How Many Lights Is Safe On A 200amp Panel

[bigger buds]

I'm running 10 1000 hps from 50 amps subpanel. Total current draw 45 amps. Other bells and whistles on different circuits

 

[Natural]

I'm on 230v (Whole of EU is, UK used to be 240v and rest of europe was 220v but they standardised it) we always worked on 5amp per 600w which has worked fine. UK actually still mostly runs at 240v because it falls within the tolerances agreed with the EU.

I don't really know much about US electrics as far as I understand you run 110v at the sockets but the power comes in at 220v into the consumer unit as is stepped down for the sockets. 220v is available for high power items (Cookers, aircons, heaters, etc.)

Is this correct?

In which case the original poster never mentioned if it was a 110v or 220v panel which was the first thing that sprung to my mind and why I wrote the first post.

What we have here in the US for residential is 120/240 split phase. Basically we have 2 120v lines and a neutral connected to an earth ground rod. Both 120v lines are of opposite phase..so we can obtain 240 by connecting a breaker to both 120v lines.

 

[Natural]

So, basically if we have a 200 amp panel we have 80% of those amps safely available to us. Smaller loads such as lights and common receptacles are 120v and bigger items such as hvac..electric dryer..stoves will be 240v. Divided up by way of single breaker or double breaker.

 

[3N1GM4]

No more than 127 thirteen watt cfls...

 

[staygreen024]

No more than 127 thirteen watt cfls...

128

 

[Natural]

I'm on 230v (Whole of EU is, UK used to be 240v and rest of europe was 220v but they standardised it) we always worked on 5amp per 600w which has worked fine. UK actually still mostly runs at 240v because it falls within the tolerances agreed with the EU.

I don't really know much about US electrics as far as I understand you run 110v at the sockets but the power comes in at 220v into the consumer unit as is stepped down for the sockets. 220v is available for high power items (Cookers, aircons, heaters, etc.)

Is this correct?

In which case the original poster never mentioned if it was a 110v or 220v panel which was the first thing that sprung to my mind and why I wrote the first post.

The whole harmonization efforts are interesting to say the least. If you're a fan of Nikola Tesla he helped invent the 3 phase system that the EU relies heavily upon. In 3 phase system you can have fewer transformers feeding more secondary lines with less conductor. Here with split phase we have only a few residences per transformer with more conductor. Both have pros and cons. In Toronto at the Bergeron Centre for Engineering they are working on a standardized 600v service where each residence will have a step-down transformer of it's own to achieve 120/240..perhaps the new "world standard"? Who knows, the grid is complex and hard to change universally. Folks have no real idea what efforts it really takes to achieve a constant voltage to keep everything running smooth.
I don't understand how you are calculating 5 amps for each 600 watt light though?..that would be the amp draw for us running a 600 watt light at 120v. Watts divided by volts equals amps.

 

[Desertboy]

I don't understand how you are calculating 5 amps for each 600 watt light though?..that would be the amp draw for us running a 600 watt light at 120v. Watts divided by volts equals amps.

No I'm in UK at 230v (Although last time I tested the power it was still actually 240v which is within the specs) so usage is just under 3 amps but add 2 amps for the initial powering up spike and wiggle room. I also sized my contactors the same way.

 

[Natural]

No I'm in UK at 230v (Although last time I tested the power it was still actually 240v which is within the specs) so usage is just under 3 amps but add 2 amps for the initial powering up spike and wiggle room. I also sized my contactors the same way.

That's kinda what I was thinking..that you're estimating for magnetic ballasts

 

[Natural]

These digi's make an easy go at est. amp usage..but I'd still like to know my exact draws..which I don't really.
So with secondary 3 phase wire..what's it like..you guys have one hot wire and one neutral wire coming into the house?

 

[Myco]

Yo OP, for sake of answer your question in technical terms, assuming you're referring to 1k lights dedicated to a 200amp panel with absolutely nothing else on that panel... technically you could run up to 35 1k lights continuously on a 200amp panel if you want to be safe and up to code.

Load should only be 80% of rated capacity. So 200 amps x .8 = 160 amps.

Assuming you're operating 240v ballasts (which you should be running that many lights) at 1000w... 1000 / 240 = 4.16 amps per light. But that's assuming the voltage feeding your panel is exactly 240v, this varies house to house, and can even fluctuate in the same house. So for a bit of fudge factor, assume 4.5 amps per light.

160 amps / 4.5 amps = 35kw continuous load.

But again, this is all assuming you have more than one 200 amp service at your location. If you only have one 200 amp service coming in, then obviously that changes things.

You would also obviously keep in mind what is all going to be providing a continuous load, factor in flip-flopping light cycles with separate flower rooms, etc etc. Also taking into account any other equipment on the same panel.

To be quite honest, coming in here to ask that question you may want to do some heavy research or hire an electrician.

I'm running 10 1000 hps from 50 amps subpanel. Total current draw 45 amps. Other bells and whistles on different circuits

This should technically be on a 60 amp circuit. Rule of thumb is a circuit should only operate at 80% of it's capacity.

Hope your wire is sized properly...

 

[Natural]

Yo OP, for sake of answer your question in technical terms, assuming you're referring to 1k lights dedicated to a 200amp panel with absolutely nothing else on that panel... technically you could run up to 35 1k lights continuously on a 200amp panel if you want to be safe and up to code.

Load should only be 80% of rated capacity. So 200 amps x .8 = 160 amps.

Assuming you're operating 240v ballasts (which you should be running that many lights) at 1000w... 1000 / 240 = 4.16 amps per light. But that's assuming the voltage feeding your panel is exactly 240v, this varies house to house, and can even fluctuate in the same house. So for a bit of fudge factor, assume 4.5 amps per light.

160 amps / 4.5 amps = 35kw continuous load.

But again, this is all assuming you have more than one 200 amp service at your location. If you only have one 200 amp service coming in, then obviously that changes things.

You would also obviously keep in mind what is all going to be providing a continuous load, factor in flip-flopping light cycles with separate flower rooms, etc etc. Also taking into account any other equipment on the same panel.

To be quite honest, coming in here to ask that question you may want to do some heavy research or hire an electrician.


This should technically be on a 60 amp circuit. Rule of thumb is a circuit should only operate at 80% of it's capacity.

Hope your wire is sized properly...

hey Myco..long time bro! Us sparky nerds huh? I think he's looking more for legal advice. Like "ya bro you can run 10-12 lk's with AC's and as long as you pay your bill your cool" haha..but if ya gotta ask..are ya? :)

 

[bigger buds]

This should technically be on a 60 amp circuit. Rule of thumb is a circuit should only operate at 80% of it's capacity.

Hope your wire is sized properly...[/QUOTE]

Yes suppose to be on 60 amp, but everything was already wired up. The wire were the correct gauge. Tested by an electrician before give ok. Maximum current draws were 45 amp

 

[Myco]

hey Myco..long time bro! Us sparky nerds huh? I think he's looking more for legal advice. Like "ya bro you can run 10-12 lk's with AC's and as long as you pay your bill your cool" haha..but if ya gotta ask..are ya? :)

Haha yup long time for real. Yeah total sparky/hvac nerd here. Lmao yeah I guess I overlooked the "red flag" part - whoops. I was high as fuck last night when I typed that up. Oh well.

Pretty good bro, took a bit of a break from growing for a bit but I couldn't stay away... how about you?

 

[Natural]

great..constantly re-building these days it seems..can't wait to get back on solid flow and enjoy the summer