experienced info please

buddy nice

Member
can anybody help me? im wantin to know if a 3 bed house would be able to handle 13x 600w lights plus fans? nothin else will be usin electricity in the house except lights and fans.
 

ULMResearch

Active Member
Well, you are looking at a $1,000+ electricity bill. That's enough to set off a ton of red flags in a 3 bedroom house in a neighborhood where the average is probably $100-200.
 

buddy nice

Member
Well, you are looking at a $1,000+ electricity bill. That's enough to set off a ton of red flags in a 3 bedroom house in a neighborhood where the average is probably $100-200.

im in the uk and dont worry about red flags, im just wanting to know if it will work without any electrical upgrades or anything like that?
 

*BUDS

Well-Known Member
add up the amps and check the maximum amps before cut off. The power drain is highest when the ballast is cold, so i like to stagger the timers by 5 mins apart to reduce the sudden load.
 

buddy nice

Member
add up the amps and check the maximum amps before cut off. The power drain is highest when the ballast is cold, so i like to stagger the timers by 5 mins apart to reduce the sudden load.

thanks, finally someone with some knowledge. that makes a lot of sense to stagger the timers but im not sure how to add up the amps id be using? have you got any advice or help on that?
 

ULMResearch

Active Member
Total watts / volts should give you amps. In the US at 120 volts it would be 65 amps, for you at 220 it's 35ish for the lights alone, so figure 40. Most home wiring is rated for like 15-20 amps, at least in the US. No idea on the UK. Running all of that on one standard circuit would be nigh impossible.
 

Brother Numsi

Well-Known Member
You'll need to look at the circuit breaker box to see which rooms are on which circuit and label them. Once you do that try not to exceed 80% of each rated circuit. What about you whole house heat and A/C?
I don't know about 1000w ballasts, but 600w ballasts are in the 4+ amp range each...here's a formula:


  • Best Answer

    Answer
    Simple Answer is just to know two formulas

    Ohm's Law
    V = IR

    Power
    P = IV

    From those you can calculate voltage, amps, watts, ohms

    V = Voltage (volts)
    I = Current (amps or amperes)
    R = Resistance (ohm's)
    P = Power (watts)

    Just solve for what you are missing.

    Voltage times amps being drawn shows watts produced.
    Watts divided by voltage shows amps being drawn or watts
    divided by amperage shows voltage applied.

    = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

    Power in watts (P) is voltage in volts (E) times current in amps(I).
    P = E*I, E=P / I, I = P / E.
    In a.c. that is peak to peak. To derive actual R.M.S. wattage (The true ability to do work)
    you multiply peak to peak by 0.3535.

    Good luck!!



 

Brother Numsi

Well-Known Member
Just curious...will you be growing in just the 3 bedrooms? What are the dimensions? Acess to water on the same floor?
 

buddy nice

Member
Total watts / volts should give you amps. In the US at 120 volts it would be 65 amps, for you at 220 it's 35ish for the lights alone, so figure 40. Most home wiring is rated for like 15-20 amps, at least in the US. No idea on the UK. Running all of that on one standard circuit would be nigh impossible.

thanks for the help man im not really upto scratch on electrics so im gona have to do a bit of research
 

buddy nice

Member
Just curious...will you be growing in just the 3 bedrooms? What are the dimensions? Acess to water on the same floor?

thanks for the help mate, im not too good with electrics so i will have to do some further research. hopefully i will be doin the 3 bedrooms and a room downstairs, the bedrooms are roughly 3 x 3m and the downstairs room is about 4x4m. i will be using the bathroom upstairs for water. im plannin on gettin 12-14 in each bedroom and 18-20 downstairs, i will not be using hydro as i need to use as less electric as possible for obvious reasons.
 

ULMResearch

Active Member
If you have 20amp wiring, you could do 3x 600w in each bedroom and 3 more somewhere else. Just make sure they are on different circuits. Since you aren't in the US it's hard for me to say much more. I just wouldn't go near 2k watts on one bedroom circuit in my own house for safety and reliability reasons. Now AC and kitchen circuits are much different. Those can handle a lot more amps for obvious reasons.
 
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