Summer bills... Power consumption

[crew]

my two tanks cost me $18 a month

 

[rasbora]

I'm in marietta too and my bill went up a fair bit. Ended up putting black out curtains on all the windows, that helped a fair bit. Also reversed the day/night schedule, so lights go on at night when it's cooler. Seems to help.

 

[rjrgroup]

That's awesome thanks for that!!! My tank costs less than $30 per month. My bill was still only $154 last month and we keep the temp set at 74-76.

CodSack;678533 wrote: Check out this link to see what your tank is costing you

 

[skriz]

Dvara78;678567 wrote: My bill last month was $242 and this month is $260. My home is approx 2,700sqft and I have two units - one for upstairs and one for downstairs.

My thermostats are programmed like this:

Lower Level
6:30am - 9:am - 75F
9:am - 4:30pm - 83F (after everyone has left the house)
4:30pm - 10:30pm - 75F
10:30pm - 6:30am 83F

weekends - it remains on 75F from 7am - 10:30pm and 83F all other times

Upper Level
9pm - 8am - 72F
8am - 9pm - 83F

I also keep the vents in the rooms I don't use often (guest rooms) etc closed. this has helped be keep my bill down below $300 during the hotter months. Oh and I swtiched to a tankless water heater so I only use gas and power when we need hot water.

I have a 34G solana with LED's

hope this helps!

I can't stagger my temps as much. Not only will the locals get restless, it affects the tank. I do try and sneak in a slight program change every once in a while. I get busted every time!

Crew;678580 wrote: my two tanks cost me $18 a month

Yep, I officially hate you now. :confused2:

I can't bear to look it up, but I'm pretty sure my 2.5 HP chiller alone consumes more than that! Combine that with the halides and all the pumps to run a 1000 galloner... :doh:

 

[codsack]

rjrgroup;678699 wrote: That's awesome thanks for that!!! My tank costs less than $30 per month. My bill was still only $154 last month and we keep the temp set at 74-76.

Glad to help man!

 

[jj ocean]

grouper;678539 wrote: Wow, that's high. I have 3 AC unit too!! My bill was $420 last month. Square footage is pretty decent too!! $800 wow!!!

Yeah, mine was about 400-500 a month last summer. Don't know what the heck is going on this summer.

 

[cr500_af]

Mine is nearly $500 as of last month. That's 2400sf ranch, thermostat on 78 24/7.
I have about 750w of lighting in total on three tanks.

 

[ralph atl]

I'm 350.00 per month....I was disappointed...but now I'm freakin' happy! lol Thanks!

 

[acroholic]

hud3339;678548 wrote: Wow I feel sorry for everyone, my last one was only $182 that's with my 58g and 12g. There are 3 people living here, one is home all the time.

Edit: Wow I feel sorry for everyone, my last one was only $182 that's with my 58g and 12g. There are 3 people living here, one is home all the time.

Eddy,
Every post I see from you is a double post with the Edit post being exactly the same as the first one.

Are you double clicking submit or is your mouse wacky?

 

[brianjfinn]

Acroholic;678784 wrote: Eddy,
Every post I see from you is a double post with the Edit post being exactly the same as the first one.

Are you double clicking submit or is your mouse wacky?

It's his cell phone. There are a few others that have the same thing happen to them.

I've never had a power bill over $150. I keep the house at 80 while we're gone, then down to 76 while we're there. I did notice that both my power and my water bill increased by almost 25% when I upgraded to the 70 gallon last November.

 

[acroholic]

I don't feel too bad about my bill now that I've seen others. 300/150/100 gallon reef tanks. 180 gallon FW tank kept at 85 degrees, 265 gallon FW tank kept at 85 degrees. 3400 SF ranch house with 1800 additional SF finished, climate controlled space in the basement. 4 ton and 2 ton HVAC systems (high efficiency Trane) with thermostat set on 74 degrees.

Last months electric $700.

 

[jamescook]

I've got some seriously old equipment. 400g in the house and 800g in the fish room and last months bills were 800 and this months are $950! Something ain't right!

 

[itsamyheff]

I don't feel so bad with our bill after looking at some of your posts. You should get a energy audit. I have seen some companies offering a free audit, of course you have to listen to there sales pitch. An under insulated attic, poor ventilated attic will cause a crazy power bill just from that alone.

 

[mojo]

My monthly bill in the summer was $750 two summers ago. New blown-in insulation in the attic and two new high-efficiency AC units and this summer it's ~$450. I estimate the tanks are about $120-150 of that.

Keep in mind that your AC has to work harder. The vast majority of energy powering a 400w, 250w, etc halide is expelled as heat. Which means your HVAC has to run that much harder to keep up. My point? It's hard to estimate everything related to the tank - there's more energy being used than just pumps, lights, and chillers...

 

[grouper therapy]

For those of you running chillers keep in mind that if it is in the cooled portion of the house every BTU removed by the chiller has to be removed BY your hvac again.

 

[cr500_af]

grouper therapy;679133 wrote: For those of you running chillers keep in mind that if it is in the cooled portion of the house every BTU removed by the chiller has to be removed BY your hvac again.

Which is why I can't wait to finish the basement equipment room!

 

[crewdawg1981]

We're having a power company consultant come out and look at everything. We're definitely exploring the idea of having a second AC unit installed and reviewing how much insulation is in the attic. It was also a reason I was exploring either converting to t5s or LEDs... I dont want T5s and LEDs have pros and cons, so not sure if I'll be making a change on that front yet.