I've been researching indoor growing, and have picked out a couple strains I'm eager to give a shot at growing in the next couple months, but I wanted to ask about the safety of growing. With there being a rather large increase in power consumption won't it be pretty noticeable to the electric company of what you're doing? Do they ever tip off the police that the house could likely have plants in it? I live in a state which is probably one of the most anti-weed states (AZ) so while with most states this isn't even something that comes into most growers minds, it's something I wanted to ask any local growers about. So how safe is growing here? I ask this meaning more towards the likelihood of getting caught rather than the penalties for getting caught.
growing a small amount wouldn't generate the necessary power consumption indicative of a grow op. secondly, thankfully, technology is on our side, and it's on our side in the form of LEDs. There are LED providing similar capabilities at a fraction of the power consumption and near limitless product life. Only downside is cost, but in the long run it'll pay for itself anyway considering the electrical bill savings.
Consider if you decided to go out and buy, and use an electric heater all winter - hell, one in each room. What if you decided to run a window air conditioner in each of your rooms all summer. What if you decided to set up a woodworking shop out in your garage with power tools running all of the time, or two additional freezers to store the cow you just butchered... Get my point? The electric company isn't going to call the police because you're using more electricity; hell, it's their business - they WANT your bill to go up. There ARE 2 rules to growing however. 1. Don't tell ANYONE. 2. Control the smell. Good luck. J
Don't worry about the electric,worry about the smell like jerry111165 said.When i had 2 rooms going i didn't realize how much it smelled,when you're in it you get use to the smell.But others will smell it.My house smelled like i was raising skunks,the animal not the plant!!Right now with 1800watts and fans going my bill went from $25 a month to $125!Not worried cause my last grow didn't smell too bad,this one will.Maybe a carbon filter.. Just keep it to your self and be discreet.
The advice your getting here is spot on mate. Lights up to about 1000w won't show up as out of the ordinary, it's like leaving on lights in your house on all night. Nothing strange in that. The ONLY way you will get caught is if you tell ANYONE. Except all of your fellow growers on grasscity of course lol. Good luck mate, I wish you well.
Growing is as safe as you make it. Keep to yourself about your work and u should be fine. I've seen more people catch trouble because they felt they needed to flaunt their grow. Only to lose it in the future shady ass people who u think are your friends.
This is the reply/post I make, every time this question comes up. --- It's a heck of a lot safer and more discreet than buying herb from friends and off the black market, that's for sure I've been growing for years, and began buying most of my gear online, from seeds, to nutrients/guanos, to lights, back in the late 90's, all while moderating and contributing to different canna forums... no issues thus far. I've lived in a few medical and non-medical states, one that became a medical state after I left, and a few countries where the laws are more strict, and more lenient... traveling through Singapore was probably the riskiest thing I've ever done, considering. Loose lips sink ships.... so will poor odor control Those are your biggest concerns, security-wise. Don't worry too much about your power consumption being suspicious until after you break 5,000w with your lights, especially if you're responsible with the power consumption throughout the rest of your home.... PLENTY of people leave all their household lights on, and use excessive air-cons, heaters, and other people have pets like reptiles and fish which require lighting and heating. I run 3k - 3,400 watts just in lighting alone at times not even counting my fans, pumps and a/c, I run more in the winter, and less in the summer to help with temperature control (it heats the top floor of my house in the winter ) and I still keep my bill lower than the last owners of this house.... while also keeping thousands of fish, and a few toads and snakes, myself. Just set up everything safely, make sure your lights are secured well to the ceiling (get a stud finder if you don't have one, $10 and they really help with odd walls) or ramp and your ballasts are either suspended or on a few bricks to allow airflow beneath, as well as on the sides and top... I personally don't know anyone who's had a grow-related fire, but it's always a possibility if you get lazy when designing your room. And be a good, clean, presentable neighbor, don't draw unwanted attention, smile and wave when you must... and take care of your yard if you have one. It helps! Good luck!
Alright sounds good thanks guys. Some of you are mentioning one of the biggest things to worry about is smell, so what do you do to mask/reduce it? I remember the first time I bought an 1/8th it apparently was just taken off the plant within the hour of me buying it and I have NEVER smelled any grass even remotely close to how strong it was, so I could see how that'd be a huge problem.
Don't worry about power consumption. A spike in power can simply be explained with a new tv, computer, anything that draws a decent amount of wattage. My electric company continually reminds me that I use more power then my neighbors. But as long as I pay my bill, why would they care? Rollin with 2465 watts between my 2 1ks and my t5. Never had an issue. And I'm in illinois.
3. Don't tell ANYONE. Haha. This really is the most important thing.. and possibly the hardest. I've had to take a few years break from growing because of my own uncle running his mouth, but that's why he's still on the constant hunt for good weed and I'm sitting back with enough for a lifetime.
Rule No. 4 - Don't Tell Anyone. Case in point, and this was very hard for me to swallow - I had a friend that I grew up with almost thirty years ago when we were teenagers. We hung out, went to Dead shows, roommates in an apartment - the whole deal. I've been growing since those days, and everything was fine. 2 seasons ago my outdoor crop was ripped, and come to find out, it was my buddy of 28 years. He got hooked on the shit, got into some dire straits and robbed me of some pounds of my outdoor; which wasnt even wuite mature yet, probably hoping that I would never find out that it was him. I guess he needed it more than I did. Take my loss of both my harvest and a friend as a lesson for yourself. Believe me - you don't need help, nobody needs to know. Even your friends can get greedy when they see a lot of kind buds. Greed is an awful thing and unfortunately, most people suck. They will rob you given the chance, they will use you if they get into trouble. It really sucks thinking this way about people. I've always been the good natured "good guy", giving away more beautiful nugs than most people deserve, always trying to think the best about people but look at what happened to me. Greed is real. Rule No. 5 - DON'T TELL ANYONE. Period. J