There might also be a followup examination with a thermal camera of the property, which with a server farm, would also show significantly elevated temperatures.

This is why most of us in the USA live in constant fear that our hobbies of basement aluminum smelting operations will land us on the wrong side of the law enforcement.

[–] gnutrino@programming.dev 48 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

While everyone else lives in fear that their basement aluminium smelting hobby will land them in the morgue due to the fumes.

[–] arrow74@lemm.ee 38 points 3 days ago

Imagine if growing a plant in your home was legal and the police had to figure out something else to do with their time

[–] CarbonIceDragon@pawb.social 22 points 3 days ago (2 children)

I sometimes wonder if really serious reptile hobbyists, the kind that'll have like a whole room full of terrariums, have to deal with suspicious cops. Reptiles like warmth, heat mats and lamps take power, one of the most popular brands for heat mat thermostats is technically meant for controlling indoor plant heating, and if they want to grow live plants in any of their animals habitats they might need grow lights too.

[–] Aviandelight@mander.xyz 22 points 3 days ago

As a former reptile enthusiast yes this was a valid concern. Making nice with the neighbors helped alot. Also red night lights made it look like we were running a brothel.

[–] deranger@sh.itjust.works 9 points 3 days ago (1 children)

If there’s anything I’ve learned from my weed growing hobby, it’s that nobody cares unless you’re doing it on a near industrial scale, like converting an entire floor or house to a grow.

A hot tub requires way more power than your average hobbyist grow op these days. I can’t imagine a reptile setup is requiring 10+ kWh/day (what a fucked unit that is btw)

[–] neukenindekeuken@sh.itjust.works 7 points 3 days ago

Plus, car charging is changing the game vs 10+ years ago. Everyone's got huge power draws happening all the time now while their 1 or 2 evs are charging each night/day.

[–] Photuris@lemmy.ml 33 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Land of the Free.

[–] Philote@lemmy.ml 13 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

America version 86.47 has been rereleased as “Land of the Fee” due to the R not willing to share its use.

[–] neukenindekeuken@sh.itjust.works 25 points 3 days ago

Not even a power bill. They have been known to sign warrants for nothing more than an off the shelf infrared scanner/heat scanner showing increased heat from a specific unit in a building compared to the surrounding ones.

Like your house nice and toasty in the winter? That's a no-knock-raid.

[–] Quill7513@slrpnk.net 30 points 3 days ago

judges here will sign warrants for anything. the way their positions are doled out a key qualification to being a judge who signs warrants is intrinsically trusting cops

[–] SARGE@startrek.website 23 points 3 days ago

A judge would sign a search warrant because a cop pinky swears the target is a black ms13 Muslim antifa commiesocialmarxist.

[–] ultranaut@lemmy.world 14 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

I've had cops come around to check out what they could when I was living with roommates and we had all kinds of equipment that used lots of electricity. We actually got a letter from the power company telling us we were in the 99th percentile of residential power use and to consider how much money we could save if we lowered our electricity useage. I'm sure if the cops saw anything they could construe as evidence when they were snooping around they would then easily get a warrant and do a raid.

[–] Phen 5 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I wonder how high it needs to be to get to that point.

[–] MightBeFluffy@pawb.social 13 points 3 days ago

Depends on how behind the DEA is on meeting quotes