Just think about this. YES the cops use the power bills to bust a small amount of grow ops. Per sq ft there is an average electricity usage. So if you got a big place then you can get away with a bigger grow op.

The point is that electricity companies don’t have any invested interest so they don’t closely monitor every house (they cant too many houses). They, or the cops, only look at the top .25% (for example) of power users, because if they look any lower they are going to run into too many innocent people and it wouldn’t be effective.

In BC I read about one raid in which BC hydro’s records weren’t accurate and the house was listed at being 1/3 its actual size. So on there records this house was probably using 3 times as much power as they estimated.

The moral of the story: only huge grow ops should worry about this. When my buddy asked at a hydro store if using 1400W would be suspicious he got laughed at.

Just think about this a desktop computer uses 700W or a microwave 1400W
harris7 Reviewed by harris7 on . How much did Electricity go up in cost? Just wondering what everybodies experience is with the jump in electricity usage for a grow room? I'd really be interested in a cross section of grow rooms - from a small cabinet to a whole extra room. 42w CFL to 1000w Metal Halide and all the associated fans, etc. How much did your bill go up?? I'm just starting an indoor room and expect a huge jump since I'm single and don't watch much TV, my electricity usage is minimal...have 375w going 18/6 with the fans and all...it would not surprised Rating: 5