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OfflineAce_Nine_Suited
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Registered: 08/19/10
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Last seen: 11 years, 2 months
Being a little paranoid...talk me down, or let me know...
    #463618 - 08/19/10 03:09 PM (13 years, 7 months ago)

Ok my average electric bill over the past year (fluctuating from summer to winter - I live in the South-USA so winters are cool, no AC needed, summers are hot, AC needed round the clock) is somewhere in the 80$ range. 

I started a grow recently with a 400w HPS and the bills the past 2 months have been $120-$150.  Almost double.  Is that any cause for concern on my part.  I live alone so I think that  contributes to my low average pre-grow.  I have to imagine full families living in the surrounding townhouses probably run a bit more than $80 per month which I am all on my own.  (I dont leave stuff on either, so I am conscious of wasting elect normally).

Am I being paranoid???  Is the spike from $80 avg to upwards of $150 nothing to be concerned about?

Ace_Nine

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Invisibleplantit
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Registered: 04/17/10
Posts: 241
Loc: tha car wash
Re: Being a little paranoid...talk me down, or let me know... [Re: Ace_Nine_Suited]
    #463632 - 08/19/10 03:26 PM (13 years, 7 months ago)

paranoia is your best and worst friend...

go with your gut feeling...trust me...

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OfflineAce_Nine_Suited
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Registered: 08/19/10
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Last seen: 11 years, 2 months
Re: Being a little paranoid...talk me down, or let me know... [Re: plantit]
    #463653 - 08/19/10 04:13 PM (13 years, 7 months ago)

Well...I was looking for a little more scientific of an answer than that. 

My bill has gone from $80s to $150s.  My kwatt usage from 800 or so, to about 1400.  Even with the increases, I guess I am asking for a normal family, living in a big townhouse with 3-4 people.  Is 1400 kwatt a month and the subsequent bill at all a flag?

If you're electric goes up like mine has, from a low low usage, to a normal mid-range families usage, is that anything to cause alarm?  Or cause electric companies to do whatever they do to flag houses for extreme usage???  I hear people running 1k lights all the time, so I imagine their usage is a buttload, and thus produces big bills as well.

Ace_Nine

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InvisibleHawksresurrection
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Re: Being a little paranoid...talk me down, or let me know... [Re: Ace_Nine_Suited]
    #463669 - 08/19/10 04:34 PM (13 years, 7 months ago)

Man your electricity costs a lot down there.  To answer your question, I wouldn't worry about it at all.  There are a lot of things that can cause increases like that in a normal household.  New big screen tv, more computers being ran.  bottom line the electricity company doesn't care how much you use, as long as you pay your bill.  Now if you were using like 10 1k lights, yeah that may cause some suspicion, 1 400 watt, no way.


--------------------
Dude she isn't as young as she use to be.

-niteowl

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Invisiblecoda


Registered: 04/20/08
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Re: Being a little paranoid...talk me down, or let me know... [Re: Ace_Nine_Suited]
    #463670 - 08/19/10 04:37 PM (13 years, 7 months ago)

You're fine, believe me, unless you're stealing power or using 20,000 watts, the power company is not going to notice an increase in your bill.  FYI common household appliances often require more power to run then your ballast, for all they know you could have gotten a roommate who uses a window AC and leaves his 60 inch plasma screen running 24/7.

As long as you pay them their money they don't give a fuck.  This is a pretty common fear amongst new growers and it's just plain bullshit.  Don't steal your power, pay your bills, and don't grow outside of your limits.  Follow those rules and you'll be fine.


--------------------


MFDoom666: sobriety kills my buzz every time.

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Invisibleplantit
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Re: Being a little paranoid...talk me down, or let me know... [Re: Ace_Nine_Suited]
    #463698 - 08/19/10 05:01 PM (13 years, 7 months ago)

Quote:

Ace_Nine_Suited said:
Well...I was looking for a little more scientific of an answer than that. 

My bill has gone from $80s to $150s.  My kwatt usage from 800 or so, to about 1400.  Even with the increases, I guess I am asking for a normal family, living in a big townhouse with 3-4 people.  Is 1400 kwatt a month and the subsequent bill at all a flag?

If you're electric goes up like mine has, from a low low usage, to a normal mid-range families usage, is that anything to cause alarm?  Or cause electric companies to do whatever they do to flag houses for extreme usage???  I hear people running 1k lights all the time, so I imagine their usage is a buttload, and thus produces big bills as well.

Ace_Nine





sorry i was not scientific, just saying...if you yfeel something bad. go with your gut thats all...

depends on the hikes like..out of nowhere you are now1000w lights and fans....they can see that there spikes that were not that high last year or whenever...and they can tell when the most is being used,,like 24 hour then 12 /12.....if they really are watching..infrared can detect the heat.

just a worst case scenerio..seen a few ol friends go down cuz they went bigger..and the electricity comp actually wanted to check it out.

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InvisibleHawksresurrection
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Re: Being a little paranoid...talk me down, or let me know... [Re: plantit]
    #463717 - 08/19/10 05:22 PM (13 years, 7 months ago)







sorry i was not scientific, just saying...if you yfeel something bad. go with your gut thats all...

depends on the hikes like..out of nowhere you are now1000w lights and fans....they can see that there spikes that were not that high last year or whenever...and they can tell when the most is being used,,like 24 hour then 12 /12.....if they really are watching..infrared can detect the heat.

just a worst case scenerio..seen a few ol friends go down cuz they went bigger..and the electricity comp actually wanted to check it out.





This is completely false, they cannot tell when you switch from 24 to 12/12.  Once a month someone comes by and reads how many total kW you used during the month.  This in no way whatsoever can tell them what part of the day the electricity is being used in. 

Sure FLIR can be used, by the police, with a warrant.  To get a warrant you have to show probably cause, running a 400 watt light is not enough for that.


--------------------
Dude she isn't as young as she use to be.

-niteowl

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Invisiblecoda


Registered: 04/20/08
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Re: Being a little paranoid...talk me down, or let me know... [Re: Hawksresurrection]
    #463720 - 08/19/10 05:31 PM (13 years, 7 months ago)

Quote:


depends on the hikes like..out of nowhere you are now1000w lights and fans....they can see that there spikes that were not that high last year or whenever...and they can tell when the most is being used,,like 24 hour then 12 /12.....if they really are watching..infrared can detect the heat.




This is exactly the crap I was talking about.  Don't listen to this tripe, you will not get busted for running an HID lamp in a small grow op.


--------------------


MFDoom666: sobriety kills my buzz every time.

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Offlineweezy420
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Registered: 06/01/10
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Last seen: 6 years, 11 months
Re: Being a little paranoid...talk me down, or let me know... [Re: coda]
    #463737 - 08/19/10 06:03 PM (13 years, 7 months ago)

people have used the same things we use for growing pot for other purposes before they were found to be good for growing indoor weed, and they didnt get their door kicked in.
:shrug:

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OfflinegeokillsA
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Re: Being a little paranoid...talk me down, or let me know... [Re: Hawksresurrection]
    #463738 - 08/19/10 06:17 PM (13 years, 7 months ago)

Quote:

hawksapprentice said:

This is completely false, [the electric company] cannot tell when you switch from 24 to 12/12.  Once a month someone comes by and reads how many total kW you used during the month.  This in no way whatsoever can tell them what part of the day the electricity is being used in.




While this is probably true in most parts of the country, developed municipalities are beginning to install Smart Meters that can transmit usage data to the electric company in specified intervals.  The only reason I know this is because my electric provider just installed one on my place earlier this year.


Quote:

Jurisdictions such as California are actively pursuing the same technology.  On July 20, 2006, California's energy regulators approved a program to roll out conventional meters retrofit with communications co-processor electronics to 9 million gas and electric household customers in the Northern California territory of Pacific Gas and Electric  (PG&E). These meters report electricity consumption on an hourly basis. This enables PG&E to set pricing that varies by season and time of the day, rewarding customers who shift energy use to off-peak periods. The peak pricing program will start out on a voluntary basis, and the full rollout is expected to take five years.




That said, I doubt that the electric company is using this technology to sleuth out closet cultivators.  Put plainly, it is extremely unlikely that a 400w light is going to cause any concern; since as it has been noted, many household appliances will use that much energy or more.  Still, something to be mindful of, especially if you live in a very tiny town with an overzealous right wing sheriff.  I might be a little concerned if my electric bill more than doubled in a single month, and I would become very concerned if the bill went up by a factor of 4 or more in a very short period of time.


--------------------
Do Your Part!


--------------------

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Invisibleplantit
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Re: Being a little paranoid...talk me down, or let me know... [Re: Hawksresurrection]
    #463742 - 08/19/10 06:32 PM (13 years, 7 months ago)

true true....but it has happened..

but mainly unless you are a commercial grower running a serious set-up (10,000W+) you should have nothing to worry about.

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OfflineAce_Nine_Suited
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Registered: 08/19/10
Posts: 24
Last seen: 11 years, 2 months
Re: Being a little paranoid...talk me down, or let me know... [Re: plantit]
    #463894 - 08/19/10 10:14 PM (13 years, 7 months ago)

Thanks for all the input everyone.

Yea all it is literally is a 400w HPS in a bathroom.  I have actually used it a few times in the past for 3 previous grows.  But I recently moved from appartment complexes/renting to a townhouse (recently built in a fairly large complex) that I own.  When in those apartments the electric only ever went from like 120-160$ after the light went on for a grow.  So that 33% increase didnt seem big.  But the jump from $80 to 150$ in my new place just scared me for a second. 

But like I said, I live alone in a big townhouse and am pretty mindful of wasting electric.  So my bill is prob way below the average normally.  With the light, I assume I am somewhere near the usage of the average 4 person family.

Thanks again all!

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Invisibleplantit
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Re: Being a little paranoid...talk me down, or let me know... [Re: Ace_Nine_Suited]
    #464046 - 08/20/10 08:33 AM (13 years, 7 months ago)

yea...youre fine:thumbup:

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OfflineStickyIcky
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Re: Being a little paranoid...talk me down, or let me know... [Re: plantit]
    #464254 - 08/20/10 02:44 PM (13 years, 7 months ago)

Dude remember you're living with a lot of typical Americans.

Leaving lights, fans, AC/Heat, TVs, DVD players, Xbox/PS3/Wii's, on ALL DAY....why? BC THEY CAN.

You'd be surprised how much lower usage you'll have when you pay attention to these things.  Took an Advanced Envi Sci class to teach me that :blush:

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Invisibleplantit
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Re: Being a little paranoid...talk me down, or let me know... [Re: StickyIcky]
    #464274 - 08/20/10 03:16 PM (13 years, 7 months ago)

true..and there is phantom or vampire power?? one of the 2 where just something being plugged in is using electricity.

i always leave everything off unless needed.

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InvisibleSp33dfreak
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Registered: 08/16/10
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Re: Being a little paranoid...talk me down, or let me know... [Re: coda]
    #464671 - 08/21/10 07:25 AM (13 years, 7 months ago)

Quote:

coda said:
As long as you pay them their money they don't give a fuck.


:thumbup:

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