Electrical Needs

[H S Thompson]

I have just become legal through the state of Michigan, and need to get my grow rooms up and running as soon as possible. I am a patient and caregiver, and need to be at max capacity for plant numbers. The biggest obstacle I see is getting adequate power to my rooms. I'm hoping not to have to upgrade the service coming into the house.

 

My current service is 100A Main Panel, see photo.

 

 

The small box you see to the left of the main panel is for my water heater, and is powered & metered separately.

 

Main panel has the following breakers:

 

* (2) 15A sp

* (4) 20A sp

* (1) 30A dp to sub panel in laundry room

* (1) 30A dp to well pump

* (1) 40A dp to garage sub panel

* see diagram below

 

 

What I hope to do is put a 60A dp breaker in main panel and feed to 60A sub panel.

 

My needs are as follows:

 

* (4) 1000w HPS (220v) on 12/12 cycle (18.181818A)

* (4) 1000w MH (220v) on 27/7 cycle (18.181818A)

* (2) eco-plus 600cfm blowers (120v) (carbon scrubbers)

* (4) in-line duct fans (to cool lights) (120v)

* (4) oscillating fans (120v)

* (2) separate ebb & flo systems (flower rm & veg rm)

 

In addition, I will have Co2 regulator connected to "Co2-4e" controller, and PPM-1C monitor.

 

With all this lighting my rooms are going to get pretty hot. So I intend to seal rooms and inject the Co2. Past experience has shown that I can run temps as high as 90f with the Co2. Lighting will be cooled and hot air vented to outside the rooms.

 

My other small room is for storage, and I run a cloning machine and floro tubes over clones.

 

As far as the rest of the house goes, I use very little electricity. I am single and live alone. My stove is gas, no dishwasher, no garbage disposal, and the fridge runs when it is needed. My coffee maker, toaster oven, and microwave are generally used once a day. At night there may be the TV and one lamp being used.

 

I figure if I run the lighting off 220v circuits, I should have enough 120v left for the other items. Am I on the right track.....?

 

I intend to do everything to code, and my first and main concern is for safety. I've lived through one house fire (candle related) and do not want to experience another one.

 

If you need more info just ask away.

 

Any and all comments and recommendations are welcome.

 

Glad to be here, Phillip

[Wired4Success]

Your 100a panel is pretty booked, but over all look pretty good. If you get lights flickering or a main breaker trip you should consider upgrading, but you might not have any problems like that.

 

I would tighten all connections and make sure your ground wire is connected to the water main. (it looks like it is, I see 2 ground wires, 1 to the rod outside and 1 to the water main.) Thats real important, loose connections and poor grounding are the number one reasons for electrical fires.

 

IMO its a complete waste to use MH for veg. T5's are all you need. That $200 a month in electrical, with T5 your bill should be much lower & probably 1/4th the heat output. Just my 2 cents...

 

Gl, man.

[bobandtorey]

Your 100a panel is pretty booked, but over all look pretty good. If you get lights flickering or a main breaker trip you should consider upgrading, but you might not have any problems like that.

 

I would tighten all connections and make sure your ground wire is connected to the water main. (it looks like it is, I see 2 ground wires, 1 to the rod outside and 1 to the water main.) Thats real important, loose connections and poor grounding are the number one reasons for electrical fires.

 

IMO its a complete waste to use MH for veg. T5's are all you need. That $200 a month in electrical, with T5 your bill should be much lower & probably 1/4th the heat output. Just my 2 cents...

 

Gl, man.

 

thats right the T5 work great less heat just think when July or Aug, comes

[bobandtorey]

thats right the T5 work great less heat just think when July or Aug, comes

 

 

and now they have the VHO they are 93 watts each but with a little more heat of coarse

[H S Thompson]

So, I've gotten mixed advice from different experts and I decided to upgrade my power center. I live in Ann Arbor, and I need an electrician to come to my house and determine whether or not I need a new service drop in order to increase my load center to at least 150A, and also give me a price to install the new panel. Does the electric company charge for a new cable from the pole to the house...? Once I have a price for the new service I can adjust my budget for my new equipment.

 

If there is an electrician reading this thread that can come and do some work, I am ready right now. My rooms are framed and the electric needs to go in next. Please respond with email or PM and leave a phone number.

 

Moving forward....

Phillip

[SublimeWind]

Get an electrician...

 

More than enough power is always enough...

 

I see braided insulator wire in that box, which you might not get away with, with the electrician..

 

I foresee at least a new panel, if not a new service running into the house.. all for the better...

 

 

 

Safety man, safety is the key here... It cannot be stressed enough...

 

 

You'll end up with a bunch of new wiring..

 

I'm sure you can find a compassionate electrician here..

[MR GREENTHUMB]

I agree 100% on useing the T-5's for veg. great advice for keeping heat and energy use down. and a lot of the fixtures can be daisy chained together. awesome..