How efficient are LEDS, really?

[IluvGod'sreefs]

I replaced the VHO's on my 55 with LED's and I cannot get over the difference! The tank is 2-3 times brighter, and it shimmers--never saw that before. My BTA loves em. I've had friends come over and when they see my tank they ask, "Did you get a new tank"? I figure they will pay for themselves in about 5 yrs vs bulb replacements--about half the life of the LED's. I'm convinced!! :bounce1:

 

[snorvich]

From the examples I have seen MH and LED's have comparable shimmer.

From owning both, I would say the shimmer is comparable.

 

[aquaman67]

I started out with 96 watt "Power-Quad" Power Compacts. Then went to 150 watt metal halides.

Didn't like the heat of metal halide (more afraid of burning my house down than tank heat issues) or not coming back on for a while after a power blink. (which happens a lot where I live.

I got on the T-5 bus next. I like the ability to change colors with different bulbs.

I was not looking forward to dropping another $100 on bulbs again this year. I went to the LFS and they had a display of TrueLumens.

I got a sweet deal, plus store credit for corals. I retro fitted my T-5 fixture with LEDs.

I'm still playing with position and tweaking it, but so far I'm glad I made the switch.

I went from 144 watts of T-5 (6 X 24) to 64 watts of LEDs (4 X 16) and to me it looks about the same. We'll see about growth in a year or so.

Can I retire off the electric savings? No. But it's not going to hurt over the long run. I hope to go 4 or 5 years before having to replace what I have now. By then I think the prices will come down. Like that stupid flat panel TV I just had to have, that I could get much bigger now at half what I paid.

Plus with LEDs I'm one of the cool kids.....

 

[slief]

Like it was said above, Kwh cost is the key. In my case, I have been in tier 5 for years. In tier 5, I get all kinds of sur charges for my power. With the LED's, I went from 6.7 amp draw on my lights (2x 400 watt halides) down to 2.5 amps. Not only that but I also gained more light that is now controllable as far as color temp goes. It was huge improvement. It has only been a couple weeks since I installed my LED's so I have yet to see a new bill but my last bill was over $400 for one month. I have seen recent bills as high as $700. A little over a year ago, I had bills as high as $1100 per month. A major sump and pump upgrade cut that in half.

My chiller was also coming on 6-7 times a day for an hour at minimum each time. Being that it is a 1/2HP chiller, it was drawing over 10 amps at a time. Thats the equivilent of 1200+ watts for another 7- 8 hours a day. Between the LED's and a minor upgrade from a standard reeflo dart and a standard reeflo hammerhead to a Dart Gold and Hammerhead Gold along with having my exhaust fan run 24x7 instead of just when my lights are on, my chiller has not run in days!! In my case, my power bill will likely drop down to $200-250 per month with the latest power usage.

Bottom line is that every bit helps. In many cases, the lighting can be the single biggest power expense on a tank. In some cases, you savings increase by the fact that your tier sur charges drop so you not only save on the power used by the tank but your also pay lower rates on your other power usage.

 

[snorvich]

Oh, and check out slief's tank.

 

[thewire]

Wow..you must have a dedicate circuit on the breaker for the equipments...chiller drawing 12A with your light and other stuffs..easily trip 20A breaker

Like it was said above, Kwh cost is the key. In my case, I have been in tier 5 for years. In tier 5, I get all kinds of sur charges for my power. With the LED's, I went from 6.7 amp draw on my lights (2x 400 watt halides) down to 2.5 amps. Not only that but I also gained more light that is now controllable as far as color temp goes. It was huge improvement. It has only been a couple weeks since I installed my LED's so I have yet to see a new bill but my last bill was over $400 for one month. I have seen recent bills as high as $700. A little over a year ago, I had bills as high as $1100 per month. A major sump and pump upgrade cut that in half.

My chiller was also coming on 6-7 times a day for an hour at minimum each time. Being that it is a 1/2HP chiller, it was drawing over 10 amps at a time. Thats the equivilent of 1200+ watts for another 7- 8 hours a day. Between the LED's and a minor upgrade from a standard reeflo dart and a standard reeflo hammerhead to a Dart Gold and Hammerhead Gold along with having my exhaust fan run 24x7 instead of just when my lights are on, my chiller has not run in days!! In my case, my power bill will likely drop down to $200-250 per month with the latest power usage.

Bottom line is that every bit helps. In many cases, the lighting can be the single biggest power expense on a tank. In some cases, you savings increase by the fact that your tier sur charges drop so you not only save on the power used by the tank but your also pay lower rates on your other power usage.

 

[NatureNerd]

Switched from 2 X 175W MH and 60W of flourescent 11 hrs per day. Now have 3 X 70W AI Sols (not running them at full power (75W) but including power supply efficiency). My power bill has dropped by about $30/month. Note that I have only seen two electric bills so far, but this is in pretty good agreement with my calculations. It is worth noting that my MH ballasts were not super efficient and my fans are set to go on only when the water temperature goes above 79 degrees. They never go on anymore.

Before I switched to LED's, I created a small spreadsheet that included every factor I could think of. The analysis showed a $ break-even point of 4 years. YMMV. Is this worth it? I don't know. For me it is.

I really hated the couple times a year I would burn my arm bumping into a hot MH bulb when moving a coral. For this alone I would have switched. Bottom line: I like them better, even if it didn't save me money.

 

[slief]

Wow..you must have a dedicate circuit on the breaker for the equipments...chiller drawing 12A with your light and other stuffs..easily trip 20A breaker

I have a number of dedicated circuits. I think 4 dedicated 20 amp circuits in total. My chiller though is also about 50' away in the garage so its always had its own circuit. When I built the tank in to the house back in 97, I was probably drawing as much as 30 amps average without the chiller and over 40 with it running.. Back then I had 4 or 5 1/8th HP pumps, a little giant 4MD and an Iwaki 100RLT in addition to the chiller and pair of 400 watt halides, calcium reactor etc.

With all the upgrades and changes I have made in the last year and a half, I am down to less than 10 amps average without the chiller running. A total of 2 pumps, plus some Tunze stream power heads and a couple Red dragons for my skimmer replaced 6 or 7 pumps.

Back on the subject of LED's, I can honestly say, they were one of the best changes I have made to my tank. Especially from an astetics point of view. Not so much because of the substantial power saving but more so because of the control I now have over color temp, brightness, sunrise and sunset effect, even color across the whole tank and the fact that I dont have to replace metal halide bulbs anymore. Ever notice that no 2 halides are truley the same color.. At least not for long. I have seen this with EYE bulbs, Hamilton, Osram etc. With LED's, that is no longer an issue. Both sides of my tank have the same color lighting.

It's just a shame that Orbitech is holding the aquariumm LED industry hostage with their patent. They worst part about it is the fact that they dont even make a lighting system for aquariums. If that was not a factor, we would be seeing many more options on the market here in the states with much better pricing and faster improvements in the technology. Either way, I dont think there are many people who have made the change to LED's who aren't happy with their decision. At least not those who truley did their homework before making their decision.

 

[jimmy n]

I have a number of dedicated circuits. I think 4 dedicated 20 amp circuits in total. My chiller though is also about 50' away in the garage so its always had its own circuit. When I built the tank in to the house back in 97, I was probably drawing as much as 30 amps average without the chiller and over 40 with it running.. Back then I had 4 or 5 1/8th HP pumps, a little giant 4MD and an Iwaki 100RLT in addition to the chiller and pair of 400 watt halides, calcium reactor etc.

With all the upgrades and changes I have made in the last year and a half, I am down to less than 10 amps average without the chiller running. A total of 2 pumps, plus some Tunze stream power heads and a couple Red dragons for my skimmer replaced 6 or 7 pumps.

Back on the subject of LED's, I can honestly say, they were one of the best changes I have made to my tank. Especially from an astetics point of view. Not so much because of the substantial power saving but more so because of the control I now have over color temp, brightness, sunrise and sunset effect, even color across the whole tank and the fact that I dont have to replace metal halide bulbs anymore. Ever notice that no 2 halides are truley the same color.. At least not for long. I have seen this with EYE bulbs, Hamilton, Osram etc. With LED's, that is no longer an issue. Both sides of my tank have the same color lighting.

It's just a shame that Orbitech is holding the aquariumm LED industry hostage with their patent. They worst part about it is the fact that they dont even make a lighting system for aquariums. If that was not a factor, we would be seeing many more options on the market here in the states with much better pricing and faster improvements in the technology. Either way, I dont think there are many people who have made the change to LED's who aren't happy with their decision. At least not those who truley did their homework before making their decision.

So completely true. I'm waiting for the best plug and play to come into the market so I don't make the wrong decision and dump 1-2k on a substandard fixture. I'm a sad excuse fro a DIY'er so I dont' trust myself for that. Is there a unit currently on the market you'd recommend for a 36x36 cube?

 

[slief]

So completely true. I'm waiting for the best plug and play to come into the market so I don't make the wrong decision and dump 1-2k on a substandard fixture. I'm a sad excuse fro a DIY'er so I dont' trust myself for that. Is there a unit currently on the market you'd recommend for a 36x36 cube?

If I had a 30x30 cube, I would go with either a single reeftech or Vertex Illumina 260. That or a a couple AI's. Maybe as many as 3 but I think 2 would work fine with some experimenting with Optics.