currently researching setting up a hydroponics apartment grow and have been running over the safety aspect of it, i have odor control down due to my apartment not using a vent system (radiator and ac units) and contained grow rooms with a febreeze bucket in the hall.

i keep coming back to the aspect of safe electricity usage. Primarily how much i can use without bringing attention to myself. I have decided to use fluorescent bulbs for cloning and vegging in one room to minimize power usage so i can focus on putting the wattage in the flowering room where it really matters. My idea is three 400 watt high pressure sodium bulbs, each suspended over sets of 6 plants each set with its own reservoir. i would produce 6 clones and 6 vegged plants every 3 weeks and cycle them into the flowering room so that i can harvest about a half pound every 3 weeks ish . (9 week flowering period to be safe). would 1200 watts running 12 hours a day plus 2 ac window units for co2 intake plus water pumps and fans for circulation plus about 300 watts of cfls running 18 hours a day and regular household appliances (clocks tv microwave etc) be to much electricity?

sorry for the above paragraph being so sloppy

im trying to make the most of my apartment without crossing the line of dangerous power usage.

side notes--- my power is covered as one of my utilities in my rent but if my power usage gets a bit over whats expected (once i have my flowering room fully operational) would it be safe to say something like my friend and i (sharing the apartment and grow) are extreme video gamers or something and offer him an extra amount of $ per month for the electric?

__________________
Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow.Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free,Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands,With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves,Let me forget about today until tomorrow.

I would load up on extra comp towers or video games or something then, lol. I in apt and thank god i have the fortune to pay my own bills. mayeb you could do it if you tell him beforehand. Good luck. You gonna hve to make sure your circuit breakers can handle all that. Sounds like alot for the way my apt is wired. Check that otu and read the threads on electricty maxes. Lotta amps for a 15 amp breaker and such.

(somone else has that avatar)

__________________
This is all fictional. I am a writer who has seen too many movies to be original. I pretend to grow weed to let an armed Latina down easy!
http://www.rollitup.org/grow-journal...-rockwool.html

thats alot of power to be pulling out an apartment. and alot of smell to worry about. the frebreeze bucket aint gonna cover it. you're thinking way over scale for what can be "safely" done in any apartment, especially one where electricity is included. that just means they'll watch it more closely than if you paid seperate electric IMO

yeah i duno just pay yo shit >_<

whoa febreeze, lol! no way, yer gonna have to buy some odor machines, charcoal or ozone or both. that;s my 2 cents.

__________________
This is all fictional. I am a writer who has seen too many movies to be original. I pretend to grow weed to let an armed Latina down easy!
http://www.rollitup.org/grow-journal...-rockwool.html

So your looking at 1200w plus 300w plus AC/fans/pumps? I would guess your power bill would increase by about $75 a month. 15 amp breakers would work if you ran an extension cord from a plug in another room thats on a different breaker and split the power usage. Have the lights go on after 7pm when power is cheaper.

Even after all that, your probally going to double your power bill. I think your idea of telling your landlord you will be using more than average power is a must.

Thing is gamming doesn't take that much juice. A washer, electric heater, large appliances might.

I would say around 100w of t5 flouros for veg and 400w hps flower would be the safe line your lookin for.
That should yield at least an oz a month.

__________________

Waterfarm (completed) Cabinet to Waterfarm (completed) Nute Challange (completed)

LED/T5/400W Cabinet (completed) Dual Cabinet Build (current) Dual Cabinet Grow (current)

you have no idea where he is so there is no way you can even estimate his power costs. my electricity costs me $.14per kw hour + taxes and nisc fees. when you add those in it comes out to almost $.18 / kw hour. so with your calculations you obviously pay no where near that. could be $75/month could be alot more than that or alot less. keep in mind the a/c, fans, pumps, and 300w cfls will still be running almost 24 hrs a day. power prices change all over the country and some electric companies even charge you more per kw hour the more power you use. some way of punishing people for not conserving.

wow thanks for all the feedback on checking in, yeah i cant exactly only get an oz a month i plan on this set up to supply myself my room mate and help to pay for some stuff which is why im growing big bud for max yields and such a big set up.

i will definitely run an extension cord from another room to split the wattage and relieve stress on the circuits thanks for the idea.

also i think i will speak with my landlord and let him know that im going to be using extra power and will pay for it, hope hes ok with that but dont know why he wouldnt be

__________________
Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow.Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free,Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands,With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves,Let me forget about today until tomorrow.

I knew a friend of a friend who grew in a spare bedroom in an upstairs apartment. I actually saw the grow a few times ... 25 plants under three 1000 watt lights, hurricane fans, two carbon scrubbers, one window air conditioning unit, pumps, timers ... the whole shebang. Very stealthy with sound proofing and everything. It was a recycling bucket system with a 50 gallon rez. No problems at all. Just kept producing huge crops cycle after cycle. No smell, no sound, no flooding ... just stealth.

Pay the electric bill on time ... and don't steal the power from your neighbors.

Vi

__________________
Liberals are people that will believe anything twice.

i <3 you

__________________
Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow.Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free,Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands,With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves,Let me forget about today until tomorrow.