Lighting a domestic household with two 2.5ks, 2 skypanels and 4 aladins

[Janhavi Asthana]

I'm an amateur gaffer and I'm working on a project that's to be shot in a house in czech republic which usually has 220v power outlets. This house has two circuits. Would it be possible for me to light the house with these lights if I manage it on two different circuits without it tripping? We do have an option of a generator but it's going to be an issue for sound as well as the building we're shooting in and we can't afford a silent one since it's a student film.

 

Really looking forward for some help. Thankyou!!!

[Phil Connolly]

If you have 2 x 13amp circuits running at 230v - then you have access to 2990 watts per circuit. 

So that would be fine if you put each HMI on each circuit and maybe you could perhaps squeeze 1 or 2 small LED fixtures on each circuit as well. The smallest skypanel is about 200W and the larger ones, more - so that starts to get close to the rated wattage. You need to check the ratings. 

You might have a bit more flexibility if you had 1 x 2.5kw HMI  and 1 x 1.2kw HMI - giving  more headroom to drive your LED fixtures. Running 2 x 2.5kw HMI's might be overkill for smaller locations.

 

[Janhavi Asthana]

2 hours ago, Phil Connolly said:

If you have 2 x 13amp circuits running at 230v - then you have access to 2990 watts per circuit. 

So that would be fine if you put each HMI on each circuit and maybe you could perhaps squeeze 1 or 2 small LED fixtures on each circuit as well. The smallest skypanel is about 200W and the larger ones, more - so that starts to get close to the rated wattage. You need to check the ratings. 

You might have a bit more flexibility if you had 1 x 2.5kw HMI  and 1 x 1.2kw HMI - giving  more headroom to drive your LED fixtures. Running 2 x 2.5kw HMI's might be overkill for smaller locations.

 

Thank you so much for your reply!

I was planning to bounce the two 2.5Ks on a mirror reflector, which then travels through the window which has a full frost on it. Since we're shooting wide frames on really small apertures like 8 and 11 during day time, I was thinking maybe we'll need this intensity of light. A 2.5kw and a 1.2kw may work in this situation, I will consider that, thankyou!! But do you think it'll be able to give us an output for those f stops? There's also an option to get two M18s.

 

I'm attaching the picture of the location so you get an idea of the space I'm talking about. Thankyou again!

[Phil Connolly]

The M18s might be a better choice.

But in terms of light levels, it really depends on what looks your going for and what shooting format your using. There is a big difference between a 2000 ISO FS7 vs 200T neg

Also the position of the sun could be a help

For instance the below image was lit with 1 x 1.2kw HMI augmenting day-light through the window, with a couple of rotolights providing soft fill. Shot on an FS7 rated at 1600 ISO