Power consumption/ Power Companies and Police

either do it or dont, only you know if your legal, not us
i wish you luck, hope its worth the risk if your not legal

Gamberro said:

To warrant an investigation there have to be a number of supporting factors, other potential factors would be smell, people talking about your grow, grow items in your garbage, etc.. One question though, I once grew in a two-level warehouse the size of a small plane hangar, and I wasn't even running 20kW. How do you figure your consumption would be so high?

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I was just thinking the space could handle 20. I could tone it down for sure just wanted to estimate on the high end.

DONNYS said:

no that be to obvious
power companies dont care if u use power they want sell it
u could i guess call and say u got welding and pottery shop set up and want know if since u going to be using more power do u qualify for cheaper rate per Kw
then makes it seem u not alerting them to high spike in power but concerned bout decent rate lol

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This right here. Power companies want money, if they report us then we can't pay them. Just come up with a legit reason and you'll be fine. I say that I'm a stock broker and I have a ridiculous computer (600 watt power supply in it and it's on 24/7) set up with many LCD monitors on it as well as two LCD tvs that are always on to keep track of "stock" news. Add an air conditioner into the room and it's a somewhat reasonable excuse. I also have an electric stove in the house I never use since I use my gas one, but they don't need to know that. Just get creative, but you'll be fine as long as you pay your bills on time. That's the most important.

kratos015 said:

This right here. Power companies want money, if they report us then we can't pay them. Just come up with a legit reason and you'll be fine. I say that I'm a stock broker and I have a ridiculous computer (600 watt power supply in it and it's on 24/7) set up with many LCD monitors on it as well as two LCD tvs that are always on to keep track of "stock" news. Add an air conditioner into the room and it's a somewhat reasonable excuse. I also have an electric stove in the house I never use since I use my gas one, but they don't need to know that. Just get creative, but you'll be fine as long as you pay your bills on time. That's the most important.

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most desk top computers use same power per hour as 400 to 600 watt grow light
so when cut off when not in use saves alot
lots ways to cut back in other areas to offset it some

rookiekid9901 said:

That to much power to be honest the electric company will probably report it to the cops and you will get raided.

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Doesn't work that way.
Electric companies don't report you to the police because of electricity usage. If police are already investigating you, then they can go to electric company to get data on your usage.

That actually makes a lot of sense bwest.

New Age United said:

That actually makes a lot of sense bwest.

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yep
dont be scared
power companies love us growers

if your really that worried and want to go off the grid. i suggest you look into solar panels that way you can ru your grow off solar and the house off normal electrical or vice versa. if you really wanna get stealthy get some badass solar panels and run both the grow and house off them wont have to pay the power company squat.

Solar is nice idea, but a 20kW installation at the current $4.00-5.00/W makes them still extremely cost prohibitive. Utility companies wouldn't even be using them if it wasn't for government subsidies, tax breaks, and "green" rate increases.

DONNYS said:

most desk top computers use same power per hour as 400 to 600 watt grow light

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No, most desktop computers have power supplies capable of outputting 400-600W. Few consumer machines are equipped with the hardware to max out their power supplies and even if they could, they are rarely run in such a way that would.

You guys forget also that Smart Meters are becoming a regular thing. No longer does the power co. know only that you used 9600kWh this month and owe them a few grand for it. Nay, Smart Meters add that you used it during the same 18 hours every day regardless of weather or daylight hours.