electricity cost for 75gal.

[jandree22]

I'm getting ready to move into my first apartment in a month or two. Electricity isn't included in many of the places I'm looking at, and I was wondering what a ballpark expectation is for my electric bill devoted to running my 75gal. tank. It's got 2 200W heaters, 4 NO flourescents(12hr/day), 3 powerheads and a canister filter. Thanks

 

[ChrisRD]

It depends on your electric rate. Your electric company charges you per KWH (kilowatt-hour). 1 KW = 1000 watts, therefore to calculate how many KWH something is using you mutiply its draw in watts by hours of use and then divide that number by 1000. In other words KWHs = watts * hours / 1000

So in your case, if for example you're paying $0.10 per KWH, you'd be looking at something like:

2 X 200W heaters @ (assume) 12 hours/day = 4.8 KWH
4 X 40W lights @ 12 hours/day = 1.92 KWH
3 X 20W powerheads (assume MJ1200s) @ 24 hours/day = 1.44 KWH
1 X 40W (wild guess) canister filter @ 24 hours/day = 0.96 KWH

TOTAL = 9.12 KWH/day @ $0.10/KWH = $0.912/day
$0.912/day @ 30 days/month = $27.36 per month.

Obviously there are some assumptions in there, but you get the idea...

HTH

 

[jandree22]

eek... that's more than I expected 8O

the way that you broke it down, however, I can see that it's probably ballpark... thanks!

 

[bradl.]

Dont forget the halides!! $ $ $

 

[Mihai]

Honestly, I think that your heaters will barely work (if at all), so you can take them off the equation (thus resulting in about 50% savings).

M.

 

[jandree22]

I was even thinking about bringing back the temp from 79 to maybe around 75... sometimes just that little bit of change goes a long way.

Oh, and by the way bradl, my tank is a FOWLR... so I don't got the 500w of halides 8)

 

[ChrisRD]

FWIW, out of curiosity I've put a watt monitor on a 50 gallon reef. The tank had 2 X 250 watt DE halides, 1 X 65 watt PC on the fuge, 4 X MJ1200 powerheads as well as submersible skimmer and return pumps (so, plenty of heat sources). A 200 watt heater was running about 11 hours a day to keep temps in the high 70s (ambient temps were usually low 70s).

On a tank like yours that has no large pumps or strong lighting, unless you run tank temps down near your ambient room temps, I would expect the heaters to contribute a significant amount to your running costs.

 

[Mihai]

I see, this is all about your room temperature then . In my 90 gallon reef I have no heaters; on the contrary, I am running the fans on a timer set to about 16 hours a day to keep the temperature at 82 (if I run it at 12h - same as the MH the temperature goes to 85). The main difference is that my room temperature is more like 77F not low 70. We just like it warmer .

M.

 

[ChrisRD]

Yup, I'm from up north so I consider 70 comfortable... :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

My heater only runs during late fall, winter, and late spring. So, half the year the heater is off at a minimum. Even during the other six months it is off more than it is on. My heater is not a big factor. However, lights on for 12 hours and pumps for 24, that is a factor. Plus, LIPA(Long Island Power Authority) has the second highest rates in the country(after Maui). Well, that reminds me to go get the KY, my LIPA bill is due. 8O

 

[jandree22]

Plus, LIPA(Long Island Power Authority) has the second highest rates in the country(after Maui). Well, that reminds me to go get the KY, my LIPA bill is due. 8O

Where exactly did you get that info from? Any site with a listing of all power costs for any area?

 

[Anonymous]

I got it off of NEWS12 Long Island when they were running the story on the rediculous cost of energy on LI. They got their info from a website, but I do not know which one.

 

[Anonymous]

According to this site http://www.econsci.com/rates/residential.html


LI and NYC(Consolidated Edison) pay the most country wide.

 

[Anonymous]

Oh yeah, LIPA also tacks on an increased fuel charge to the bill every two or three months for around $80.