Electrical Costs Killing Me!!!
- Thread starter mrpet
- Start date
mrpet
Member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13181588#post13181588 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
Excellent topic. Thanks for the link, Ken.
I just went through this recently myself, and pulled out the trusty Kill-o-meter:
Doing a little math to see what it costs to run my tank...
3 MH bulbs combined - 900w x 6 hrs per day
2 VHO bulbs combined - 187w x 11 hrs per day
Return pump - 141w x 24 hrs per day
3 Vortech pumps combined - 63w x 24 hrs per day
Calcium Reactor - 65w x 24 hrs per day
3 Fuge lights combined - 62w x 8 hrs per day
2 Skimmer pumps combined - 116w x 24 hrs per day
Prop light - 147w x 7 hrs per day
2 Icecap Fans - 12w x 7 hrs per day
All of the above runs 19.3 kWh per day, or 579 kWh per month.
Take that number times $.124375 and it adds up to $72 of basic operational cost.
Not included are a handful of tiny pumps running the suncoral tank, phosban reactors, flow in the prop section and refugium, which is probably around 100w for about $9 a month more, which puts the tank at $81.
In the winter, I run a couple of heaters which definitely cost me money. I only use two and they don't have a lot of wattage, thus they run longer than they should have to trying to bring the tank temperature up to 79.5 so they can shut off again. I probably need two 500w heaters so they can do the job quickly and save money, but what I have is a 300w & a 250w heater. That's something I'll need to resolve this fall, and make sure the DJ power strips can handle the extra wattage load, if they were to kick on during the lighting period. For now, the heaters are turned off for the summer months. My tank doesn't drop below 78.5F at night.
The window A/C unit (for the fishroom) definitely adds to the monthly expense during the hot months. If the circulation fan is running, it uses 116w of power. When the compressor kicks on, it uses 727w. If the garage is closed, it works even harder and uses something closer to 780+w of power. Last year, I measured the window A/C with a Kill-o-watt for two weeks straight to find out how long the compressor was on versus how long just the circulation fan was running, and it was pretty much 50/50. I hate to even calculate this one. 303 kWh equaling $38 a month.
During June, I was been able to turn off the window a/c during the late night hours, and turn it on daily around 1pm. One day I forgot and didn't turn it on until 3:30pm, after the lights had been on for some time and the fish room was getting toasty. However, the tank was 79.8F, which is due to the fact that my lights are 18" off the water. I don't really want to test the theory of what will happen if the A/C unit is off for the full day with the fish room closed up, but I do have the Aqua Controller II set to turn off the lights if the tank reaches 83F.
Add on the live rock cooking vat and the quarantine tank of 36 kWh and the angled tank of 73 kWh, and it looks like my little hobby is soaking up 1063 kWh per month, which is about $132 per month. My electricity rates are about to jump up slightly, which will put it around $149 per month in total electricity usage.
My three Vortechs combined use $5.64 of electricity a month to provide all the flow in my reef. The one Vortech on the angled tank costs $0.62 a month at a mere 6 watts of power.
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How to save electricity in your home:
Don't run the A/C unit too cool. I've kept my home at 75F this summer, and it is costing me money. However, I work out of my home most of the time, so I don't have the luxury of making it warmer since I'm not away all day like many of you.
Make sure the water heater isn't leaking. If it is, new cooler water is entering all the time, and the elements are having to heat that new water.
Make sure the dryer hose isn't crushed behind the dryer. Instead of running 40 minutes or so, it may run 2 hours or more and still not dry stuff. That one is an easy mistake.
Pump a bunch of insulation into your attic space so the A/C doesn't have to run as long when it does come on. I just spent a small fortune (Hi Bergzy :wave: ) on a new central A/C system. It was supposed to save money, but because the insulation in the attic wasn't deep enough and the soffit vents were clogged up badly, it could not keep up. I replaced all the soffit vents ($16), and pumped $500 of pink snow into my attic. It is now 15" deep, give or take an inch, and I have a much better R-rating in the attic. The A/C was able to keep the house the right temperature even when it was 110F outside. Prior to the insulation, the house crept up to 79F during the worst heat of the day.
thanks melve im going to look into alot of what you said as far as things in the home that can save energy. and thanks chris at reef flo he is sending me 3 smaller impellers for my darts and cuda cuts the watts by about 30% awesome customer service. my home is new, so darn near everything i have is pretty energy efficient its gotta be the ac when it was set at 72.
Don't forget that anything that has a "memory" draws power constantly. i.e. the vcr, dvd, tv, ps3, xbox360, cell phone chargers, computers all draw power when turned off. One should turn them off at the switch so the little red light/time does not show or unplug them all together. You may be surprised at how much you save by unplugging or turning these items off. I run my AC @ 76*, last year my rate was .104/kwh, this year is .128/kwh. Last years bill for July-$394, this year $306. We have been on top of keeping things off/unplugged that don't need to be.
BeanAnimal
Premium Member
That is 3788 kWh for last July and 2390 for this July. In other words you are saying that you saved 1397 kWh by turning off these devices. That is not even reasonable by any stretch of the imagination. (47 kWh a day!).
Here is the math in case you do not believe me.
You said $394 last year at a rate of .104 per kWh
You said $306 this year at a rate of .128 per kWh
$394 ÷ .104 = 3788 kWh Last July
$306 ÷ .128 = 2391 kWh This July
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= 1397 LESS kWh this July !!!!
1397 ÷ 30 days = 47 kWh per day!
Reality Check:
FOR REFERENCE MRPET (THE OP) uses 38 kWh a day for his entire tank!!!!
1200W ligts 24 Hours
700W pumps 24 hours
800W misc ~10 hours
I hope you can see how there is no way that unplugging even a houseful of VCRs, cell phone chargers, set top boxes, bathroom air fresheners, alarm clocks, nightlights and Televisions can come close to the savings you see on your electric bill. Those devices at FULL POWER do not use that much energy (47 kWh per day) let alone when they are in standby or idle states.
Sorry to point this out so bluntly, but these are the misconceptions that fuel urban legend.
You can not account for the savings based on year to year electric bills just by saying that you unplugged some power supplies. Most of those power supplies use only a few cents of power a day at best. Sure some devices like older laser printers and 1980's VCRs that have no standby mode use more power, but very few people have a house full of those devices.
Last edited:
BeanAnimal
Premium Member
mrpet,
I will post a spreadsheet for you as soon as I get a chance. You can use it to fiddle around with turning things on and off to see what happens to your bill.
As it stands, your tank is a little less than 1/2 of your electric load in your home. I get about 1160 - 1175 kWh per month from your tank. You said your bill was 2865 kWh
So with a base usage of 1705 for the OTHER stuff in your house, you can figure about 58 kWh per day from the A/C, TVs, and whatever else runs. You have some MAJOR current draw someplace my friend!
You are breaking into the second tier by day 6 and third tier by Day 7. You hit tier four by day 10 and tier five by day 16.
I will post a spreadsheet for you as soon as I get a chance. You can use it to fiddle around with turning things on and off to see what happens to your bill.
As it stands, your tank is a little less than 1/2 of your electric load in your home. I get about 1160 - 1175 kWh per month from your tank. You said your bill was 2865 kWh
So with a base usage of 1705 for the OTHER stuff in your house, you can figure about 58 kWh per day from the A/C, TVs, and whatever else runs. You have some MAJOR current draw someplace my friend!
You are breaking into the second tier by day 6 and third tier by Day 7. You hit tier four by day 10 and tier five by day 16.
8BALL_99
New member
I'd cut back on AC, Keep and eye on your hot water use and how long your wife runs the cloths dryer! I've caught my wife running loads back through the dryer to get wrinkles out :-( Didn't leave them in there that long but still. Check your fridge and your deep freeze if you have one.. Older fridges can pull as much as 700 watts compared to 100 watts for a newer model of the same size.. It adds up quick. My dad replaced his working fridge just cause of the wattage it pulled lol. I've been told by HVAC guys your better off leaving your fan on your central unit on during the hot months.
400 bucks is a lil high for just running your tank. I'm sure you could cut that in half!
400 bucks is a lil high for just running your tank. I'm sure you could cut that in half!
8BALL_99
New member
lol BTW we got a 600 dollar electric bill this month.. I freaked out. My first thought was this thread.. My wife told me it was only 200 last month. It runs 300-350 this time of year. So it looks like the meter reader just read it wrong last month.. I still had sticker shock though
StrategicReef
New member
I feel that the A/C usage is half of the battle..
If you are supposed to stick to the PG&E basic tier of $.11 or .13 per KW, you are expect to reduce the bill to around $50-$70 to not go over to the higher teirs. IMO this baseline is set too low and just about everyone is penalized here.
if your bill is already $400, $500 or even $800, you are already KNEE DEEP in the $.33-.35 teir.
There is not much you can do unless you make DRASTIC changes in your life, but, on the other hand, each thing you shut down will save you big money.
I am trying to get my bill down below $100 from $160, of course I have a smaller tank and I am in the "niche"of even being able to attempt it.
I live in one of the hottest cities in the Bay Area, I almost never run my A/C... it is set at 90F. I don't run my lights until 6PM. I have observed huge energy saving by buying a window fan and draw air in as soon as soon as the afternoon cool off at 5-6PM. My room gets to 90F on a VERY hot day but most of the days the chiller does not come on (set at 82). The window fan cools down the room about 4 times quicker than just opening windows and air it out. Sometimes later in the night it'd get too cool, actually..
something like this
I also shut down my frag tank and bins of rocks running, I don't miss paying $.33 / KW for those things anymore, and that extra metal halide just add to the heat of the house.
I understand everyone's situation is different, your family might be home during the day and need the A/C. I guess growing up in Asia I am used to a bit warmer, and the textbook definition of 72F "room temperature" is a bit too cold for me. My neighbor's bill is about 3x of mine and his A/C is running non-stop.. 24/7.
If you are supposed to stick to the PG&E basic tier of $.11 or .13 per KW, you are expect to reduce the bill to around $50-$70 to not go over to the higher teirs. IMO this baseline is set too low and just about everyone is penalized here.
if your bill is already $400, $500 or even $800, you are already KNEE DEEP in the $.33-.35 teir.
There is not much you can do unless you make DRASTIC changes in your life, but, on the other hand, each thing you shut down will save you big money.
I am trying to get my bill down below $100 from $160, of course I have a smaller tank and I am in the "niche"of even being able to attempt it.
I live in one of the hottest cities in the Bay Area, I almost never run my A/C... it is set at 90F. I don't run my lights until 6PM. I have observed huge energy saving by buying a window fan and draw air in as soon as soon as the afternoon cool off at 5-6PM. My room gets to 90F on a VERY hot day but most of the days the chiller does not come on (set at 82). The window fan cools down the room about 4 times quicker than just opening windows and air it out. Sometimes later in the night it'd get too cool, actually..
something like this
I also shut down my frag tank and bins of rocks running, I don't miss paying $.33 / KW for those things anymore, and that extra metal halide just add to the heat of the house.
I understand everyone's situation is different, your family might be home during the day and need the A/C. I guess growing up in Asia I am used to a bit warmer, and the textbook definition of 72F "room temperature" is a bit too cold for me. My neighbor's bill is about 3x of mine and his A/C is running non-stop.. 24/7.
BeanAnimal
Premium Member
Gotta love California... good grief. If you lived in a hut with a transistor radio and electric toothbrush you would go over the baseline.
Good on you for trying to cut down the energy use. Good for the environment and good for your bank account. I am switching to T5 only for my next tank that I am planning, and I hope this will be a little more flexible for the hot days. I run fans only for cooling the tank and I used the air con for 3 days last summer for the really hot days. AFAIK the weather your are would be similar to Sydney.
As far as cutting down power for the rest of the house, try to avoid halogen lighting or use bulbs that suck less watts. Try and avoid the clothes dryer if at all possible. We only use ours a little during winter and never during summer. Not sure if you can do this though as I have heard that clothes lines are not permitted in some places in the US. Could all be silly rumours though.
Bets of luck and let us know how you go.
As far as cutting down power for the rest of the house, try to avoid halogen lighting or use bulbs that suck less watts. Try and avoid the clothes dryer if at all possible. We only use ours a little during winter and never during summer. Not sure if you can do this though as I have heard that clothes lines are not permitted in some places in the US. Could all be silly rumours though.
Bets of luck and let us know how you go.
No problem being blunt...if I'm wrong I'm wrong. One thing I did not include in my thinking is last years weather to this years. We have had a better summer here in Md and I am sure this is a factor. For some reason I was not factoring that in though.
Anywho, I know we are saving SOMETHING on turning these devices off.
BeanAnimal
Premium Member
Yup... please don't take my comments the wrong way. I just find it much easier to stick to the facts so that other folks can undertsand... Would love to sit down a drink a beer with you 
Seasonal changes affect much more than your A/C. TV habbits, the ice maker, how you cook or how often you cook... etc.
Yes, turning off things with standby modes and unplugging wal-warts will save a few bucks. The green police want you to believe that it will save the planet, so they tell you it will save a lot more than it really does
Seasonal changes affect much more than your A/C. TV habbits, the ice maker, how you cook or how often you cook... etc.
Yes, turning off things with standby modes and unplugging wal-warts will save a few bucks. The green police want you to believe that it will save the planet, so they tell you it will save a lot more than it really does
BeanAnimal
Premium Member
I got mine aligned! I can now rest easy that we don't need to drill. And just think, I placed an order for my alternative energy hook-up... I will be oil free in a year!
I can't laugh too hard at California. I live in SW PA (one of the largest coal producing areas in the world) and my power costs are fairly high compared to the rest of the country (except Cali, and NY). We have now also passed the idiotic VOC laws, nearly the same as Calif.... no more huffing glue for me!
I can't laugh too hard at California. I live in SW PA (one of the largest coal producing areas in the world) and my power costs are fairly high compared to the rest of the country (except Cali, and NY). We have now also passed the idiotic VOC laws, nearly the same as Calif.... no more huffing glue for me!
scaryperson27
New member
Are you mocking obama trying to indulge people on the fact that they can save gas with properly inflated tires?
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13190284#post13190284 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GSMguy
i got the tires properly inflated on my car, now I can afford that bubble king ive always wanted.
