Electric bill

SkunkerX

SkunkerX

Well-known member
I guess I would post this here seeing that lights and equipment might have something to do with the electric bill.

Does anyone here ever get a comparison report from their electric company?

I just got one today for last summer June to Sep saying that I used 122% more electricity than my neighbors.

Says my efficient neighbors used 1833 kWh

all neighbors used 2916

but I used 6469 I think that would be crazy me using 2 1/2 time the electricity my neighbors use just by having the fish tank

either that or I got it draining from somewhere going to no where
 
Between the 3 halides and 8 t5's 762 watts then 24 1 watt leds for night viewing then the 1/3hp chiller
 
Granted it's not all day but that's like 8-10 100 w light bulbs running and then you probably use your computer more than your neighbors. I think it is probably accurate. Especially if your neighbors are Amish :D

Oh and don't forget pumps skimmers and the heater you probably use to make water oh and your AC probably has to work harder because of the chiller and tank heat.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
 
Smitty said:
Wow bro, that's crazy. I used 323 kWh last month.
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That total was for 4 months


and the chiller doesnt run too much when the air is on it actually stays right above the temp the heater comes on

and all the heaters for the snakes probably bump it up a bit too

and I just noticed that below the chart it says

All neighbors = approx 100 occupied nearby that are similar in size (ave. 977sq ft) and have gas and heat

my house is actually about 1600 to 1700 sq ft so I dont think its as bad as this letter here implys
 
Leds have drasically reduced my electric bill. Leds consume less power especially when not run at 100% (plus rampup/rampdown is less). Since it outputs less heat you dont need a chiller which is a lot of power especially during the summer. In order to cool your tank, the chiller outputs heat into the room. The heat from your chiller in combination from the heat from halides (and ballasts if magnetic) all add up to a really hot room in which you have to run the ac more causing more power. All of this added together can drastically affect your bill as it did mine.

Some people dont believe me when I say leds (even radions) are cheaper than halides. They think it takes years to make the money back, but in reality its only a few months especially considering bulb replacement in the future. Halides are alot more expensive to run! Many people dont do the total math.

Dont get me wrong, cant beat the growth and color of 20k radium mh bulbs even with the best leds (well, for now leds are still great but not as good but the more leds improve they may pass radiums and be supperior), but for me leds are still the way to go.
 
I get them all the time. Even when I had freshwater with only shop lights. I don't remember how many watts I'm using though. I will have to check that. Been getting those notices for years.
 
Greg said:
Leds have drasically reduced my electric bill. Leds consume less power especially when not run at 100% (plus rampup/rampdown is less). Since it outputs less heat you dont need a chiller which is a lot of power especially during the summer. In order to cool your tank, the chiller outputs heat into the room. The heat from your chiller in combination from the heat from halides (and ballasts if magnetic) all add up to a really hot room in which you have to run the ac more causing more power. All of this added together can drastically affect your bill as it did mine.

Some people dont believe me when I say leds (even radions) are cheaper than halides. They think it takes years to make the money back, but in reality its only a few months especially considering bulb replacement in the future. Halides are alot more expensive to run! Many people dont do the total math.

Dont get me wrong, cant beat the growth and color of 20k radium mh bulbs even with the best leds (well, for now leds are still great but not as good but the more leds improve they may pass radiums and be supperior), but for me leds are still the way to go.
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Believe me if I knew I would of waited to start this hobby after the leds came out but as of now I can't afford leds and I know the price of replacing bulbs will be 5x more than what the initial cost of leds would be

but I barley have the $300 or so it cost to replace bulbs for the unit I have now let alone the $1500 or so I would need to buy some leds unless you want to buy some for me :) or know someone who wants to

buy a 72" Current USA light fixture and a Current 1/3 hp chiller so I can buy my own led fixtures

I hear Gus has some nice ones
 
I don't have a side-by-side, but even going from a 4 bulb compact flourescent to my ecoxotic fixtures, my electric bill went down by around $10 a month. I can't imagine the gap between halides and T5's....
 
Skunker what is the length and depth of your tank? You can get awesome LED's for pretty decent prices these days. Not ecotech Radions, but there are others out there like the PAR38 bulbs and kessil pendants that are WAY cheaper but still EPIC lights. If you get a pre-booked deal for your current system, you could make the swap in a day.
 
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