Please help - electrical question

[electroguy]

Thank you all for your input. I really appreciate every one of you putting in the time to help me out.

I am in the planning stage and have not actually procured any equipment yet. I am still in the process of a 200 amp panel upgrade. Once that is done, I will ask the electrician to install a sub panel that will power the grow room.

The 1100 watt label on the lamp appears to be the "equivalent", not the actual wattage it will be pulling - thanks for clarifying that. These labels are somewhat misleading. I asked my buddy to send me a photo of the specs of the light they're using (I was planning to buy the same) and this is what I received. Does that looks like its only going to pull 425 watts on a 110v outlet?

The specs on some of these equipment are showing 220v. Can I use an adapter that plugs into a 110v outlet? Or do I need appropriate wiring to accommodate the 220v equipment?

Lets say if the lights are only pulling around 500 watts ea, would 2 500 watt led lamps cause a start current surge and cause a trip on a 20 amp breaker?

I am kind of in a dilemma. I have to be discreet with the licensed electrician on what the sub panel will be used for. I am not really sure how to ask him to install the wiring and the outlets. I am pretty sure I will need a dedicated 20 amp double pole breaker for the mini split AC. I need to figure out what else I need to power he 16 lights that should be around 500 watts as well as the remaining equipment. This room will have eight 4'x8' trays.

Thank you all again for your help and I appreciate your patience.

You posted at 4:20

 

[HighVoltageSparky]

ha?
700 Dollars? Guess if he's already rich he can just pay his way out of this

 

[Ponky]

ha?
700 Dollars? Guess if he's already rich he can just pay his way out of this

700 dollars is rich? 16 breakers and running 16 runs is more expensive. The boards are like 100 to 150 bucks. If you don't have a stack. Growing 16 lights might be a mistake.

 

[HighVoltageSparky]

700 dollars is pretty rich for a bullshit thing.

Anyone with room temperature IQ can Throw up some that works just as well for much less dollars.
Its 700 buck well spent elsewhere

 

[Ponky]

700 dollars is pretty rich for a bullshit thing.

Anyone with room temperature IQ can Throw up some that works just as well for much less dollars.
Its 700 buck well spent elsewhere

The light controllers cost less. And the electrician needs to be paid. I don't understand. Just open the shoe box and grab a bit less than a half stack. What's the issue here? Or I guess you could get the labour for free. But wire still costs money. And why would you want buy so many breakers when you could just run 2? You got free parts?

 

[HighVoltageSparky]

Clearly, you don't understand. There's no issue here.

Stack me here and stack me there.
You've no idea how OP is doing finacially, what plans he has, if he has an extra "stack" laying around somewhere. Maybe he poured his soul and his last cent into this? You've never been desperate before?

We don't know, I'm just trying to help this stranger out any way I can.

Forgot our morning joint, did we? I did, let's go out and blaze

 

[HighVoltageSparky]

And hey. If Durio-man pays the package : = )
Seriously, Durio_OG, I have MCB's, relays, timer, analog/Digital clocks, temp- and humidity
sensors : = )

 

[Ponky]

Clearly, you don't understand. There's no issue here.

Stack me here and stack me there.
You've no idea how OP is doing finacially, what plans he has, if he has an extra "stack" laying around somewhere. Maybe he poured his soul and his last cent into this? You've never been desperate before?

We don't know, I'm just trying to help this stranger out any way I can.

Forgot our morning joint, did we? I did, let's go out and blaze

I feel nothing but confused. My alternative costs less than running 16 20 amp runs. Amd electrical contractors need to be paid. And if you're running a show you have paper cash and pay people. Or you get the stuff from the grow store on credit. But either way. It costs what it costs. Unless you steal it all and don't pay labor. Running 2 boards and plugging into them will cost less than running 16 runs of 20 amps. Plus you can use 2 timers instead of 16.

 

[HighVoltageSparky]

I feel nothing but confused. My alternative costs less than running 16 20 amp runs. Amd electrical contractors need to be paid. And if you're running a show you have paper cash and pay people. Or you get the stuff from the grow store on credit. But either way. It costs what it costs. Unless you steal it all and don't pay labor. Running 2 boards and plugging into them will cost less than running 16 runs of 20 amps. Plus you can use 2 timers instead of 16.

Isn't this what we all agreed on?
2 timers, maybe one. And 16 runs of 20 amps? where? From what i can tell, 4 lights @ 2KW, should do fine on a 20A breaker no? 4 breakers on the light show.
Oy, Didn't you see my beautiful
sketch? : = )

 

[Ponky]

Isn't this what we all agreed on?
2 timers, maybe one. And 16 runs of 20 amps? where? From what i can tell, 4 lights @ 2KW, should do fine on a 20A breaker no? 4 breakers on the light show.
Oy, Didn't you see my beautiful
sketch? : = )

Right. Or. 2 breakers. 2 wires. 2 control boards. And 2 timers. And only 2 runs. Which is cheaper.

 

[imhigh]

I am preparing for a 20x20' space and plan on using 16 LED units that are about 1100 watts each. I am new to indoor growing and I am pretty inept with in electrical so what I am going to ask will probably sound stupid.

What is the proper way to power these lights?

Is it OK to have a dedicated 20 amp breaker for each individual light and timer with the remaining load to power ancillary equipment (fans, filters, etc)?

Each light should cover 4x4. 5 or 6 lights should cover it. Your not going to be happy with the electric bill. My opinion only.

 

[Spirit]

Ah yes, also the equation looks different if you're an American/Canadian, using your weak split winding 110 V

FC

 

[electroguy]

No he does not run 14 lights off 1 breaker with his high ass. Unless the 1 break is connect with a 120 Amp breaker.

Get a control box. That is in the room you can plug all the lights into. Then just run the control box to your breaker. Make sure you have open slots in your breaker box first. It's gonna be based on your Amp usage not your watts.

Watts ÷volts = amps.
Amps x volts = watts.

 

[cannafarmer420]

I am preparing for a 20x20' space and plan on using 16 LED units that are about 1100 watts each. I am new to indoor growing and I am pretty inept with in electrical so what I am going to ask will probably sound stupid.

What is the proper way to power these lights?

Is it OK to have a dedicated 20 amp breaker for each individual light and timer with the remaining load to power ancillary equipment (fans, filters, etc)?

In all seriousness have an electrician come and inspect it. You may need it rewired to be a grow room. Pulling that type of power willy nilly can burn a house down. Please be careful and hire an electrician just to look.

 

[Durio_OG]

View attachment 2000611

2 of these. 2 breakers. 2 lengths of heavy gauge. And the rest is whatever. Cost like 700 installed is my guess.

Thanks for the recommendation. I was looking at the titan helio 13 16 plug controller. it is over $1100. Having 2 separate controllers might be a good idea. How reliable is the sunstream controller?

Titan Controls Helios 13 - 16 Light 240 Volt Controller w/ Timer

This controller will run sixteen (16) HID lights at 240 V. The only lighting controllers featuring industrial-grade ballast-rated relays. Premium quality timer with battery backup keeps lighting schedule in the event of power failure (located on the bottom of unit). Sequenced lighting delays for...

bloomponic.com

 

[Ponky]

Thanks for the recommendation. I was looking at the titan helio 13 16 plug controller. it is over $1100. Having 2 separate controllers might be a good idea. How reliable is the sunstream controller?

Titan Controls Helios 13 - 16 Light 240 Volt Controller w/ Timer

This controller will run sixteen (16) HID lights at 240 V. The only lighting controllers featuring industrial-grade ballast-rated relays. Premium quality timer with battery backup keeps lighting schedule in the event of power failure (located on the bottom of unit). Sequenced lighting delays for...

bloomponic.com

I wouldn't go sunstream. But the grow store usually has affordable options with all the certs. I don't know the brands we use but they're very basic gray boxes. If you are lucky you can probably use aluminum cable too. Save on the run. I've never had the same brand twice.

 

[Durio_OG]

A 20 Amp circuit will handle 2400 watts max. Above that the circuit wiring will get warm enough to trip the breaker. Bear in mind that the circuit in question may be a branch circuit and therefore may be supporting additional loads. Be safe . I see quite a few electrical fires every year. Don't overload circuits please and don't install larger breakers. The breaker is sized to the house wiring. A larger breaker could fail to trip before the wire heats up to dangerous temperatures. Be safe and grow well

Noted. Thank you. The breaker and the new wiring will be all dedicated to the grow room only.

 

[Durio_OG]

Each light should cover 4x4. 5 or 6 lights should cover it. Your not going to be happy with the electric bill. My opinion only.

I need 2 4x4 lights for ea 4x8 trays. I will have 8 trays total.

 

[Durio_OG]

In all seriousness have an electrician come and inspect it. You may need it rewired to be a grow room. Pulling that type of power willy nilly can burn a house down. Please be careful and hire an electrician just to look.

Thanks. The licensed electrician will actually do the install. Not me. I wouldn't risk it.

 

[Durio_OG]

Clearly, you don't understand. There's no issue here.

Stack me here and stack me there.
You've no idea how OP is doing finacially, what plans he has, if he has an extra "stack" laying around somewhere. Maybe he poured his soul and his last cent into this? You've never been desperate before?

We don't know, I'm just trying to help this stranger out any way I can.

Forgot our morning joint, did we? I did, let's go out and blaze

Honestly I have no "stacks" laying around. I am pretty much pouring my last few pennies here. I had to leave a well paying corporate job due to health reasons. I also cannot leave the house for long periods of time for other work due to the same health reason. I also cannot work online and stare at a screen for a long period of time. I have some pretty bad eye problems. All of my stacks went into two eye surgeries that the health insurance wouldn't cover. This grow room will help tremendously in many ways.

My primary concern for this grow room is safety, cost effectiveness, and then efficiency. The electrician have not quoted me the labor and material cost for the sub panel, the breakers, as well as the wiring yet. Once the city approves the final install of the 200 amp main service panel, then well move on from there - the utility company is taking their sweet ass time to bring in the new service wires.

If it is more cost effective to have two reliable controllers that are within a fair price over a series of dedicated breaker for the lights plus install labor, I will probably end up using the controllers to simplify things to make my life easier.