It honestly doesn't matter if utility corps don’t this: anyone can do this. Which is why you need the PSUs, Faraday cages, and noise filters.
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"Sir, why is your usage so high? Are you growing drugs?"
"No, I'm just running my own data center in my basement."
I actually am doing that kinda, I have an always on server running in my apartment (no basement)…
42U rack
A large workstation with 5 drives and two video cards.
2 NAS,
a large POE switch,
two small POE Switches,
8 workstations (4 users, 4 small servers)
decent sized router.
My power bill says I use 90% more power than my neighbors.
2 AC units.
I have 2 1U Dell servers I want to install, but my power is already pushing 500 a month in the summer.
Or charging an EV with a level 2 charger. That's going to be numerous kWh each charging cycle
Something like that wouldn't be flagged as suspicious. If you were using a large amount of power for 16 hours a day for a few months and then for 12 hours a day for a few months, that would be suspicious because that usage profile matches a marijuana grow.
They can also "fingerprint" certain power usage like a refrigerator and filter out that noise from the power usage profile to eliminate other innocuous things to build a stronger argument that an illegal grow is happening. The profile of an electric car charging plus tracking data on your phone would eliminate the power usage from charging as being suspect, but that would require a competent detective actually doing their job properly...
Grow autos and have 24/7 lighting. There’s more than one way to avoid even competent detectives.
Nobody they are concerned about grows autos and the market for those is as small as those plants.
Yes, I know autos aren't tiny anymore, but they can't pull 4 zips off of one as easy as an actual strain.
? There’s no difference between the end yield of autos and photoperiods. They even flower faster so you can get more.
These aren’t you grandparents genetics.
Also, why is the market different? Bud is bud lol.
The amount you get off a plant is directly tied to interstitial node density and number, which autos can't control. You have to do twice as many harvests to yield the same weight as a photo in the same period.
Not to mention you can't clone autos, so your genetics are way too variable.
For personal use autos are a nice and easy option, not for commercial chasing consistency and yield per dollar. Some commercial growers will do auto for res, but all the flower grows are photos for good reason.
Photos can veg longer, that’s why they have more nodes, which takes longer. You can have an auto done flowering in 6 weeks for harvests, most photos are 10. Autos can also grow for 6 hours more during veg, and 12 hours more during the night. These factors all help make it have the same yield in the same time frame.
And when avoiding the cops you do whatever you can to avoid it, autos were essentially created for this exact reason dude.
Also, if you arent feeling those cassandra vibes hard rn, thry absolutely have detailed tracking data on your phone.
This scheme has targeted Asian customers. SMUD analysts deemed one home suspicious because it was “4k [kWh], Asian,” and another suspicious because “multiple Asians have reported there.” Sacramento police sent accusatory letters in English and Chinese, but no other language, to residents who used above-average amounts of electricity.
Surveillance and racism from the combined forces of the police and the state while residents foot the bill for all of it.
Not limited to the US. It's an open secret that this happens pretty much everywhere for the simple reason that cops everywhere LOVE low-hanging fruit. Just drive up to residence, make the arrests, tally the notches and play the hero. No investigations or annoying red tape required.
This scheme has targeted Asian customers. SMUD analysts deemed one home suspicious because it was “4k [kWh], Asian,” and another suspicious because “multiple Asians have reported there.”
So we know racist police officers appear to enforce the crime of "Driving while black", but Sacramento has now expanded this to a new crime of "Asian while at home using air conditioning".
Which is dumb as hell because it's hot as fuck here. I live here and regularly have my AC running nearly non-stop in the summer, as well as everyone else. I'm white so I guess I'm safe?? That's so fucked up.
They've been doing this since at least 2012 here in the USA, to spot marijuana growing facilities.
Tell me something new.
also note those home monitoring devices that attach to your breakers and monitor the signatures of specific devices. nothing stopping a power meter from doing similar.
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