Electrical help

orbo · Dec 8, 2015

Way I see it, you're locked into a physical space and you need to leverage it. Get some buck boosters for your A/C units, few hundred extra bucks and 1 contactor for each lighting zone, few hundred extra bucks. So you have a 1 time cost of lets say an extra grand - $1000.00 - to utilize this space AND give you all the flexibility in the future should you decide to move. At which point you either hold onto the extra grand worth of gear or Craigslist it for a few hundred bucks.

Bottom line, you need to spend an extra $1000.00 (approx) to utilize this space. Is it worth it?

patrickkawi37 · Dec 8, 2015

orbo said:
Way I see it, you're locked into a physical space and you need to leverage it. Get some buck boosters for your A/C units, few hundred extra bucks and 1 contactor for each lighting zone, few hundred extra bucks. So you have a 1 time cost of lets say an extra grand - $1000.00 - to utilize this space AND give you all the flexibility in the future should you decide to move. At which point you either hold onto the extra grand worth of gear or Craigslist it for a few hundred bucks.

Bottom line, you need to spend an extra $1000.00 (approx) to utilize this space. Is it worth it?

My electrician is saying that we can use the regular Helios controller and the VoLts doesn't matter . Something about running a 240 breaker and splitting it up on legs . And he also said most digital ballasts should work fine on 208v with no loss in juice . Is he wrong?

orbo · Dec 9, 2015

patrickkawi37 said:
My electrician is saying that we can use the regular Helios controller and the VoLts doesn't matter . Something about running a 240 breaker and splitting it up on legs . And he also said most digital ballasts should work fine on 208v with no loss in juice . Is he wrong?

If the controller runs on 120v and passes thru the lighting power then he's 100% correct about the controller. As far as the ballasts, considering most equipment are designed to accommodate a certain percentage of voltage drop it probably WILL work but its not the most efficient and will most likely shorten the life of the equipment. Lastly, I'm pretty sure the A/C motors will definitely have issues with the lower voltage. There's always the buck-boost and contactors in a pinch.

patrickkawi37 · Dec 9, 2015

orbo said:
If the controller runs on 120v and passes thru the lighting power then he's 100% correct about the controller. As far as the ballasts, considering most equipment are designed to accommodate a certain percentage of voltage drop it probably WILL work but its not the most efficient and will most likely shorten the life of the equipment. Lastly, I'm pretty sure the A/C motors will definitely have issues with the lower voltage. There's always the buck-boost and contactors in a pinch.

All good news. I think this spot is going to be less of a headache than I originally anticipated . I appreciate all your help.

Electrical help

orbo

Well-Known Member

patrickkawi37

Well-Known Member

orbo

Well-Known Member

patrickkawi37

Well-Known Member