another $%&*! Electric bill Thread

[Paul B]

I keep the switch for my boiler in the tank so when it gets cold, the fish can turn on the heat themselves. :bablefish

 

[georgelc86]

Same here, my temp isnt steady either, but it doesnt variate that much either 78-82 on average.

Ming you forgot to add dimmers for those people who dont like the look of flourescents.

 

[gimincorp]

Up by $20?! - will have to see / compare a few months

Not sure what happened, but this month's bills are off. Pretty high I would say. I'll have to do comparative investigation to figure them out.

 

[georgelc86]

Gimin, I think you have ConEd in NewRo, they raised their rates a bit. That might be what your seeing.

 

[ming]

I'm a believer not all tanks will have ich and that ich can't grow if it doesn't exist in the tank, no matter what the temp swings or how stressed the fish are.

Also, for example my tank went up to 82 yesterday, but dropped down to 78 last night. Today was cold so it went up to 80 today, and is currently down to 78. The fan turns off at 78 and heater won't kick on unless it goes to 77.

FYI, I have a purple tang which is ich free

This thread is getting off topic and if there are further questions about ich, please make a new thread

 

[Bob 1000]

Sounds good..

 

[pecan2phat]

Your home probably averages about 2,000 watts unless you have an AC on or a big reef tank.

Paul,
2k watts per hour or day :lol:
My August bill said I averaged 90k watts per day = 90,000 watts per day

 

[Paul B]

2000 watts an hour, and thats with half my panels installed

 

[RaSooch]

Check out this thread on RC:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=13212347#post13212347

Something I'd definitely do, when I get a house

Looks like a great idea for people who live in southern sates that get alot of sun during the day. Not too sure about NYer's though, especially during winter months.

 

[nikkibabee]

I dont pay for electric!

 

[nycmat]

I dont pay for electric!

U SUK!!

i am completly jealous.!! lol

 

[Paul B]

Looks like a great idea for people who live in southern sates that get alot of sun during the day. Not too sure about NYer's though, especially during winter months.

Actually the solar panels produce more power in the winter. They are more efficient when they are cold. Of course the winters have shorter days which offsets that but I just finished installing the last of my 22 panels an hour ago and I should produce about 3700 watts when the sun is shinning. Thats about 35 amps. My entire house does not use that much power and I have a 2 family unless the ACs are on or all three refrigerators kick in at the same time. Most of the day light hours my meter should run backwards, reducing my bill. I will let you know as soon as the sun comes out.
It is fairly rainy and dark now and it is producing 250 watts which means I am running my reef for free.

 

[RaSooch]

Paul B.,

I was refering to the RC forum link that was refenced in regards to Solar tubes being used to light a reef tank. A guy on RC installed three 14" Solar tubes to run down to his first floor to light his tank using natural light and he lived in TX. It looked awsome but not reallistic for a NYer.

You're panels are a great idea for the NY reefer to cut costs, I wish I had the finances right now to pull the trigger.

 

[Paul B]

Today was fairly sunny so it was producing about 3,000 watts which made me very happy

 

[wrasseman]

17 tanks its pretty insane just gonna have to work overtime cause im not losing ANY of my tanks ! yet gotta get more cant find space !

 

[Irisservice]

Today was fairly sunny so it was producing about 3,000 watts which made me very happy

Whats the least you produce?
lets say on a cloudy day like today

 

[Paul B]

Whats the least you produce?

On a cloudy day like it is now or if it is raining but not real dark I produce about 315 watts.
Thats only 14 watts a panel.

 

[masterswimmer]

Paul, how much does your utility company pay you per kilowatt when/if you backfeed the grid?

 

[Paul B]

I am not sure yet but I do know it is less than they charge me. My meter runs backward when I generate more than I use but I doubt it runs backward at the same speed that it runs forward with the same power

 

[Irisservice]

can we see what the panels are hooked up to?inverter,battery,etc