$600+ Electric Bill

I got one of those Kill-A-Watts that michael phelps above recommended. But being your neighbor, spaztic, i'm with you in the shit of PG&E all we can do is pay. and.. apply for discounts.

Check to see if you qualify for PG&E's "CARE" discount.
If your grow is legit call PG&E about installing a TIME-OF-USE meter, they would know your power schedule.. but pay your bills on time and it should not be any of their business.
Some people have got their primary physicians to sign a form saying they need the "Medical Baseline" for their medical gardens.. Ive never had the balls enough to do this one

Each one of those money-saving methods can save you ~$200

This seems promising or not reducing the speed of the meter http://plugandsave.com/
KVAR powersave unit.
Some say its a scam some say it works to many contradicting comments.

Do a little research on making your own solar system....I have been looking into it and for @$300 you can get a 250watt system up and running and add on as much as you want...You can make the Panel out of solar cells and the inverter hooks too the solar panels then you can just plug it into a regular outlet...its fun too go outside and watch the meter slow down when you plug something in !
Then when you have more money too invest just repeat then you can worry about the big money controllers and batteries
later but buy that time you will have made your own panels and they are the $$$$$$ parts.
Just do a few ebay searches and save.
Good luck,
Peace
Bob

Here are some good places too start !

http://greenpowerscience.com/

http://sunelec.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=32

http://www.fieldlines.com/story/2005/1/5/51211/79555

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/09/how-to-make-diy-cheap-inexpensive-solar-panels-ebay.php

http://www.cleanpowerblog.com/solarpanelkit.php?gclid=CLuWmtrfgpwCFc5L5QodxGX6-w

This link is an inverter @ $200.

http://cgi.ebay.com/SWEA-250W-Grid-Tie-Inverter-Solar-cell-Panel_W0QQitemZ260458097475QQcategoryZ41981QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m183QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DSICDD%26its%3DI%252BC%252BS%252BIA%26itu%3DSI%252BUS-BWR%252BUCI%252BIA%252BUCC%252BPSS%252BCRS%252BIT%252BUA%26otn%3D6%26ps%3D33


This link was for 500+watts of cells just about $1 a watt.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170363584186&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

bratva said:

This seems promising or not reducing the speed of the meter http://plugandsave.com/
KVAR powersave unit.
Some say its a scam some say it works to many contradicting comments.

Click to expand...

Your kidding right..

I have heard that the KVAR powersave unit works but I think it works more on the motor side of things. (it makes the motors on washers, refrigerator, dryers...run more efficiently).
Peace,
Bob

arieswebb said:

I have heard that the KVAR powersave unit works but I think it works more on the motor side of things. (it makes the motors on washers, refrigerator, dryers...run more efficiently).
Peace,
Bob

Click to expand...

Yeah that's what I've been reading on so far most of the demos they do are on small motors and very few on lights ahh bastards

oh well scratch that idea LOL

Thanks for all the help everyone,

I got my new bill in and it was around $450, so I felt a lot better about that. I got rid of my mother/clone room so that helped... and the last month wasn't as hot as it had been. I plan on going to legal limits after this harvest - probably do 6 plants per 4x4 tray, per 1000w hps. With 2 trays I can get close to the same yield and be totally legit, I just won't be able to have the continuous cycles and SOG that I love. It will be a lot less stress though.

BTW, those PowerSave units are bunk. They don't lower any electricity use, and if they did your payback period on the unit would be 50 years. The 10-15% is false advertisement.

And LED lamps just haven't made it yet. They are ok for vegging and cloning but nothing comes close to HID lighting when it comes to flowering. I see LEDs as the future of indoor plant cultivation, but we just don't have advanced enough diodes yet to make it practical. Ever wonder why LED lamps do not give light output in lumens? Because it doesn't compare.

Well, one more month to go. The girls look so damn fine right now! And they already smell delicious...

Thanks for all the help,

Spaz

Mr.Bob Saget said:

Hey man, back to your question. You live in a single family home which has the meter attached to your home correct? It the little glass bulb that has a meter in it? And your saying the power company has came out multiple times and opened it up? What was your base line power bill before you start the opp, $125.00 a month?

You need to immediately stop what you are doing and clean up imo.

Click to expand...

When we moved in, I set up shop immediately to avoid any large jumps. Our first bill was somewhere around 250, second around 450 and then 600 after. So I thought that would make it less suspicious.

And looking at the tag I may have overreacted. It seems that they just clipped it funny using a couple security tags instead of cutting the old one off and putting in a new one. Don't know for sure, but I have convinced myself of that.

600 aint shit at 31 cents a kw. OM knows whats up, that hydroelectric out there is keeping the prices down......

Some electric companies "tier" the charge for electricity. They compute an average "baseline" amount of electricity based on the size of your place, the average of your neighbors, etc. Anything over that KwH baseline and you are in Tier 2, which costs a bit more per KwH. Tier 2 is another threshold good for a certain amount, and then you move into Tier 3 for anything over. Tier 3 pricing can be over double the baseline charge, and in many cases much higher. The electric companies do this to help influence how much juice people use and make sure those using more than their fair share pay well. I ran a in home R+D project that I classified as a business and called the electric company to move my residence over to a commercial rate. No tiers - just a flat rate somewhere around the Tier 2 pricing. For me it saved a ton of $$$ since over 80% of my bill was that dreaded tier 3 pricing when under residential. They did have to come out to inspect to be sure I was legit - but after they saw all my marine equipment and laboratory, they approve it and I have been thankful since.

$hit, did not notice this was an old thread.

You need to apply for your energy company's "CARE" program or equivalent. It's for people that don't make much money, or just say they don't. Lol. I would highly advise you make that happen. You will see a reduction in cost of about 40%. Also, the guy messing with your meter most likely installed one of the new digital "Smart Meters". They really suck, because not only can the power company see how much power you're using but WHEN you're using it. Not good, and to me, an invasion of privacy.

Sorry, I dont know if this has been mentioned but currently SDGE is replacing meters throughout California that they believe are "not reporting the correct usage." The other night on the news they had a guy who's bill ballooned after getting one of these, he had been paying a lot less for almost 20 years because of a "busted" or outdated meter box. Yours may have been replaced as well which is why the bill is so high...


(Just read the above post, smart meters is what I was thinking as well)

Mcgician said:

You need to apply for your energy company's "CARE" program or equivalent. It's for people that don't make much money, or just say they don't. Lol. I would highly advise you make that happen. You will see a reduction in cost of about 40%. Also, the guy messing with your meter most likely installed one of the new digital "Smart Meters". They really suck, because not only can the power company see how much power you're using but WHEN you're using it. Not good, and to me, an invasion of privacy.

Click to expand...

hey bud, u seem to know a lot about the power companies and such... Do you think getting on/applying to the care program could be unwise for someone with no job or bank account that has a 2000 thousand dollar power bill ? I know it would save a ton of doe but they may wonder why u have a 2000 dollar bill that you cant afford? I have also heard rumors that if things went south with the law, and the power company found out what the previously used energy was being used for "unlawful activity", that they would try to back charge and get reimbursed for all the discounted energy you used over the months/years ... What are your thoughts on all this?