Safe Maximum Wattage Uses?

Is there a thread here that talks about power comsumption and stealth with safety. I'm wondering how much wattage one could run....per any type of light or setup, while still being undetectable and safe. 400 watts is 400 watts no matter what your using, is that right?
I'm wondering how one could maximize a small cfl setup, using enough light for a medium sized personal medical use harvest ( 2 to four ounces) while not raising the bill too high, and not overloading circuits. 600 watts of any light sounds great, but is it safe to put that much load on a regular household circuit using store-bought power strips? And wouldn't that really raise one's bill up high, which could still raise suspicion, even with the fact that cfl's are harder to see for the dreaded infrared scans, or if THAT'S even the case?
If anyone has any thoughts, or could point to the direction of this knowledge, it would be much appreciated.


thanks

Well, looks like I found my answer....and in case it helps anyone else....

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http://www.gthydro.com/electricusageofgrowlight.html

This is what's on the page...


Calculating Electric Usage of Grow Lights


To figure how much amperage your unit is using, simply use the following formula: Wattage divided by Voltage equals
Amperage.

The average household circuit breaker is rated at 15 amps. In other words, if the total amperage drawn from that circuit
exceeds 15 amps, the circuit breaker will trip off. You have probably one or perhaps two circuits per room. If you have a
1000 watt unit running off a 120 volt circuit, it will draw approximately 9 amps (1000 watts/110 volts = 9.1 amps).
Make sure your household circuits or fuses are in good condition and are rated at least 20% over what the load will be (e.g.
No more than 12 amps load on a 15 amp circuit).

As for the cost of electricity to run your grow light, we recommend that you check with your local power company, since the
cost will vary depending on the geographical area. Find out what you are charged for one kilowatt hour (kW/h) of Power. 1
kwh = 1000 watts for 1 hour. I.E. 10 ea 100 watt light bulbs for 1 hr.

Example - If your charge for 1 kilowatt hour in your area is 6 cents per kW/h, a 1000 watt fixture will use 1.1 kW per hour.
Lets say you burn your light 14 hours per day; 14 hours x .066 (.06 x 1.1) = .92 cents per day. If you burn it 30 days per
month the cost will be 30 x .92 per day = $27.60 per month. If you burn burn 400 watt lamps you will use .46 (46%) of 1 kW
hour. So it will cost .06 kW x .46 = .028 or 2.8 cents per hour x 14 hours per day = .39 cents per day x 30 days per month =
$11.70 month.

1000w fixtures use 1100 watts per hour,

400 watt fixtures use 460 watts per hour,

250 watt fixtures use 295
watts per hour and 175 watt fixtures use 210 watts per hour. The reason the fixture uses more watts than the lamp rating is
because of ballast inefficiency and heat loss.

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I'm still wondering if CFL's can be seen by whatever is commonly used to detect grow light....lol...if anyone knows

You can grow 4 plants with 300-400 watts easily. If you try you can probably reduce your usage elsewhere by almost that much to cover it. And remember that for most of the grow you are using lights 12 hrs not 24.