Reducing Electricity Consumption

[BeanAnimal]

I turn off my none essential pumps at night. They turn on 30 minutes before my lights turn on, and off 30 minutes after my lights turn off.

Turning off pumps can reduce oxygen levels and flow over corals. Many corals need the extra flow and oxygen at night when their polyps are extended.

 

[seaner]

Turning off pumps can reduce oxygen levels and flow over corals. Many corals need the extra flow and oxygen at night when their polyps are extended.

Yes, agreed... I have about 5000 gph flowing through my 120 during the day. At night it goes to around 2200 gph. Which is about 20 times turn over an hour. I guess I should of clarified that I use a good quality, high flow return pump. Mine draws 98 watts an hour. Also, I forgot to mention that my return pump is attached to a manifold with 8 outlets (loc lines) which creates a lot of flow throughout my tank. I have been turning off my cls at night for several months now with no ill effect to my corals.

 

[Agu]

I run four nano tanks and by for the biggest energy consumption is for lighting, and it's not just the Electricity. Every year I replace two 96w powerquad bulbs and every 6 months five 23w curly pc bulbs are replaced. No only am I using 300+watts of electricity but I'm also disposing of 12 pc bulbs a year.

Picked up Marinelands new Reef Lighting LED in the 18 to 24 inch model at MACNA recently and it outperforms the 96w pc using 13w of energy. Hypothetically I can use the fixture for about 10 years while using 85% less energy and without buying 10 new bulbs.

I have a Panorama LED fixture on order to try out on another tank because LEDs make sense in my situation.

 

[NewBostonConst]

I think there is a key point missing in this discussion. All energy used in your tank except the light that hits the wall goes to heating your tank.

If you keep the temperature in your tank constant and don't use a chiller then turning the pumps off at night isn't going to lower your electric bill at all. Turning pumps off is just going to cause the electric heaters in your tank to run more.

All energy you use to run your tank eventually turns to heat and warms up your tank. Leave as many pumps running as you want and if the tank gets to hot then turn them off.

 

[James77]

Right, but most people have a problem with excess heat in an aquarium. If you live in a cold climate and have heaters on all the time, you can use all the help you can get from other equipment . Before I changed everything over to more efficeint equipment, my tank was going into the mid 80's daily in the spring, summer and fall. Wasted energy since only want it at 78. Now it is at 78-ish, with no heaters. Yes the heaters will run some more in the winter compared to last year, but overall I will still be using less than i was.

I think there is a key point missing in this discussion. All energy used in your tank except the light that hits the wall goes to heating your tank.

If you keep the temperature in your tank constant and don't use a chiller then turning the pumps off at night isn't going to lower your electric bill at all. Turning pumps off is just going to cause the electric heaters in your tank to run more.

All energy you use to run your tank eventually turns to heat and warms up your tank. Leave as many pumps running as you want and if the tank gets to hot then turn them off.

 

[somdinwong]

i changed 4 36" vho's that had to be changed every 8 months to a single reefbrite strip. save about 300w per hour, also changed another 4 bulb t5 and saved an additional 90w.

 

[borderjo]

My wife has been really bugging me - I estimate my tank is adding $200/month+ to my electric bill. It is so bad I run my lights on a night-time cycle (8PM - 8AM), when electricity is cheaper. I just replaced 6 submersible pumps with one powerful Reeflo (~300 Watts down to ~135). I am saving toward Vortech's to replace my closed loop (140W -> 36 or so). But the biggest hit is the 1000W or so of lights on my main tank! Next year I will switch to LEDs, hopefully cut that down to less than half. Then maybe I will be able to look at my tank in the daytime.
Now if I could only get my wife to shut the lights off when she leaves a room...

 

[BeanAnimal]

Your utility is UI and you appear to have two plans to choose from.

RT (peak/off-peak)
and
R (flat rate)

Both plans have a seasonal (summer winter) rate adjustment.

<TABLE border=1 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #1f497d; WIDTH: 298px" colSpan=2>UI Rate RT</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff; WIDTH: 7px" rowSpan=7> </TD><TD style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #602826; WIDTH: 470px" colSpan=3>UI Rate R</TD></TR><TR><TD style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; WIDTH: 170px">Basic Service Charge </TD><TD style="WIDTH: 129px">$15.85/month </TD><TD style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #d8d8d8; WIDTH: 124px">Basic Service Charge</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #d8d8d8; WIDTH: 347px" colSpan=2>$15.85/month</TD></TR><TR><TD style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; WIDTH: 170px">Rate </TD><TD style="WIDTH: 129px">Per kilowatt-hour (kWh)</TD><TD style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #d8d8d8; WIDTH: 124px">Rate</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #d8d8d8; WIDTH: 162px">Per kWh (less than 500 kWh total usage)</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #d8d8d8; WIDTH: 186px">Per kWh (more than 500 kWh total usage)</TD></TR><TR><TD style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; WIDTH: 170px">Summer on-peak*</TD><TD style="WIDTH: 129px">28.1222¢</TD><TD style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #d8d8d8; WIDTH: 84px" rowSpan=2>Summer</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #d8d8d8; WIDTH: 87px" rowSpan=2>21.1895¢</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #d8d8d8; WIDTH: 165px" rowSpan=2>21.1895¢</TD></TR><TR><TD style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; WIDTH: 170px">Summer off-peak</TD><TD style="WIDTH: 129px">18.1085¢</TD></TR><TR><TD style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; WIDTH: 170px">Winter on-peak</TD><TD style="WIDTH: 129px">26.7488¢</TD><TD style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #d8d8d8; WIDTH: 84px" rowSpan=2>Winter</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #d8d8d8; WIDTH: 87px" rowSpan=2>20.7684¢</TD><TD style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #d8d8d8; WIDTH: 165px" rowSpan=2>20.7684¢</TD></TR><TR><TD style="TEXT-ALIGN: right; WIDTH: 170px">Winter off-peak</TD><TD style="WIDTH: 129px">18.1085¢</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

* Summer rates are effective from June 1 through Sept. 30. On peak-hours are weekdays from noon to 8 p.m.​

Lets look at those pumps you replaced over 1 year, assuming they run 24/7... rounding to exactly 52 weeks in a year to keep the math simple:

The year consists of
16 Weeks of summer rates
36 Weeks of winter rates

A week has
40 PEAK hours
128 OFF PEAK hours

8736 hours per year (rounding from 8765.xx for similicity)
Summer on-peak = 640 hours
Summer off-Peak = 2048 hours
Winter on-peak = 1440 hours
Winter of-peak = 4608 hours

You report saving 165W with your pump change so lets calculate the yearly saving.
((640h * 165W) / 1000) * $0.28122 = $29.70
((2048h * 165W) / 1000) * $0.181085 = $61.19
((1440h * 165W) / 1000) * $0.267488= $63.56
((4608h * 165W) / 1000) *$0.181085 = $137.68

That turns out to be $292.126771 in savings, or on avarage (ignoring seasons) about $25 a month.

If you were on the FLAT rate plan:
Summer hours = 2688
Winter hours = 6048
((2688h * 165W) / 1000) * $.211895 = $93.98
((6048h * 165W) / 1000) * $.207684 = $207.25

Turns out to be $301.23 in saving for the year...

You can build a simple spreadsheet with columns for the rate periods and costs, placing ALL of your household electric needs in the table and use it to determine if the peak/off-peak plan is really saving you money.

To be honest... if it were me, I would move as far away from that nonsense as I could. They are talking about peak rates of nearly $1.75 per kWh in your state and MANDATING that customers accept the plan or be punished with a single HIGH rate of nearly $.50 per kWh. Your citiziens and government have determined that THEY shall be allowed to tell you when and how much electricity you are allowed to use without being taxed to high hell... Not to single you out, but YOUR fish tank is what they are trying to do away with becuase you are consuming more than your fair share of electricity for a non essential use.

 

[crsaz]

But the biggest hit is the 1000W or so of lights on my main tank

are you running the from 8pm-8am, thats twice as long as you need to, or were you just pointing out that is when your off-peak prices are?

right now I am setting up a 375 system and my goal is to keep elec. costs under $100/month, I will be implementing vortechs(2 of the new mp60s) and keepign the closed loop on a timer(off at night), as far as lights I'll still be going with halides because at 6 cent/kwh(off peak) I can justify going leds to save $40 a month. plus in less than a year we will have SOLAR!!!:bounce3:

 

[James77]

My wife has been really bugging me - I estimate my tank is adding $200/month+ to my electric bill. It is so bad I run my lights on a night-time cycle (8PM - 8AM), when electricity is cheaper. I just replaced 6 submersible pumps with one powerful Reeflo (~300 Watts down to ~135). I am saving toward Vortech's to replace my closed loop (140W -> 36 or so). But the biggest hit is the 1000W or so of lights on my main tank! Next year I will switch to LEDs, hopefully cut that down to less than half. Then maybe I will be able to look at my tank in the daytime.
Now if I could only get my wife to shut the lights off when she leaves a room...

What are you using for lighting? What size is the tank?

 

[GlassReef]

This year at MACNA, James Fatherree gave a presentation on how to make our reef aquariums greener. Reducing the use of electricity was a large part of the talk. In July, James gave the presentation at our club (Tampa Bay Reef Club) meeting and was kind enough to let us record it on video.

For those who might be interested we have posted the video(s) on our forum, here on RC: How To Make A Reef Aquarium Greener

 

[EnderG60]

Im lucky that electricity is farily cheap here even on peak hours. Due to that and bulb costs it is still cheaper for me to run my 3x400w halides and 4x39w t5's then go to LED's. 9-10 years till payoff isnt worth it for me.

Also all you close loop haters need to remember about things like eductors. I have a single dart with 6 eductors providing at least 7200gph(probably closer to 10,000gph) of flow for 175w. Which is run 15-30 min an hour. that and not having to clean 2-5 pumps every few months is worth it.

The biggest thing people overlook is heating and cooling. Things like fans and external pumps go a long way to curbing chiller loads. and insulating pipes and sumps in the winter help heating.

My biggest problem areas where heating and cooling. my sump is in my basement which hits 85 in the summer and 55 in the winter. Last winter I was spending about $60-80 a month on heating the tank!

This fall I will be going nuts on the sump with insulation and next spring I will be installing a geothermal loop for cooling.

With all that, I should be able to get my monthly bill below $100 a month for a 480g system.

Just remeber its not about just saving electricity, its about time till payoff.

For example without insulating I can spend $1000 on a used tankless gas water heater just for the tank. That would take 4-5 years to pay off. After insulating(costing maybe $40) that time to payoff could double making it not a good idea.

 

[hvacman250]

Im lucky that electricity is farily cheap here even on peak hours. Due to that and bulb costs it is still cheaper for me to run my 3x400w halides and 4x39w t5's then go to LED's. 9-10 years till payoff isnt worth it for me.

Also all you close loop haters need to remember about things like eductors. I have a single dart with 6 eductors providing at least 7200gph(probably closer to 10,000gph) of flow for 175w. Which is run 15-30 min an hour. that and not having to clean 2-5 pumps every few months is worth it.

The biggest thing people overlook is heating and cooling. Things like fans and external pumps go a long way to curbing chiller loads. and insulating pipes and sumps in the winter help heating.

My biggest problem areas where heating and cooling. my sump is in my basement which hits 85 in the summer and 55 in the winter. Last winter I was spending about $60-80 a month on heating the tank!

This fall I will be going nuts on the sump with insulation and next spring I will be installing a geothermal loop for cooling.

With all that, I should be able to get my monthly bill below $100 a month for a 480g system.

Just remeber its not about just saving electricity, its about time till payoff.

For example without insulating I can spend $1000 on a used tankless gas water heater just for the tank. That would take 4-5 years to pay off. After insulating(costing maybe $40) that time to payoff could double making it not a good idea.

Maybe I am doing this wrong, but:

3 x 400 watt = 1200 W
4 x 39 W = 156
Total of 1356 watts of lighting

Using MY energy rate of 0.12 cent per kWh:

1356/1000=1.356 x 0.12=0.16272 per hour
Lights on 8 hours per day: 0.16272 x 8 hrs = $1.30 per 8 hr day

Lets assume you went with 3 clusters of 36 LEDS @ 3 W/LED (108 LEDs), your consumption is now down to 324 W, or $0.31 per 8 hr day.

You could save $0.99 (let's say $1.00) per day going to LED. You could build that LED set-up for $1000 easy. Thats a payback of 2.7 years based SOLELY on energy savings. LEDS last 10+ years. MHs last 9 months? t5s once a year?

I bet your payback is more like ONE year when you factor in replacing MH and t5 bulbs.

 

[BonsaiNut]

Reverse the night/day cycle of your tank versus the real day. Run your lights at night, when the ambient temperature in your house is lower. Try to avoid using a heater OR a chiller.

Turn off all non-essential pumps when they aren't needed.

Use LED fixtures(!)

Plumb your tank with the largest plumbing that you can. Run larger pumps at lower RPM's. Consider buying a variable speed pump that will run higher RPM's during the night and lower during the day. Try to run everything off the fewest number of pumps possible - buy fewer large pumps versus lots of little pumps.

Check out this video to see a real world example of how much electricity you can save by running a variable speed pump. Yeah, it's for a pool pump, but the principle is the same for an aquarium pump.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Turn off all non-essential pumps when the lights are off...

...Consider buying a variable speed pump that will run higher RPM's during the day, and lower at night.

In fact, the corals (in our aquariums) need MORE flow at night, not less. Turing off pumps will lower gas exchange AND flow over the corals. That means lower oxygen saturation in the tank AND less flow over the corals when they need it most. The corals use the night hours to transport waste, breathe and eat.

Also, many fish rest or sleep deep in the rock structure where lower flow can reduce oxygen levels. How many of you have neglected to turn a return pump back on after feeding or maintenance and come back half a day later to find your prized cave dweller dead because he was hiding in a low oxygen area of the tank?

 

[BonsaiNut]

In fact, the corals (in our aquariums) need MORE flow at night, not less. Turing off pumps will lower gas exchange AND flow over the corals. That means lower oxygen saturation in the tank AND less flow over the corals when they need it most. The corals use the night hours to transport waste, breathe and eat.

Also, many fish rest or sleep deep in the rock structure where lower flow can reduce oxygen levels. How many of you have neglected to turn a return pump back on after feeding or maintenance and come back half a day later to find your prized cave dweller dead because he was hiding in a low oxygen area of the tank?

Your points are all valid. I think I was in "swimming pool" mode when I wrote that, LOL. I'll edit it so no one reads my post and does something awkward

 

[BeanAnimal]

Your points are all valid. I think I was in "swimming pool" mode when I wrote that, LOL. I'll edit it so no one reads my post and does something awkward

I think we all fall into the same trap at one time or another. It just "feels" logical that the water should be "calm" when things are sleeping

This is one example if where our tanks and the ocean are very different. The oxygen levels in the ocean do not become a problem on a real reef, even in the calmest of conditions. Our tanks are a different story due to the delicate, sometimes razor thing balance that we maintain.

No need to edit your post, as reading a discussion is what helps people learn.

 

[EnderG60]

Maybe I am doing this wrong, but:

3 x 400 watt = 1200 W
4 x 39 W = 156
Total of 1356 watts of lighting

Using MY energy rate of 0.12 cent per kWh:

1356/1000=1.356 x 0.12=0.16272 per hour
Lights on 8 hours per day: 0.16272 x 8 hrs = $1.30 per 8 hr day

Lets assume you went with 3 clusters of 36 LEDS @ 3 W/LED (108 LEDs), your consumption is now down to 324 W, or $0.31 per 8 hr day.

You could save $0.99 (let's say $1.00) per day going to LED. You could build that LED set-up for $1000 easy. Thats a payback of 2.7 years based SOLELY on energy savings. LEDS last 10+ years. MHs last 9 months? t5s once a year?

I bet your payback is more like ONE year when you factor in replacing MH and t5 bulbs.

My electrical rate is actually $.04/kwhr on peak its $.12 and durring the summer I adjust my lights to not run on peak hours.

Halides 400w x3 for 6 hours a day = 7.2kw/day
T5's 39w x 4 for 12 hours a day = 1.9kw/day
Total 9.1kw/day = $10.92 a month = $131.04 per year
Bulbs = 3x70 + 4x20 = $290 a year
Total light costs = $421.04 per year

LED's - In order ot get anywhere near the same lighting as the halides I would need about 320 of them for my 72x36 foot print.

So 320 x 3w for 12 hours a day = $11.52 a month = $138.24 per year

So all I would be saving is the costs of bulbs($290 a year) the cost of the LED's ALONE is over $2500 let alone the heat sinks, power supplies and all the reast. So just the LED's would take 8.6 years to recoup the costs.

All that equals not worth it. I could probably adjust the power over the 12hours of lights on, but that would only get me down to the 5-6 year recoup, which is still not really worth it.

Add to that the fact I dont need a chiller, and have issues keep the tank warm in the winter, and LEDs become stupid....but thats just me:wave:

 

[Drewbaby]

On my 55 reef I've only been running my 2 actinic bulbs on my 4 bulb T5 fixture for the last 4 months and still have good growth and amazing colors. Occasionally I'll run the 2 whites for 2-3 hours a day. On my 180 which is currently a Fowlr on it's way to a reef I run my 2 vho actinics for 3 days then have a dark day with lights out. I'm getting crazy coraline growth and am going to start adding some corals soon. Mostly lower light stuff first, then when I start adding acros and sps I'll start running my halides a few hours a day. I currently have 3 250w mh but I'm looking into possibly downsizing to 2 if that will support the corals.

 

[kkiel02]

Drewbaby- I ran 2 20k reeflux bulbs in lumenbright mini pendants over my 180. I got decent growth out of it. I bet with a 12k you could get much better growth though. I had a maxima clam on the bottom, my purple bonsai was also maybe 1/4 of the way up the tank. I am actually going to only run 3 250s(may switch to 400 if the growth isnt great) on my 360 but am using lumenbright large pendants and will run them 8-10 hours a day. Plus I dont use chillers so that saves alot of money.