Can the electricity companies tell how much light is being used in each room of the house? Can they also tell things like how long your lights are on and off?
find out your kwph (kilowatts per hour) and see try to find out what is "normal" for a house or apartment of your size
Today, no. Eventually yes. Part of the smart electricity grid in the US is putting smart meters in everyone's home. These meters are not just capable of telling how much light you're using in each room, they can recognize the distinct signature of a specific appliance when it's first turned on - like a HID light.
Believe it or not, the power companies have an algorithm that they can and do use to "profile" suspected grow operations. That info is used by Johnny Law to then do IR sweeps and other invasive nonsense. From what info I have gathered, an almost 3 kw bump in usage is below the radar. One guy I knew had inspectors show up and when they saw the CNC machine in his garage they just turned around and left. I think he bumped his useage up over 10 kw a month over what he had been using.
The way a meter works is by measuring your TOTAL usage at any given time, even the smart ones. Not by measuring your individual breakers. It measures the panel, not the breakers.
Lol, I didn't even know about smart meters! How can I find out the average kwh for a house or apartment?
I don't know that you can go by that much either. For years my electric bill was easily around $250 a month in the summer and I wasn't growing. This summer I ran a 400w MH all summer long and my electric bill was about $100 a month. What was different? In the spring I had a 27 year old central heat and air system replaced. Does my electric company know that? No, they don't.
i never heard of a smart meter before but from what i understand from what i've read is 1000watts per bedroom in a dwelling is under the radar in the u.s.a. as long as it is secret but if you do get busted forget i said anything. you know if everyone started a grow for themselves weed all be better off.the feds can't bust everybody.i see light at the end of the tunnel.mj will be legalized and then we won't have to worry soo much.peace all and please grow you some fine buds for yourselves.
You're not realizing what the new technology is capable of. You can't explain the ability of new technology on the basis of old technology. Don't judge until you have more info. Look up the features of these smart meters. Don't accept/reject my word for it. Go to the companies that make them, companies that use, the people who report on them. I didn't pull this info out of my ass. These are news reports from people who use these devices from all over the world.
Also, once you get past the breaker there is absolutely no way of telling where the wire is going or how many outlets/switches it is running. I have remodeled over 50 homes and have run into some silly shit. I have seen one 15 amp breaker run two outlets in one room, the overhead lights in another, and the fan in the bathroom on another floor.