Jaynee Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 (edited) is there a delete function when a poster no longer needs a thread? This can be deleted. I got my answer just after I posted. Edited September 13, 2015 by Jaynee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Arch Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 nope Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 Those 8 unused spots in your panel are precious (so I wouldn't use them as-is), because when you're out of space that's a tough situation. You can use the thinner "Half-size" breakers to get more space if you need to, but I would give some consideration to having as large of a sub panel installed as you can from the main panel, and then installing branch circuit breakers in that sub panel...That helps preserve your panel space... By the way, the standard residential single phase voltage in the US is 240 volts, not 220 volts.....Re-purposing that 240 volt circuit can be done, just make sure it is done safely and is not overloaded...You still may need more power than it can provide for lights, hence my sub panel suggestion above... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizywk Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 I'm NOT a licensed electrician and therefore cannot provide actual advice, but to run a 220v ckt from a residential box, they pull from the two opposing 120v legs in your box, so an electrician could probably easily create a 240v pigtail box for you that splits it back into two GFI protected 120v circuits, but your local electrical code may prevent that. Its an unorthodox solution, and I don't recommend it but it's possible. The references you see to 220, 240 & 250vac all mean two different legs just as references to 110, 115 & 120vac all mean a single leg. If it were my house, I'd also certainly stay away from piggybacking. Its cost effective too, but just not worth the risk. Option #2 seems like the safest way for you, and of course the most expensive, but I'd be cautious of upselling to get vastly more than you need. Did you measure or calculate your power needs? If you're using mostly LED, its hard to believe that you'd really need single dedicated outlets unless your code requires it. Depending on your display, you may be able to get fewer new circuits driving multiple weather enclosure GFI outlets exactly where you need them. Many folks with low power LEDs report that they don't even use the second AC cord to power their 16 chan LOR controllers. Make sure your electrician is aware of your level of LED usage and knows what your actual power requirements are in order to ensure the most safe and cost effective solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. P Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 One tool every LOR enthusiast needs is a Kill-A-Watt meter. Measure what your lights will pull then configure your circuits accordingly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Arch Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 (edited) The second tool is to know power needed channel by channel. Start now and keep building to it each year. Rick has a good channel / controller calculator here: http://www.quartzhillchristmas.com/12.html Edited September 13, 2015 by Mega Arch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaynee Posted September 13, 2015 Author Share Posted September 13, 2015 Looks like folks managed to read and answer the thread before I deleted it! Man, you all are quick! In the end, we left the 240 amp plug alone (the panel label says 220 cir, but it is definitely a 240 amp plug). The electrician used two of the eight unused spots to give me three brand new outlets and divide an overused outlet into the fourth spot. We have mostly incans for our lights - but we're slowly going to LED, but I'd say at this point it's only 15-20% of our lights that are LED at this point. I'm definitely planning on using a kill o watt meter, and I also have already downloaded that awesome calculator. But our lights are still in boxes in the shed - we won't be bringing them out until November. We'll be fine this year because we're really not plugging in much to the controller box. Only 2-3 strands of lights per channel. Next year when I get a second controller we'll go crazy and have more per channel - that's when we'll really need to calculate everything. My plan is to load up the excel spreadsheet after this season as we're putting everything away. My issue with the electricity was mainly due to the fact that last year we kept tripping breakers - and it's because we had ALL our stuff plugged into only two circuit breakers (we didn't realize this at the time). Now we'll have five dedicated circuit breakers at our disposal to spread stuff out, so the issue was taken care of. And we still have 6 open spots on the panel, and the 240v plug. Also? The bill from the electrician was not bad at all - about half what I *expected* to pay. We use that group for a lot of handyman work and so they give us good prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomsusie Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 Jaynee - it's always good to leave a post up even after you get an answer. Often times others may be looking for the same question and if your post & responses are still online they can gather the info that helped you. It could be someone that joins next year and has a similar question -- your post will still be there to help them. Always good to do a search for questions before posting as the answers may already be out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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