Will the electric company become suspicious?

Was just thinking about my 600W HPS lamp setup (comes with a ballast), and if someone could, please tell me what risks I take at being detected say by the electric company, will they make a big deal or do I not really have much to worry about for one lamp on all the time?

I am starting a new setup in a closet space of 2ft x 3ft x 10ft

Can someone please shed some light so to speak :p on what risk is there if I do leave one HPS lamp on all the time for growing? Will I be questioned, searched, etc?

Also, I noticed that my space is kinda small for a 600W Lamp (as posted in the noob guide :p) Well, my question is this.... can I still use it in that space, it will not be touching the walls or anything and if need be, I can rig a fan to blow the excess heat out of the closet to maintain optimal growing condition. Any thoughts, anyone?

relax...the electric company is in the business of selling electricity...unless you plan on stealing power you have nothing to worry about from the power company...pay your bill and they will leave you alone! :thumbsup:

Alright nice, just making sure...

Also wanted to ask, approximately how far should the light be from the plants?

600W HPS lamp, my guess is roughly a foot as to not burn the plants? I have plenty of space upwards and 2 x 3ft on the sides, think I might be able to fit 2 plants in there? Strain is WW feminized, then plan on cloning when the time comes.

Thanks in advance :)

the distance you can put your light is determined by circulation and air temps within your grow area...if you can put the back of your hand under the light and not feel like it is burning you then that distance is ok :smokin:

Sweet man, thanks a bunch. That def helps alot :) Just getting prepped so when everything gets here I will know how to have it setup :)

whats up buddy i was asking the same question about the power use and everyone said dont worrie about a 600 but to cut down on other power uses around the house now i havent grown yet nor do i have any lights but i really would like to oneday just a lil worried myself because the storys iv heard of the po po lookin at peoples useage and geting a warrant....but everyone says 600 is small and the people that get caught up is for stealing or running like 5-10 1000 watters so i guess you shouldnt worry but we can never be to carful right well take it easy bud<----no pun intended and post a grow up if ya can i want to see what them 600 watters can do! PEACE

OK if you guys want to know how much you will be paying to the power company or how much your power bill will change here is how to figure it out. I am a ELECTRICAN and we use this formula all the time when wiring houses to figure out the load for different things. The power company charges by the KILOWATT HOUR (KWH) and if you look on your power bill you can see how much they charge for this. I know the last time I looked at my bill it was somewhere in the $.14 per KWH range but I havent looked at it in some time but everyones is different. SO take the light you have and look on it to see what the wattage is to get the cost of running it. So take a 1000 watt light and for it to use 1 KILOWATT HOUR (KWH) it has to be on for 1 hour so thats where you hear all the time or see on your bill you used X amount of KWH or KILOWATT HOURS. So if you are paying say $.14 per KWH your 1000 watt light would cost you $.14 per hour to run. A KWH is 1000 watts of power for 1 hour of useage. It doesnt seem like a lot but times that per day @ 24 hours then 30 days a month and it will cost you $3.36 per day or $100.80 per month @ $.14 pewr KWH. Someone said to just save the difference by not useing power for something else well that is going to be hard to do because that light will be on all the time and other electric items are not on that long of a time or use this amout of wattage. Also if you use a 600 watt lamp you can figure out the useage the same way that 600 watt lamp if on for 1 hour would use .6 KWH then times that by 24 which would cost $2.02 per day or $60.48 per month. All my figures are based on $.14 per KWH so find you power bill and see how much they charge you and then you can see what your light will cost. Plus the power companys add other charges onto this amount with taxes and surcharges for other stuff also but at lease this way you can get an idea how much your power bill will jump.
Hope this helps anyone wanting to know about how much there light will cost and also dont forget to add in any FANS into the mix.

Thanks for the explanation Tony, good info. I too am paranoid of the power company becoming suspicious.

I liked your example of the 600w, because that would be my choice of lighting, but on an 18/6 schedule for veg. I think I'm paying .17 KWH.
600w x 18 / 1000 = 10.80 x .17 = 1.84(day cost) x 30(month) = $55.08

With my powerbill that can average anywhere from 70-110$ a month depending on usuage, another 55$ monthly I would assume would be a red flag because thats a 50% increase.

But then again, wouldn't it be normal for a jump, since it is warmer out, it would account for a few A/C units running. Am I wrong?

This time of year having even a 100% increase I don't see that raising any flags, do you? Summer time is hot, A/C blast often this time of year. Wouldn't we at least blends in a little?

That's true, didn't think about it that way. But living in western WA, AC is only needed 3 weeks out of the year haha..

Actually, and this is from my good friend who works at PG&E who I've heard answer this question at least a dozen times. And at least in CA this applies, PG&E has no policy or reporting or sharing energy usage of residents in service to any law enforcement agencies. He is unsure but thinks it isn't even allowed unless warrants are involved. Energy is a business, they have no reason to mess with you. Besides all that, stealing energy is serious in addition to messing w/ public services which also carries penalties.(federal i think)

If your gonna get caught, its not going to be the energy company unless your stealing it off the grid, and with the new meter switch overs, you will be caught when they come to switch the unit out. Your drawing more attention to your Op by stealing it.

Wouldn't you rather get a cultivation charge then grand theft and federal charges for tampering/stealing energy in addition to cultivation?

Btw it is also PG&E policy to not consider marijuana usage as a valid reason to fail a drug test according the fine print on their applications