electricians... help me build what I need!

Starting different threads for a new setup so dont mind the multiple threads about different topics

Ive got an 8,000 btu ac unit, 2 600's, 2 400's, couple oscillating fans, light rail 5.0 light mover, (soon to be 1000 cfm fan) and soon to be propane/co2 (should be this one http://www.growlightexpress.com/carbon-dioxide-co2-31/hydrogen-water-cooled-co2-generator-lp-113.html) and a soon to be humidifier/dehumidifer. This is all in the flower room.

I understand that if I use a 220 instead of 110 you could use 2 times the energy with the same cost, and in addition it uses half the wattage implying I could use twice the lighting.

does anyone know what I might need to setup a panel or whatever to get it all to function properly? Not too worried about my veg room as it will not have as much electricity usage as the flower.

Thanks in advance for any assistance/advice!!

2000tranzam said:

I understand that if I use a 220 instead of 110 you could use 2 times the energy with the same cost, and in addition it uses half the wattage implying I could use twice the lighting.

Click to expand...

I am not an electrician but I will tell you that this is not true. You get what you pay for. [email protected] = 110V@3A and it all costs the same.

Based on that, and all of the equipment you described you can probably get away with using a 60A panel. I would wire 220V to the panel using 6/3 wire and then 110V for devices using 12/2 wire for 20A circuits. Be sure to study this carefully before doing anything if you are not an electrician.

watts vs voltage:

100w @ 12vdc = 120 amps
100w @ 120vac= 12 amps
100w @ 240vac= 6 amps

note how the wattage never changes, only the amperage. that would be nice if the power company billed you for amps instead of watts... but power companies are smart so you get the shaft, lol.
the only advantage to running higher voltages is you gain the ability to have more lights per circuit, and get a very slight boost in efficiency. unfortunatly for you that boost wont begin to be noticed untill you pass about 10kw of lighting, lol. soyou could run 2 1000w lights on a #12 awg wire on 240, but you could only run one 1000w fixture on the same wire if the voltage was only 120...

making sense yet?