energy bill concern

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staticus

Member
I'm running a 200W HPS with 2x 23w CFL and general appliances used (pump..hydroponics) at the vegetative phase and a very small fan which runs 24/7.

The energy bill has gone up to almost twice the amount ( jumping almost $200) and i am concerned that this might draw suspicion. What is the process that is being used for people to get caught from energy bill? Also is it even possible for this small system to have that big of a energy impact or are there other factors i should consider?

This increase is a general comparison of my electric bill for the past couple of years and it never spiked up this much before, taken in the factor of the AC running more since its summer.
 
tip top toker

tip top toker

Well-Known Member
You will not get busted because of your electricity usage if you are paying your bills. It can be explained in any of 1001 different legal ways, making it near impossible to get a search warrant on energy use alone.
 
motoracer110

motoracer110

Well-Known Member
ya your bill would only go up like $25-$30 from your grow equipment. I think your power spike is caused by Obama :lol:
 
Bubbleponic

Bubbleponic

Well-Known Member
I have a 600w hps, 10000 btu window ac , and like 6 cfl totaling about 150w (600w equivilant). Oh and 4 small fans and my bill went up $60 per month.....
 
BoomerBloomer57

BoomerBloomer57

Well-Known Member
Pay the fricker and quit worrying.

Don't steal from the power company.
Pay them bills when they come in.
Extensions are easy to get.

My electric runs 450 bucks a month

pay, pay, pay as you go,,,,,,

bb57^
 
S

staticus

Member
yea my main concern is not paying the bill, its just I don't use much energy at the house so I don't see how this big of a spike could occur. I don't think its my system thats spending more than twice as much energy. Can anyone give me some clues or places to check if there's a power leak somewhere?

O yea also there are no power regulators connected to the system, its all ran by random extension cords.. ( like 4 of them, one is supposed to be used outside ) could that be the problem?
 
tip top toker

tip top toker

Well-Known Member
Is this a meter or pre-paid?

I had issue with my meter recently, in that they took some incorrect readings, so for a year i was over the moon about how cheap it all was, until suddenly they sort everything out and hand me a bill for close to a thousand pounds for one quater.
 
S

staticus

Member
Its caculated by meter, they might have taken the reading wrong but The energy bill was the same for the past serveral years so.. I don't think it could be some misreading they had done before.
 
HappyHomeGrower

HappyHomeGrower

Well-Known Member
My electric bill is between $500 - $600 in the summer. I have 2 central AC units. I have solar panels hooked up to a grid tie inverter to help lower the bill some. There is a nifty tool called a Kill-A-Watt that you can use to find out exactly how much power a device is using. You would be suprised by how much power "stand by" devices use (like satalite receivers, LCD TVs, anything that goes into "stand by" instead of actually turning off). Another thing to consider is how your provider charges you for electricity. Some providers charge for power on a progressive scale. The more KWHs you use, the more they charge you for each KWH. My provider just charges a flat rate per KWH, but some charge based on consumption.
 
BoomerBloomer57

BoomerBloomer57

Well-Known Member
And some of then (like mine) charge on a Tier system. 1-2-3.

meh, whadda ya's gonna do? Take em back outside?

HappyHomeGrower, we've been looking into panels and inverters. Quick question before I start looking.

Do you have a grow log or photos of the Solar set up?

thanks
 
HappyHomeGrower

HappyHomeGrower

Well-Known Member
BoomerBloomer57 said:
...Do you have a grow log or photos of the Solar set up?

thanks
Click to expand...
I don't have any current pics of the solar setup. I'm using cheep panels, because I'm just getting into it. Each set of 3 panels produce 45 watts. Here is a pic I took when I set up the first set of panels I bought.



This is a Pic of how my setup is laid out. There is a 3 position toggle switch between the charge controller and grid tie inverter (not shown). This way I can easily switch between charging the battery, or putting power on the grid.

 
BoomerBloomer57

BoomerBloomer57

Well-Known Member
HappyHomeGrower said:
I don't have any current pics of the solar setup. I'm using cheep panels, because I'm just getting into it. Each set of 3 panels produce 45 watts. Here is a pic I took when I set up the first set of panels I bought.



This is a Pic of how my setup is laid out. There is a 3 position toggle switch between the charge controller and grid tie inverter (not shown). This way I can easily switch between charging the battery, or putting power on the grid.

Click to expand...
Yowza,,,,,

Sweet system. I'd say I have to look into that but then I'd have it up or something similar to that within months.

and I'm not going there




,,,yet
 
C

coben

Active Member
my bill went up $125 in colorado but I have a 1000 watt and a a/c that was going out, now went out.I hope with a better a/c next month and addressing the heat leaks and moving air more efecantly to use less and add a 1000 watt. I'm also fighting temps so next year I just might have to coop into the mountains with a outdoor grow
 
IAm5toned

IAm5toned

Well-Known Member
staticus said:
yea my main concern is not paying the bill, its just I don't use much energy at the house so I don't see how this big of a spike could occur. I don't think its my system thats spending more than twice as much energy. Can anyone give me some clues or places to check if there's a power leak somewhere?

O yea also there are no power regulators connected to the system, its all ran by random extension cords.. ( like 4 of them, one is supposed to be used outside ) could that be the problem?
Click to expand...
the cords is where your power loss is coming from.

you can find which breakers have what power on them, by shutting the breakers off, one at a time, and then look at your meter spinning after you shut each one off. if your meter still spins after you have shut off all the breakers, its either a faulty meter or someone is tapping your line (ripping you off)
 
IAm5toned

IAm5toned

Well-Known Member
HappyHomeGrower said:
I don't have any current pics of the solar setup. I'm using cheep panels, because I'm just getting into it. Each set of 3 panels produce 45 watts. Here is a pic I took when I set up the first set of panels I bought.



This is a Pic of how my setup is laid out. There is a 3 position toggle switch between the charge controller and grid tie inverter (not shown). This way I can easily switch between charging the battery, or putting power on the grid.

Click to expand...
i wouldnt buy into that system if i was you.......
how much does it cost, for 45w???
and then theres the battery issue, it will have to be replaced nearly every 12-18 months, depending on how much usage and the load characteristics of whatever you have running off of the inverter.
hid and floro's, cfls, are all inductive loads, which are very taxing on a solar system.
the cost of the system, vs the cost of the battery replacement cycle, and the cost of having to install the system in the first place, often exceeds the equivalant cost of simply pulling grid power for the same duration of time.
and then there is the carbon footprint thing, if your into that , im not, but did you know that it takes approximately 2.5 times the energy that a single solar panel will ever produce to manufacture it in the first place?

food for thought.
 
NLXSK1

NLXSK1

Well-Known Member
staticus said:
yea my main concern is not paying the bill, its just I don't use much energy at the house so I don't see how this big of a spike could occur. I don't think its my system thats spending more than twice as much energy. Can anyone give me some clues or places to check if there's a power leak somewhere?

O yea also there are no power regulators connected to the system, its all ran by random extension cords.. ( like 4 of them, one is supposed to be used outside ) could that be the problem?
Click to expand...
Read the bill carefully. You probably went up a bracket or two in KWH charges. It could also be summer pricing. Look at your actual KWH used versus last month. This could help you understand why the bill went up so much.

And BTW, a new hot tub could raise your bill that much or more if you wanted to use it every night.
 
S

snocat

Active Member
I dont know where your from but you may have had a rate increase,I just got one not to long ago,look at your bill and make sure you are paying the same rate as you were.mine went up alot.
 
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