Grow Room Electrical

[Just09]

?? say what? 600 - 600watt lights. or 6 - 600w. A 3600 w total 2 - 20 amp 120 v circuits will do the lights A/C & Dehu will depend on room size, the amount of plants, heat generated, exhaust +++. 1 -15 amp circuit should cover your A/C or Dehu and there is enough room left on the 2 - 20 amps for fans & intake & exhaust . Will you need heat for lights off time.. add another 15 amp circuit.

Are you in the USA? Canada? electrical requirements are different in other parts of the world with the voltage supplied.

Yes I'm sorry i meant 6 600s and I'm in California.
So you're saying 2 20amp and 2 15amp circuts should cover everything.
What would i say to an electrician to install it.can't say I'm growing.

 

[PipeCarver]

Yes I'm sorry i meant 6 600s and I'm in California.
So you're saying 2 20amp and 2 15amp circuts should cover everything.
What would i say to an electrician to install it.can't say I'm growing.

Consider 2000w to 1 - 20 amp breaker to stay safe with the lights. So your lighting load at 3600w, you'll have to split up the load to 1800 per breaker. That leaves 200 watts for fans at maybe 50w each ( my osculating fans are 45w ). I don't use A/C and I'm not sure of the requirements for larger A/C units. The larger ones may require 20 amp a 220/240V. My Small 36pint Dehu is only around 500W and I have it on one circuit with 3 - 4- 5 Osculating + exhaust fans running 24/7.

In Cal you won't need heat then well southern end but if you need heat 1500 watts isn't out of the question , again depending on the size of room to heat when lights are off.

 

[Anthem]

Yes I'm sorry i meant 6 600s and I'm in California.
So you're saying 2 20amp and 2 15amp circuts should cover everything.
What would i say to an electrician to install it.can't say I'm growing.

Yes the electrician part of it is tricky. I think you could do this, say to him you are setting up a small wood shop in the grow room. You can get some documentation off the internet for loads of various wood working tools, shaper, planer, table saw, dust collection unit. If you fall short just tell him you may be upgrading the equipment down the road but you only want to install the electrical portion one time.

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

Yes the electrician part of it is tricky. I think you could do this, say to him you are setting up a small wood shop in the grow room. You can get some documentation off the internet for loads of various wood working tools, shaper, planer, table saw, dust collection unit. If you fall short just tell him you may be upgrading the equipment down the road but you only want to install the electrical portion one time.

I ran my own. I added my breakers to my electrical panel and then ran my circuits. If there is room in the breaker box to simply add extra breakers, or if there are any breakers that are unused, it's a pretty simple process. If you are worried about hiring an electrician, research the project. You may feel, depending on your previous experiences, that you can handle the task alone.

If not, hire the electrician. It doesn't matter what he thinks, only what he knows. Tell him what you want done. He doesn't need to know why or what you're doing with those circuits. If you must say something, tell him you're setting up a work shop and 15 amp saws trigger 15 amp breakers.

20 amp circuits on 120 volts - Use 12 gauge grounded wire.
15 amp circuits would use 14 gauge grounded wire.

 

[PipeCarver]

Yes the electrician part of it is tricky. I think you could do this, say to him you are setting up a small wood shop in the grow room. You can get some documentation off the internet for loads of various wood working tools, shaper, planer, table saw, dust collection unit. If you fall short just tell him you may be upgrading the equipment down the road but you only want to install the electrical portion one time.

I ran my own. I added my breakers to my electrical panel and then ran my circuits. If there is room in the breaker box to simply add extra breakers, or if there are any breakers that are unused, it's a pretty simple process. If you are worried about hiring an electrician, research the project. You may feel, depending on your previous experiences, that you can handle the task alone.

If not, hire the electrician. It doesn't matter what he thinks, only what he knows. Tell him what you want done. He doesn't need to know why or what you're doing with those circuits. If you must say something, tell him you're setting up a work shop and 15 amp saws trigger 15 amp breakers.

20 amp circuits on 120 volts - Use 12 gauge grounded wire.
15 amp circuits would use 14 gauge grounded wire.

I was just going to talk about the #14 or #12 there will be extra cost for using #12 for the 20 amp. eventhe receptacles would cost more. It will balance the lighting better with 3 lights per circuit but you'll only want 15 amp circuits for your power needs to external equipment ie: fans, wet vac, dehu & such.
For me I also need power just outside the rooms for a work space with good lighting for transplanting, storing tools, nutes , Ph tester, ppm meter + + a water source or drain a computer or place for records. For me trying to keep records more than 2 ft away I and transpose #s and shit. ( old ) & side effect of medication. But maybe another 15 amp for ?? if you have the space, money and room in the panel for it.

 

[Just09]

Wouldn't it be more beneficial if i just get 2 30a 120v circuts.or no such thing.and if anyone has time.what are the steps in assembling 4 circuts, (gonna get an electrician from craigslist)there's no breakers in the garage,but it was electricity there( idk what happened with it)

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

Wouldn't it be more beneficial if i just get 2 30a 120v circuts.or no such thing.and if anyone has time.what are the steps in assembling 4 circuts, (gonna get an electrician from craigslist)there's no breakers in the garage,but it was electricity there( idk what happened with it)

Actually ... It's what I did.

I have a gas dryer. I removed the dryer circuit and installed 2 120v 30amp breakers and ran 10 gauge wire to my outlets. Where you could run into problems is finding 30 amp outlet receptacles.

I wired mine to 20 amp outlets. My 2 circuits are no where near overloaded. The heavier wire is required for 30 amps but since it turns out that I'm barely over 15 amps per circuit, the heavier wire is for peace of mind and if I ever sell the house, those circuits come out and the dryer circuit is reconnected.

 

[Just09]

Actually ... It's what I did.

I have a gas dryer. I removed the dryer circuit and installed 2 120v 30amp breakers and ran 10 gauge wire to my outlets. Where you could run into problems is finding 30 amp outlet receptacles.

I wired mine to 20 amp outlets. My 2 circuits are no where near overloaded. The heavier wire is required for 30 amps but since it turns out that I'm barely over 15 amps per circuit, the heavier wire is for peace of mind and if I ever sell the house, those circuits come out and the dryer circuit is reconnected.

But the dryer and washer isn't located in the garage.it has it's own reserved"wash house" i had built. I think i know what I'm Rhonda tell him,of he inquires

 

[PipeCarver]

But the dryer and washer isn't located in the garage.it has it's own reserved"wash house" i had built. I think i know what I'm Rhonda tell him,of he inquires

If you're running from the house to garage you should put in a small sub / pony panel a small 30 amp ( if you can find one ) or 60 amp. A 30 amp you could run a # 3 wire + ground =3 wire #10 from the house then run all the circuits you need from there. Just get an electrician to put in the Sub- panel in the garage from there you should be able to do the rest. With some help & a little reading up on how to make your connections safely.

 

[IhatePM]

I got a total of 70amps in the garage. Runs 2 10x10 rooms(11 boards) and a mini split...no problems.. yet.

 

[detroitjoe]

IS it safe to hookup a dual 15 amp timer to a 1000w and the other end a 600w and a couple of fans?
I know it is close to the max amps but not sure exactly how close. I currenly have it set up that way using 2 600's, but I aquired a 1000w ballast and wanted to see how it worked. Dont 6oow use about 5 amps and 1000W about 8.5?
Thanks

analog timer or a digital timer?

 

[Novidad]

Yes the electrician part of it is tricky. I think you could do this, say to him you are setting up a small wood shop in the grow room. You can get some documentation off the internet for loads of various wood working tools, shaper, planer, table saw, dust collection unit. If you fall short just tell him you may be upgrading the equipment down the road but you only want to install the electrical portion one time.

Around here, you’d have a hard time finding a electrician that hasn’t done at least one grow room. Some of them specialize in grow rooms. I’m pretty comfortable doing my own. It isn’t rocket science.

 

[RootsRuler]

Don't forget your service wire size from Pole transformer to your main panel......

Buddy burned his up in a garage grow from overloading it and had to pay his electrician $7,000 to hang another before the electric company showed up. He was "borrowing" electricity.

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

Around here, you’d have a hard time finding a electrician that hasn’t done at least one grow room. Some of them specialize in grow rooms. I’m pretty comfortable doing my own. It isn’t rocket science.

Maybe it's not rocket science but over-look one thing and your property could go up in smokes. There's a lot to consider ... and yes, I can run circuits all day long but I'll still hire an electrician to swap out my service panel and coordinate with the electric company to be sure everything coming into the house is rated for the new service.

Just be careful if you decide to do it yourself.

 

[RootsRuler]

Maybe it's not rocket science but over-look one thing and your property could go up in smokes. There's a lot to consider ... and yes, I can run circuits all day long but I'll still hire an electrician to swap out my service panel and coordinate with the electric company to be sure everything coming into the house is rated for the new service.

Just be careful if you decide to do it yourself.

So true. Had some family die in a house fire from bad bathroom wiring job.

I've done more setups than I can remember but I do remember my go to electrician was an ex navy electrician. This guy didn't give an F. A job was a job. He would set up sites that wanted to tap their lines with a relay that would shut off all the electricity when the electric company came to check the area to see why they were drawing more than they were billing. He was pretty crafty that way.

 

[ImpulsiveGrower]

I keep tripping the breakers in my grow. Will running an extension cord from another room that’s on a different breaker (don’t know technical term) and plugging in my dehumidifier or heater help resolve the issue?

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

I keep tripping the breakers in my grow. Will running an extension cord from another room that’s on a different breaker (don’t know technical term) and plugging in my dehumidifier or heater help resolve the issue?

An extension cord might help resolve the issue. Hopefully, it won't create another issue. You might have a faulty breaker. The heater or dehumidifier could be faulty, as well.

Using one of those inexpensive meters that measures current at an outlet can be helpful. I use them in my grow room. Do you know the amperage of your breakers? You should be able pull 1,800 watts on a 15-amp circuit. So, you can add up all the wattage of all your devices on that circuit to see if they're within the limit for your breaker.

 

[Grapefruitroop]

To solve the issue you need to understand WHY the braker is trippin....

Overload, or some short in the machine you are using could cause that,.....

Always use your circuits at 80% load max to avoid overheating of cables.....i even use cables one size bigger just to be 100% sure......and use always quality brakers!

 

[dodimonkey]

I live in an apartment where the breaker trips if we are using what I feel like isn't too much electricity. Things we have running constantly are: 3 computers, a 150 watt led, 2 fans, a 250 watt led in my brothers room, 2 more fans, and a/c in the summer. If we use the microwave while all that stuff is running the breaker will trip. I want to throw another 150 watter in my 4x2 tent. Is there anything I can do or buy to prevent the breaker from getting overloaded without having to sacrifice the a/c?

Sincerely,
Dodimonkey

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

I live in an apartment where the breaker trips if we are using what I feel like isn't too much electricity. Things we have running constantly are: 3 computers, a 150 watt led, 2 fans, a 250 watt led in my brothers room, 2 more fans, and a/c in the summer. If we use the microwave while all that stuff is running the breaker will trip. I want to throw another 150 watter in my 4x2 tent. Is there anything I can do or buy to prevent the breaker from getting overloaded without having to sacrifice the a/c?

Probably the best thing to do would be to move some of the load to another circuit. How many breakers are there in your electrical panel? There should be several separate circuits. So, maybe you could move the microwave over to a circuit with less load on it. You would have to figure out how much power each device uses and do some math.

Another option that would be expensive would be to buy a battery generator that could charge at night when there isn't as much power being used. Then it could be used during the day to power some of your equipment.