Energy efficient heater

[sirreal63]

Efficiency is a fun exercise. When you look at efficiency you also need to consider total energy use over a period of time. That is if the goal is to reduce electrical consumption. Multiple points of heat end up using less total electricity than a single point of heat. A single point will heat the water near it fast, but because the higher the temp differential the greater will be the cooling, the water cools faster as it moves away from the heater. Four 100 watt heaters spaced apart can use less electricity than a single 400 watt heater. The reason is simple, cooling differential. The higher temp from the 400 watt heater will exhibit more cooling from the temp differential than the 4-100 watt heaters. As the water moves away from the 400 watt heater it has to travel through the entire system before it is heated again. With the 4-100 watt heaters there is less heat loss before the water encounters another source of heat, and with less temp differential the cooling is also less.

How much of a difference does it make? Not a lot in reality but the real benefit from multiple smaller heat sources is disaster prevention. If a heater malfunctions and the thermostat sticks in the on position, it is more difficult for the 100 watt heater to overheat the tank than if the single 400 watt heater stuck in the on position. Given a choice, it is usually better to use multiple smaller heart sources than one large one, at least in aquarium pumps that have a higher than acceptable failure rate. The difference in energy usage may be measurable, but also negligible as well.

 

[Liavb22]

I didn't phrase this thread properly. I should have called it energy efficient tank build. Even though there are other options to make a tank very efficient, balancing the costs of building it is key.

So with all the info I have so far, these might be some helpful tips:

Heater - Use 4 heaters in different "multiple points" to save some energy. This will cost more money than buying one, but I believe will pay off in the long run. It seems that with larger tanks, heaters are one of the products consuming the most energy.

Pump - Use a more efficient pump, which I believe I will be going with a reeflo. This is not a definite, since I'm having some trouble finding out how much head pressure my system will actually end up having. One of the methods of saving head pressure that I have (my sump will be in the basement), is to place the sump as high as possible. I will be building a stand that will have the sump about 18" from the top of the sump, which total translates to about 7.5' (not including 45 degree angles, right angles, etc.). The Reeflo Dart only uses about 100 watts if I can make the amount of flow work.

Insulation - I will insulate the back of the tank glass, as well as all the plumbing. I will also use a tank cover and cover as much of the sump as possible.

Powerheads - I currently have 5 Hydor 1400s which I hope will be enough flow. The only consume 7 watts each, so this should not be an issue at all. If I end up needing more flow, I'll look into that as well.

Chiller - I keep the temperature in my home at about 72-74 degrees all year long, so I'm hoping that I will not need a chiller.

Lighting - I am still undecided. I am currently running t5 on my 80 gallon, and am not sure if I should continue, or move over to LED. I'm leaning towards LED due to the sunrise/sunset feature it has. It feels more natural and the colors of LED are amazing as well (I know some would disagree, but I like it). The LED would save money on electricity, but will not warm up the water, so it may not save much. Plus, LED systems are so expensive, that it would probably take years to actually SAVE money with them.

Other equipment - Other than a protien skimmer and a pump to feed the carbon/gfo reactor, I will attempt to use the Renew water change system. I'm hoping that buy doing more water changes, I won't need to dose to much of the other stuff, which will save some money as well.

I'm doing this because I figured if I'm buying a whole system anyway, I should look into making it cheaper, as it may possibly save me $30-40 a month, but obviously money will not hold me back from making sure that the tank is 100% healthy and thriving. I wouldn't be in this hobby if energy consumption was a problem for me. I am slowly building this setup myself and am learning as I go along.

 

[sirreal63]

You live in a "cooler" climate than I do, my heaters rarely run but you can take advantage of higher wattage pumps to offset heater use. A 70 watt submerged pump is a 70 watt heater without a thermostat. The same can be said for lighting.

Careful planning can go a long ways towards energy efficiency, but you may have to adjust equipment as you go. The reality is it will take x amount of wattage to keep the tank where you want it, saving wattage on lights is a no win if you have to offset that with more wattage from the heater. With your climate controlled at 72-74 I seriously doubt you will need a chiller, unless you do a poor job of heat management.

 

[Liavb22]

Do u know of any in sump pumps that have a lot of flow and head pressure to run from a basement?