.
 
supermanlives

supermanlives

Active member
Veteran
welcome to so cal. my utility bill is the same as a cheap mortage back east. that's the reason theres lots of used grow gear for sale lol. that bill sounds about right to me . I don't check rates anymore as it gets me angry and then to see all the extra shit they tack on I am getting mad typing errrrrrr. the building owner shouldn't find out unless you screw up. smell or get meter shut off. new meters they can shut off remote tho. staying low profile is the way to roll even if medical.when in sandiego I like low key too even tho I am medical.local cops seen my grow already at one spot. good luck stay safe ooh
 
Last edited:
A

AlterEgo860

very good advice.. stay low profile even if ur 100% legal.. its not worth the hassel assoiciated with being a known canna grower.. not only do cops find out.. but thieves also.. and sometimes COPS that RAID AND ROB off the books.. just to make extra cash...

so be smart. be safe.. pay your bills.. and find ways to cut back on electric if u need to.. shit.. what I was doing was.. add up everything for a full harvest.. electric.. water.. nutes.. soil.. everything . then multiply that by 2 or 3 depending on strains.. then u know the price it costs u to produce what your producing.. say 3000 a harvest.. is what ur putting in.. and ur getting 10 lbs each harvest.. well that 3000 can come from bud.. or hash.. I prefer hash.. I like to trim up.. sell .. and as im selling the bud. I will make bubble or dry sieve or now bho.. or even butter or oil.. and make as much of that 3000 off the hash. and then the 10 lbs get priced fairly based on quality.. and quanitiy.. shit if I harvest 10 lbs of buds.. and 1 lb of hash.. the hash pays for the bills.. the weed would pay for new equipment. or new shit I want and don't NEED....

i just started doin this recently.. because i need to get a bunch of bills paid.. car fixed an now medical bills.. so i need to account for every buck,, and once i do that i will be able to save so much money. and i wont need to worry bout bills.
 
Z

zero244

New member
That sounds about right for the rates they charge in your area. I personally don't grow indoors in the summer, and if I do I use limited LED lights. Two 600's plus a 400 will grow a lot of personal smoke. You might consider dropping down to a single 600 in the hot months. Just doing that would drop your bill by about 60 percent.
In the summer you could buy it for about what your spending on electric bills.
Other than reducing the size of your system their really isn't much you can do.
Where I live the kwh rate is 1\4 of yours. The most I run is a 400 watt plus about 170 watts of LED for lights. My total setup adds about 15 or 20 dollars to my electric bill.
I never have to run AC in the grow room.

I certainly sympathize with those of you who have to pay such high rates.
 
P

ProMixNSunshine

Member
Ran a sealed room once, summer-time, just a small show with a window banger........... Yeah co2 and less dialing in is nice......................... Until you get that electric bill. Ditch the A/C and add another light.
 
Crooked8

Crooked8

Well-known member
Mentor
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Ditch the ac and add another light? That sounds so improper its not even funny. Proper ac is number one.
 
gaiusmarius

gaiusmarius

me
Veteran
so many didnt read properly, he only used 1 light during the billing period we are talking about. plus the mh and the AC. to me there is no way that can justify a 750.- dollars a month bill, event at 20cts per kwh.

when you are between grows take everything down and have them inspect the lines, but first they should just read the meter and compare the numbers. maybe there was a mistaken reading taken.
 
toastfighter2

toastfighter2

Active member
First off, let me just say that that bill is stupid high for a one bedroom, but it is possible to make it happen on your end really easily(I have ran my bill up pretty high with no grow). Step one, get yourself a kill-o-watt meter. I would start quick testing my lights for an hour first then other big offenders(ac, fridge, tv, fan, etc.), until I found out what was really doing the damage to my bill. I had a fridge with a bad freezer seal that ran almost 24/7, and it jacked up my bill. If you can't locate the problem, then start calling people.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Latest posts

Top