Power!Breakers and Watts

So, im looking to start an indoor grow in the coming weeks and was wondering about power if I am ever going to upgrade. Ive seen both ultimate grow video's and many other grow ops(on youtube etc) where more than one 1000w HID is being used and wondering how this is set up. Im pretty sure a standard 15 amp breaker can handle something like 1000-1500watts of HID lighting and nothing else(is this right?). So how could I set up a bigger grow without blowing breakers and staying under police radar if this is possible. Does this mean getting bigger rated breakers or rewiring your house, or stealing power? How do you go about this, just looking to know for projects further down the line.
 
I've heard of people doing it but you don't want to steal power. As far as rewiring your house, again prolly a bad idea. I don't know what your situation is but you can upgrade your breakers a few amps but not much. If you have a place where you can just run a few extension cords from other fused lines (other rooms) that could be a potential solution.

You really need to provide more details.
How big are you trying to get?
What type of room do you have to work with?
How old is the building your setting up in?
How savvy are you with electrical wiring? Its not like hooking up an amp in your car...
Those answers will help with determining a solution for you.
 

Mother's Finest

Well-Known Member
A 1000w @ 120v pulls 8.5 amps, or half that @ 240v.

For safe household wiring, you first must know what you already have. All wires providing power for high wattage equipment should be checked between the wall sockets and the breaker box. (The breaker box must be switched off first.) The gauges of all wires should be noted. Once you have the calculations for your power requirements completed, you check your existing wire gauges to see if they can handle the power needed. If not, cables need to be replaced with higher gauge versions and/or a higher amperage breaker for these circuits. Any time you upgrade a breaker to a higher amperage, you must verify that all wires leading from that breaker to wall sockets and electrical devices are able to withstand the higher power level. If you do not, the breaker can let more power through than the wires can handle, causing the wires to overheat and possibly burning down your home.
 
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