My electric bill is KILLING ME!!!!! Need some suggestions

[gsxrguru2]

Well, since I've had my tank running in Dec. I've seen my electrical consumption climb steadily each month as I've begun using components as they were needed by the inhabitants. My tank is running in full swing right now and after just talking to the people at the energy company, I've come to realize that I need to find some way to cut down this bill. Last month I used 1005 Kwh, and the bill for electricity was 87.00, I haven't even gotten this months bill yet but so far I've already used 1937 Kwh!!! Almost double... and paying nearly 200.00 per month for electricity on my tank is something I cannot do.

Here's what I currently have:
3 250w DE MH's
2 96w PC

1 Reeflo Dart (closed loop)
1 Mag 9.5 (return Pump)
1 Sedra pump (50 gph, 50w for skimmer)

2 radio shack fans inside canopy
2 350w heaters (usually turn off while MH's are running)

I think that is just about it. Please, if you guys have any suggestions let me have them. I was already thinking that maybe making the switch to T5's would be a good idea, any thoughts on that?

 

[horkn]

well, getting rid of the PCs and using t5ho will help, also, is there a way to drop maybe 1 MH off? using t5ho will use less money there as well...

the mg9 uses near 100watts itslef, since pumps are on all the time, switching to a lower wattage pump with the same gph is an option that you will definitely see a big decrease on power consumption.
other pumps in this flow size use near half the watts
i do believe eheim pumps are a lot more efficient than comparable mag pumps...

 

[kysmith]

well you could.......

1. Get a smaller return pump, you don't need one that big.
2. Run your MH's less your corals will be fine if you run them only 4 hours, just make sure you slowly cut it back to that level, and leave your actinics on for 12 hours.
3. radio shack fans should only come on when lights are on, not that they cost anything anyway......
4. turn in your closed loop for 2 tunzes they use like 11 watts a piece instead of what your CL burns which I'm guessing is in the 90's

Kyle

 

[wetWolger]

Well first off don't run the PC while the MH is on. Use them only for morning and evening light. You don't say how many hours each unit is running, but you should try running your MH for at most 6 hours. And supplementing before and after with the PC.

Other than that not much you can do. Look for leaky electronics. See if you have a unit that is just plain wasting energy. I would look at other items in the house too. Also an improperly wired GFCI can cause a lot of electricity leak. So make sure you don't have your ground arching to your hot wire or something.

 

[horkn]

a 125g could be lit by 2 sets of 3foot t5ho, if its 18" front to back, then you could go 2 units 6x39w tek lights, or retrofits either aqualux or IC-non overdriven.

that wattage is near 500watts total, about half the watts you use now...

a local reefer friend of mine is in the same boat with his 125g...
you will find his post near the top off this forum. his name is gipsy the thread is called "switching from MH to t5ho"


-tom

 

[vishboy]

You could take one of the heaters off. Sine they run at night, think one would be enough to keep the temperature in the right area for 12 hours. It just might be a little overworked for the last hour or so.

Also, are the PCs for actinics? You could swich one of your MH bulbs to a higher kelvin to get blue. Then get rid of the PCs.

Do you honestly need the Dart? You could go with an Eheim or something and get half the wattage. For a 125, I would think that you wouldn't need 3600 gph for a closed loop.

HTH,
Vishy

 

[PiNaPLeX]

switching to T5's would probably only save you a minimal amount on your electric bill (2x54W[T5] vs 2x96W[PC]). that's not the bulk of your electricity usage. i looks like most of your equipment stays on 24/7 execpt your heaters and lights.

- what ballast are you running for the lights? especially the MH ballasts, they might be over driving your lights without you knowing, some have been known to overdrive the bulbs more than 50-100W over their rated wattage.

- try shortening your photoperiod and see how that impacts your bill.

 

[kysmith]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7060344#post7060344 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by vishboy
You could take one of the heaters off. Sine they run at night, think one would be enough to keep the temperature in the right area for 12 hours. It just might be a little overworked for the last hour or so.
Vishy

I don't think this makes sense (no offense vishboy) theoretically it should take X amount of energy to heat the tank no matter how many heaters you have. I'm sure this does not work out perfectly in practice it but it should be pretty close. So you wouldn't save any energy by dumping a heater (or atleast you shouldn't)

last words for ya "solar panels" :lol:

 

[horkn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7060361#post7060361 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by PiNaPLeX
switching to T5's would probably only save you a minimal amount on your electric bill (2x54W[T5] vs 2x96W[PC]). that's not the bulk of your electricity usage. i looks like most of your equipment stays on 24/7 execpt your heaters and lights.

- what ballast are you running for the lights? especially the MH ballasts, they might be over driving your lights without you knowing, some have been known to overdrive the bulbs more than 50-100W over their rated wattage.

- try shortening your photoperiod and see how that impacts your bill.

switching from MH to t5ho will definitely effect his electric bill though.

gsxr, you did intend to mean going from MH to t5ho, correct?

btw, I ride a TLS...what yr, Cc gsxr do you have?

 

[PiNaPLeX]

horkn,

i was referring to switching out the PCs with T5s. not sure if gsxr was planning on switching out his entire lighting setup with T5s or not.....my mistake..=)

 

[joedirt54]

I might be wrong on this, but I thought MH's are the most cost effective light source.

I don't know what you plan to stock but 3- 150W DE 14K phoenix and LED moonlights for Dawn/dusk would make a huge impact on your bill. Your just not going to put any acros on the bottom half of the tank. I would do that before cutting back on photoperiod or water movement. IMHO, go with less light and a less SPS stocked tank. If you go with a more "mixed reef" you can look into smaller/better pumps down the line. If you stay with the 250's the heat issues in the summer will drive your elec bill even higher.

~Dirt

 

[Racenrich]

Hate to say this, but this hobby doesn't come cheap....ive been paying around $90-$110 each month for 3yrs running my 2 tanks!
Heck when i had 3 tanks running it was about $145 a month!

You should probably take down the tank and give away all your stuff!
JustKidding

Good luck with what ever you decide......

as for most of us, its a hobby that we choose to keep, even if our electric bills are outrages every month!

Cheers

 

[RichConley]

MH 3x 250w x8 hrs = 6000wh=6kwh
PC 2x 96w x12 hrs = 2300wh=2.3kwh
Dart = 150w x24hrs= 3600wh =3.6kwh
Mag9.5=100wx24hrs=2400wh=2.4kwh
sedra=50wx24hrs=1200wh=1.2kwh
heat=2x350wx8hrs=5600wh=5.6kwh
-------------------------------------------------------
above is your daily consumption, about 20.5 kwh. thats about 600 a month, and you've pulled 1900 already?

Even at 24 hours on the heaters, you're still only at around 30, or 900 a month.

If at 1000 kwh, you're paying $87, your tank is costing you like $50 a month. Either you've got some other equipment, or something is shorting out, or the tank is not the issue.

EDIT:Forgot to include ballasts (you have HQIs) but even with that, you still dont break about $60 a month on the reef.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Okay lets take a look at this with some numbers

Lights:
MH (3) @ 350W x 8 hours a day = 8.4 kWh a day
PC (2) @ 100W x 10 hours a day = 2 kWh a day
Pumps:
Dart @ 140w x 24 hours = 3.36 1.4 kWh a day
Mag @ 95w x 24 hours = 2.28 kWh a day
Sed @ 50w x 24 hours = 1.2 kWh a day

Other
Fan (2) @ 25 x 24 hours = 1.2 kWh a day
Heat (2) @ 350 X 8 = 5.6 kwh

TOTAL 24 kWh a day most likely worst case (your heaters don't run nearly 8 hours each)

In any case lets take a HIGH of $0.30 a kWh. Your tank worst case is costing you $7.20 a day to run. That is right around $200 a month in electricity.

Use the numbers above to see where you can cut your energy costs. Be aware that the "pay off" for buying new eqiupment that only saves "a few watts" will be a long way down the road.

Bean

 

[RichConley]

Bean he said he paid $87 for just over 1000kwh, so hes paying 8.7 cents a KWH, not 30. Doing the calcs at .30 is going to confuse things. Hes got cheap electricty. The issue is that hes going to end this month at about 2400kwh, he needs to figure out where thats coming from.

IMO its not the tank.

 

[sjm817]

Lots of things you can do, but it will cost you and ROI may be a long time. I'm very conscious of energy consumption when I pick products. My 90G setup: Maybe it can give you some ideas.

Lights:
6 x 54W T5 = 324W
Fuge = 19W

Pumps
Eheim 1260 return = 65W
Deltec AP600 skimmer = 20W
Tunze 6000 = 18W
MJ900 (behind rocks)= 8.5W
MJ600 (Fuge) = 7.5W
MJ400 (Phosban and carbon reactors) = 5W

Heaters:
(2) 150W Ebo Jagger.

 

[Mr James]

So who is running the numbers correctly between Mr Rich and Mr Bean?? Hey how about a surge device instead of a closed loop?? Anthony Calfo shows a surge device plumbed into system as the main return.

 

[gvibes]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7061079#post7061079 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mr James
So who is running the numbers correctly between Mr Rich and Mr Bean?? Hey how about a surge device instead of a closed loop?? Anthony Calfo shows a surge device plumbed into system as the main return.

They're basically the same, except Bean assumed 30 cents/kwh, and Rich assumed 8.7 cents/kwh. 8.7 is about what I pay.

 

[RichConley]

Mr James, Bean assumed $.30/kwh for the electricity, thats really high.

Both of us agree that electricity consumption for the tank is around 700 kwh per month on the tank. Which at $.087/kwh is about 60 bucks, and at $.30 is about $210.


That being said, he said hes already up to 1900kwh, with 3 days in the month left, and he only used 1000 last month. Hes more than doubled his electricity usage, and thats a lot more than the tank is using, unless some of his pieces arent working correctly.

 

[Mr James]

I understand. I want you to be my accountant!! Are you licensed in Florida??