Tru cost of runnina chiller verses fans.

[Mmiller40gt]

Im not good with the math of thermodynamics or even great with electricity.
I was considering fans or a chiller to cool my 90 gallon 5 degrees. Fans work by evaporative cooling. So any heat removed from the tank by fans is put into my house for my AC to cool. That air is obviously very humid and one of the chief reasons your house ac works efficiently is by removing humidity. A chiller on the other hand works via vapor compression. The heat removed from the tank is moved into my house without the humidity but at the cost of more electric usage.

So do fans using little electric but adding humidity to the house cause my AC to use more electric than a chiller would cooling the tank without the added humidity? Or could they be equal? I guess it depends on the efficiency of the chiller and the central air.

 

[KCombs]

I think anymore the trend seems to be to invest your money in lighting technology that doesn't produce as much heat ...

I'm sorta a ole skooler that loved MH, but doing the math of a good MH fixture plus a chiller vs. say a High end T5 or LED ....well dollars and cents wise even I can see the cost benefit of a chiller isn't there (and I LOVE MH)

long story short: I'm not seeing chiller stocks trending out very well in the next 5-6 yrs

 

[Mmiller40gt]

I think anymore the trend seems to be to invest your money in lighting technology that doesn't produce as much heat ...

I'm sorta a ole skooler that loved MH, but doing the math of a good MH fixture plus a chiller vs. say a High end T5 or LED ....well dollars and cents wise even I can see the cost benefit of a chiller isn't there (and I LOVE MH)

long story short: I'm not seeing chiller stocks trending out very well in the next 5-6 yrs

I think there will be always be plance for halide. Maybe in 5 years when everyone works out the bugs of LED ill consider one. Till then I was just trying to figure out my cooling options. Even with my current lighting the tank never goes over 83. I just wanna keep it a stable 80.

 

[power boat jim]

I think there will be always be plance for halide. Maybe in 5 years when everyone works out the bugs of LED ill consider one. Till then I was just trying to figure out my cooling options. Even with my current lighting the tank never goes over 83. I just wanna keep it a stable 80.

If you dont own a chiller now there is no way it would be cheaper then running a couple clip on fans a few hours a day to cool the tank. Not to get you off topic but what "bugs" are you refering to for LEDs?

 

[Mmiller40gt]

If you dont own a chiller now there is no way it would be cheaper then running a couple clip on fans a few hours a day to cool the tank. Not to get you off topic but what "bugs" are you refering to for LEDs?

The chiller is free, no cost to me and only 1/10th HP, around 250 watts. I dont think I want the humidity added to my home.

LED "bugs" are the lack of a complete spectrum, power supply failures, long term testing and results. Every month a new color or flavor of LED bulb seems to come out. I don't think anyone will argue that a LED setup in 2017 wont be be far superior to the ones out today. We will all look back laughing and say "remember when we all though we had to have X ratio of cree bulbs". Just like when halides came out and your choice was only 6500K, 5 years later the tech had changed enough to allow the white and blue tanks we have today.

 

[power boat jim]

The chiller is free, no cost to me and only 1/10th HP, around 250 watts. I dont think I want the humidity added to my home.



With the laws of physics being what they are the chiller will add those 5deg of heat plus more to your house anyway. The fans would be my choice and were in the past. Even though the chiller is free it will still consume more wattage then the fans and that is heat added to the house. Your AC will probably take out the gallon or two of water the fans pick up during its normal running time.

 

[rwb500]

the total amount of heat energy added to your house is the same as the energy consumption of your cooling device. unless the chiller is placed outdoors. people who are serious about cooling put their chillers outside.

 

[Mmiller40gt]

The chiller is free, no cost to me and only 1/10th HP, around 250 watts. I dont think I want the humidity added to my home.



With the laws of physics being what they are the chiller will add those 5deg of heat plus more to your house anyway. The fans would be my choice and were in the past. Even though the chiller is free it will still consume more wattage then the fans and that is heat added to the house. Your AC will probably take out the gallon or two of water the fans pick up during its normal running time.

Yeah my AC will handle that no problem. My question was what is the cost required to remove 5 degrees of dry heat vs 5 degrees of wet heat. Does the central AC work harder or longer to remove that 2 gallons? If so do Fans+humid heat+Longer running AC=chiller+dry heat+shorter running ac

Was hoping someone could chime that knows how to calculate this or if it has ever been considered before.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

That air is obviously very humid and one of the chief reasons your house ac works efficiently is by removing humidity. .

No, that is wrong. It takes EXTRA energy to condense the water, on top of the energy needed to cool the air.

Evaporation of water actually is cooling (which is part of why fans can be so effective in a dry climate), but condensation produces heat and requires extra energy from an air conditioner.

That said, removal of the humidity may be a big part of why you "feel" more comfortable in an air conditioned home.

 

[rwb500]

Was hoping someone could chime that knows how to calculate this or if it has ever been considered before.

when you run a chiller indoors you CREATE heat. it is not simply a transformation of heat, like evaporation is. so your AC will be working harder if you use the chiller. This is because a chiller, like any machine, is not 100% efficient.

 

[KCombs]

when you run a chiller indoors you CREATE heat. it is not simply a transformation of heat, like evaporation is. so your AC will be working harder if you use the chiller. This is because a chiller, like any machine, is not 100% efficient.

When I lived in Phx, Az and MH was the standard, someone once worked out it was actually dang near as cheap to turn down the AC (everything has its limits and this was for a avg/medium sized home)

anyway, take it from someone who lived in the Southwest for over 23yrs; 83F isn't all that bad....

...maybe run the fans and make sure your ATO is up to snuff...

 

[Mmiller40gt]

When I lived in Phx, Az and MH was the standard, someone once worked out it was actually dang near as cheap to turn down the AC (everything has its limits and this was for a avg/medium sized home)

anyway, take it from someone who lived in the Southwest for over 23yrs; 83F isn't all that bad....

...maybe run the fans and make sure your ATO is up to snuff...

I keep the house at 70 and my other half already complains its cold. I am going to use both. Adding a fan and put the chiller on 80. That way it will not run very much and I have the piece of mine that the temperature is stable. If the chiller never kicks on the the only thing I lose is water pressure.


Thanks guys!

 

[JSeymour]

I don't have any numbers for you, and I couldn't without knowing a lot of variables.

If you're not looking to modify the system or your house to some degree, fans are the easiest. A temperature probe would be good to help regulate the cooling. Depending on you central air system, there could be a down-fall. On hot days, water may puddle around the unit due to water condensing on the cold piping inside. This is a hazard to both you and the central air unit.

Properly setup, a chiller will do more for you and your tanks comfort. If you can, placing the chiller outside, in the garage, or even the basement will help keep your living area cooler, with less humidity. The chiller has the added benefit of keeping your tank at a stable temperature, making you corals happier, thus better growth and color. If you are using kalkwasser to help keep Ca++ and alkalinity stable, you'll likely also need to start a two-part system or calcium reactor due to less water evaporating.

Hope this helps some.

 

[power boat jim]

I keep the house at 70 and my other half already complains its cold. I am going to use both. Adding a fan and put the chiller on 80. That way it will not run very much and I have the piece of mine that the temperature is stable. If the chiller never kicks on the the only thing I lose is water pressure.


Thanks guys!

The best of both worlds, the chiller makes a nice back up incase things get crazy in the Texas heat!!

 

[Fishbulb2]

I had an apartment in San Diego that would hit the 90's a few times a year and we had no AC. The fish had a chiller and the front of the unit would read 78 degrees (1/10 hp unit on a 38g tank). My wife and I would just stare at it and really resent the fish.

Not related but it's just the last memory I have of running a chiller.

FB

 

[kenghmoob]

I had an apartment in San Diego that would hit the 90's a few times a year and we had no AC. The fish had a chiller and the front of the unit would read 78 degrees (1/10 hp unit on a 38g tank). My wife and I would just stare at it and really resent the fish.

Not related but it's just the last memory I have of running a chiller.

FB

Hilarious cause I know what you mean. Don't forget to add that whenever the chiller turned on, the lights would dim then go back to normal because of the initial draw of power it needed to start