MH and Elec. Bill

[intenseimage]

Ive read stories how people who have switched to MH have had their elec bill go up a considerable ammount. I currently have a small tank with 2x24 PCs and want to switch to a 150w SunPod but want to be prepared if my bill will go up alot.

If anyone might know how much this fixture draws please let me know ... I cant just plug 150 into the Elec. Calculator can I since its based on what the ballast draws and not the output .. correct?

[anthony34]

its based perWatt, you the calculator it will give you your montly bill that your tank produces

dont forget to change the Cost of electricity per KWH for your area

http://reefcentral.com/calc/tank_elec_calc.php

[intenseimage]

Yea but can I just put 150 into that ? I thought it was based on power draw of the ballast and not the output of the bulb?

Using that calculator (our cost is 0.056 per KWH)

Lighting: 150 / 12 hrs
Return Pump: 20 / 24 hrs
Skimmer: 20 / 24 hrs
Other Pump: 8 / 24 hrs

I get a whopping $5 a month ... that just doesnt make sense since I just read a post floating around somewhere on how a guys elec bill went up over a $100 because he switched to MH!?

[anthony34]

Put in the wattage of your bulbs, filters, pumps ect... and the hours it runs, the ballast just gives you the Max and Min it is safely rated at, the bulbs is whats actually does the power drain

[intenseimage]

^ see above

[anthony34]

it all depends on where you live CA is one of the most expensice, so unless you live there its hard to compare to other places, not to mention we are human and stretch the truth a bit , I am running 2X400 MH + Chiller + plus other hard ware and my bill went up maybe $30.

The Key is "Cost of electricity per KWH" for your area

[intenseimage]

I guess some people are getting raped by KWH in their area!

[anthony34]

again it all just depends on where you live, thats about correct if thats your true KWH that they charge there... not a big increase at all.

[jasper24]

I do not think going to a single 150W MH will have a big affect on your bill. I run an Aqualight Pro with 1 150W and 2 x 65 w actinics and did not even notice a difference when I changed from PC's.

[intenseimage]

^ even if I went to 1000 watts I would only go up to like 20 bucks ... guess im just lucky to live in an area where power is cheap

[anthony34]

nah you would not see a big change, may not notice it at all honestly, and you have to keep in mind, most rate an increase on a yearly basics not monthly. You are looking at a monthly cost which in most cases does not seem big Your statement should give you a yearly cost thats what really sticks out.

[Kaiser Tang]

Just turn your MH on and make and extra effort to turn other things around the house off (i.e. lights/tv when not in use). It will balance out.

[mthedude]

keep in mind that KWH aren't always a constant price, typically a power co will bill you x amount for the first 100 hours or whatever they choose, and it can go up or down the next 100 hours as well, that's why peak hours are more expensive and everyone tells you do your laundry and wash dishes at night vs. during the day. For the most part 150 watts isn't that much. Today's modern refrigerators cost the same to run as a 75 watt light bulb 24 hours a day, so your 1 150 watt bulb run 12 hours a day won't make a dent in your bill.

[intenseimage]

During the week we leave the house at 6 am and dont get home till 7 pm ... everything we do it "off peak" haha

I didnt think MH could change your bill all that much but when I heard it creating $100 differences I started to question it.

Alls good .. thanks

[coralnut99]

I live in N.E. Pa. and I run 1,428 watts of lighting on 4 separate systems (without refugium lights!). My bill for April came a while ago and it was whopping $148. Consider that I didn't throw in heaters, fans, pumps and powerheads. The topper is that my house is 100% electric. So it's like me total gas & electric consumption for a late spring month. It will probably drop to around $120 a month during the summer since we don't run AC at all.

As has been said, the cost per KHW is the determining factor. And even that can be variable. I don't have a bill with me at the moment, but my utility significantly reduces the KWH charge for evening and night usage. So I skew the lighting on my tanks to run later into the night. That's when I do 90% of the viewing / work on the tanks anyway.

[xlayedoutx]

Be thankful you don't live in CA. Our KWH charge goes from $0.11 per KWH up to around $0.30 depending on how much over you are. We're given a baseline at $0.11 and it goes up from there. We were over every month before the tank and that was while useing a gas heater for the house. I'm afraid to see what mines going to be with the tank and A/C running.

[RichConley]

Originally posted by intenseimage


I get a whopping $5 a month ... that just doesnt make sense since I just read a post floating around somewhere on how a guys elec bill went up over a $100 because he switched to MH!?

Usually thats people who are already on the brink heat-wise, and go from PCs, to 2x400 or soemthing, so the halides cost them like $40 more a month, and then their chiller runs more, and that costs them another $60.

[burning2nd]

i got a 400watt runing upstairs. it sucks

i think amps are what kill ya tho

[physicslord]

Originally posted by intenseimage
Yea but can I just put 150 into that ? I thought it was based on power draw of the ballast and not the output of the bulb?

Using that calculator (our cost is 0.056 per KWH)

Lighting: 150 / 12 hrs
Return Pump: 20 / 24 hrs
Skimmer: 20 / 24 hrs
Other Pump: 8 / 24 hrs

I get a whopping $5 a month ... that just doesnt make sense since I just read a post floating around somewhere on how a guys elec bill went up over a $100 because he switched to MH!?

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this. You are correct.
Power Factor (PF) determines how efficient your ballast is at converting Watts of electricity to Watts of light from your Bulb.

You want the PF to be as close to 1 as physically possible since that would mean 100% of the power you draw is going into light and not into waste products like heat.

The powercompacts ballasts and bulbs are pretty efficient so you might notice a change when you convert to MH with the same wattage.

Stay away from magnetic ballasts. They draw more power than they need and convert the excess to heat. Their PF is low. Hence you will notice that they are hot on the outside. No ballast is perfect so they do waste some energy converting it to heat.

There are some really good electronic ballasts out there so look around and I think some of them have PF ~ .9 or so.

If you are adding excess heat into the system you're in a world of hurt because then you might need to have a chiller running more often which really adds to your electricity bill.

Also, just a reminder to all, you pay for the amount of power you use not the number of electrons or current.
Power and Current are simply related. If you know the amount of current you are drawing then:

Power = Current x Voltage
Where voltage is usually 110.

I think for our simple purposes this should suffice:
For a Bulb with a certain wattage then
Power Consumed = (wattage rating for bulb) + (1 - PF)x(wattage rating for bulb)

Although, more complication is probably involved than this.

The old physics book addage goes:

"You don't buy electrons, you pay the power company to lend you excited electrons. "

Can anyone else explain this better? I think this is right but I'm not an expert on bulbs and efficiency.