How do I electrically map my place?
Cannabis Fact Contributed by: GardenGuy
Cannabis Tip Submitted: 04-13-2009
Caution: electricity is dangerous and an accident
could possibly be fatal. Respect electricity. Be cautious
and never rush yourself.
Determining the electrical design of your house will
provide you with necessary info on what lights, switches
and outlets are associated with which circuit breakers (or
fuses). This will also help you in knowing what the
electrical limitations are for each of those
circuits.
1. it will save you money by saving the electrician time
not having to figure this out from scratch on his/her
own... in any project now or future.
2. it will show you what amperage rating you have for every
circuit
3. it will show you how much power you will be able to use
safely in your grow room
4. it will tell you whether you need to move high draw
contraptions (Such as A/C) to different circuits.
5. it will tell you how many circuits are available for
your grow room area
Making the Map:
(if you have a friend this will the following process will
go smoother and take less time)
1. Draw up a map of the floor plan of your whole house on
paper and mark on it every outlet, switch and light fixture
(not plugged into an outlet).
2. find where your breaker panel/fuse box is.
3. You can use an outlet tester, a volt meter or even a
plug in lamp (or use a radio) if you don't have an outlet
tester or volt meter. Outlet testers are easier to use,
indicate polarity, ground faults and other electrical
problems.
4. note on your map the outlets that are controlled
(on/off) by a light switch and mark them on your map (some
outlets are split...meaning only one of the two plugs are
controlled by the switch ..the other is constant)
5. go to a working outlet and test your
tester/meter/lamp/radio
6. turn off one breaker (or pull one fuse) ... not the main
for the whole house though
7. go around checking every outlet and light in the house
and mark on your maps which one lost power for that
particular breaker/fuse.... use your tester/meter/lamp in
the outlets.
8. when done checking the house.. turn on that breaker
again.
9. repeat steps 6, 7 and 8 until you have all the
breaker/fuses, outlets and lights mapped out for your
house.
10. Write the general info on your breaker panel in
permanent maker (if not there already)... i.e. BKR1 Kitchen
Outlets... (later when you decide what one will be the Bkr
or Bkrs that go to your grow room I would mark these too,
in case of any emergency in the future)
NOW SAVE THIS INFO IN A SAFE PLACE
Now that you have your map:
amps x volts = watts
or
amps = watts/volts
you can make sure that what you have plugged in already on
the circuit plus what you intend to plug in with your grow
room... won't overload your circuit ...
I usually recommend, in these types of installs, a max of
75% of the rating on the breaker or fuse is ever used for
that circuit. Meaning if there is a grow light, or an air
propertyer, or pumps etc...on a particular circuit, total
them all up.
If they are on a 15amp circuit, for example, I don't like
to put more than 11.25 amps total on that circuit ever...
so you don't have to ever worry about start up currents
being near the level of your breaker tripping.
Editor note:
Most bigger grows need to be in the basement room where the
breaker box is located. This keeps the ballast cord runs as
short as possible (run cooler, less resistance and line
losses).
Smaller grows can be located near 220V plugs (i.e. clothes
drier, or even the oven). If you want more power, use
existing 220v sources (Such as clothes dryer and oven
plugs). Hydroponic stores often sell pre-made timer boards
that plug right into a 220v source, with appropriate 110v
outlets.
Cabinet and vegetative room grows can make use of room power
outlets - care should be taken to run off different
circuits. You can use a grounded extension cord to tap into
a circuit in a different room if your main grow room is on
one circuit and you need another 15 amp circuit.
Remember, breakers trip thermally when exposed to
higher-than-rated current draws. This means an overloaded
circuit will take a while to trip the breaker ֠normally
this is safe, but older house wiring may not like extra
heat.
When you have made any electrical additions, make sure
everything is kosher by checking the normal operating
temperature of the plugs (with the back of your hand). If
a plug has become unreasonably warm or even hot, unplug
the contraption (usually a ballast).
|
