at how many watts does it become SUSPICIOUS??

Yeah but, add the watt from the grow to all the stuff that might be in his house.

just dont steal the leccy,,,, and you will be o.k.... seen so many caught like that and they still do it...

Guys, don't kid yourself into thinking that running the dishes and flat screens use THAT much power. I don't have the answers here. All I know is that it gets old hearing "just pay your bill and you're OK" when there are tons of documented cases wherein electric companies volunteer information to leo without leo even requesting it. The "dont get busted" guy even says that the electric company management offers rewards to their lower-level people for finding suspicious usage.

replacing 10 100watt incandescents with an equivalent CFL or better yet LED will pretty much balance out a 1000watt HID. People in my neighborhood think I'm so green because all of my bulbs were swapped out long ago. Truth is they're right, just not the kind of green they are thinking.

Jefferstone said:

replacing 10 100watt incandescents with an equivalent CFL or better yet LED will pretty much balance out a 1000watt HID. People in my neighborhood think I'm so green because all of my bulbs were swapped out long ago. Truth is they're right, just not the kind of green they are thinking.

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rofl ya know betty, that jeff down around the corner has done gone green. Isn't he such a humanitarian.. and she'd be right again =)

According to the power company I use 2.5 times my neighbors which they consider the fact its an apartment. I'm running just a 400watt and fans as well as a T5 two tube light.

I also have servers I run which would be a explanation one would notice as soon as they walked in. Granted only one server runs 24/7. Plus all my appliances are electric.

What constitutes suspicious usage? Quantity? Regular 12/16/18/24 cycles with 250/450/600/1kW loads?Idk, I'm asking. At any rate, I've never heard of them knocking on the door demanding and explanation of usage. I suspect advances in LED tech will make it a moot point anyway.

rocpilefsj said:

Just like I said before pay your bills and everything is gonna be fine. I have never heard of someone getting busted based on just a power bill. Stealing power on the other hand...

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I HAVE heard of a close friend busted by tips from poco.

If you have a platter style meter and it gets swapped for a smart meter then they are watching your usage pattern.

Police get tips ftom poco and if a bust results the meter reader gets a reward (in this case the narc got 10k learned in discovery papers)

Quantity is the big attention getter then they look for a steady light timing cycle over about two weeks. Meanwhile they are looking at your trash, checking water usage. Once they get enuff for a judge it's warrant time.

And a 4kw flowering room with AC eats watts/month like an average 3 bedroom home with central air in middle of July.

that's some crazy shit.
I personally like the new smart meters, they are much more accurate than the random guesses and adjustments later on.
I think there are many legitimate reasons to have high electric bills. Running grow lights is just one of them, and really isn't that much.

Actually there is a lot of hub bub in the electrical community about some smart meters overbilling.

Do it if your balls are brass and you can handle them checking you out (no odor, nothing to raise suspicion like having no job/taxes and bunch nice stuff) stupid gets you jail time.

im in a legal state, I pay, 1500 a month on average in the summer and 1000 winter . but the average how owner bill is about 150 bucks family. so you could pull four 600 or two 1000 watts hps to stay off the radar if your not legal or open a business in your home. those presses use a lot of electricity or so on.

Had no choice, and its no where near the grow. Plus having a small garden, im not too concerned, being legal and all that. I am more concerned with building management than anything and that hasn't been a problem either when you go with a professional company. Havent had any billing issues with it, in fact its more accurate than the guesses they made before. Overall im happy with the switch.

I think the electric company don't even look at the numbers , its all done in a computer. and they could care less , just don't steal the electricity . just pay the light bill every month like every body else does and you will be ok . I just looked at the smart sense digital meter shit , it says im using 125 % more electricity then my nabor hood on average, lol glad its only for 12 hours or wow wee break my pocket book.

pftek said:

4000 watts + fans + a/c + hydro set up so about 5000 watts 12/12. for a 2 bedroom apartment... how is that???

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Picture please?

Decent thread... I think you should just form a drop-shipping llc and use your home addy as the biz addy read up on llc's and the tax benefits of running a home biz whatever the 'product/ service'... in my state the power company will sell biz's as much e- as they'll pay for no prob, just dont ask how i know, but everyone here is most definitely right in some fashion..

Thanks and Good Vibes,
TheKlaud

theexpress said:

lol yeah right... they will flag you if your useing too much power

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That must be a USA thing..

Because I don't use a lot of power for indoor growing but I use a lot of power in My house.. like I always have a tv on with one of my Xboxs and my laundry I do .. lights i leave in so people always look like they are home lol idk they should have flagged us a while ago