From mh to led anyone notice a big diff in power bill?

BrentH · 11/19/2013, 04:18 PM

I really love mh and how good they work with sps but my edison bill is 750 a month just wondering if I switched to led if it would make a huge diff I'm running 4 400 watt radiums and 2 250 watt on a diff tank ?

rtparty · 11/19/2013, 04:45 PM

Your power bill is directly related to how many watts you are using. If you use less watts with an LED system, your bill will be less and vice versa. 2+2 = 4 no matter what...

Now if your heaters have to run a ton more to add heat back to the tank (doubtful in SoCal) then your savings may be insignificant. What dimensions are your tanks? I am betting the 400w halides could easily be replaced by 250w Radiums and save some electricity there.

You also REALLY need to look at the pumps you are using. They are on 24/7/365 and will add a ton to your bill as well. People always over look this aspect. Pumps are just a big of drain on your electricity as lights if they are inefficient pumps.

mixedreefjunky · 11/19/2013, 04:47 PM

Def would notice a difference. Just made the switch from MH to LED myself and I went from 3680w in 8hr/day with MH down to 1960w with LED for 14hr/day. Not to mention my chiller would need to come on a lot before, now my tank will drop 4 degrees while the LED's are on if I don't put a heater on which I had to. Some people say that they don't make a difference especially if your LED's like mine are 240w max power. With that being said, you have to take into consideration that you do not and do not need to run your LED's at 100%power even at the peak of your lighting schedule. I still haven't decided where to peak my fixture at but currently it runs at it's peak for 5 hrs at 55% blue channel 35% full spectrum channel. I will be moving back to Florida in a year from Colorado and when I get there I will be saving a lot more with my LED's because I won't have to run my ac more to make up for the MH's heat production, which I did for 5 years and that wasn't cheaper.

Btw I had 2x250w 14k MH's with 2x96w pc's before and my calculated watt usage was with my MH's only on for 4hrs, if you run them longer you will save more watts then me.

Plus before I had 4 wires and two timers for my lighting fixture, now I have only 1 wire with no timers. Built-in controller is really nice.

IMHO, make the switch you'll be glad you did, that is if you do your research first. Otherwise you might be real unhappy.

Ecotech Radians are extremely overrated and don't have the spread of cheaper fixtures. Your just paying for the control, which you have to do through a computer and their server goes down a bit.

davidfrances · 11/19/2013, 06:13 PM

I switched from 1,000 watts of MH's to 1,200 watts of controllable LED's. My electric bill dropped approximately $200 per month despite the increased wattage. I attribute it to the fact that I'm only running at 100% for about 4 hours a day AND the fact that the LED's give off a lot less energy in the form of heat.

mypepper · 11/19/2013, 07:44 PM

Used to run two 250 watt metal halides along with two 55 watt power pc's at 10 hours a day. Now I'm running two Vega color LED's for the same 10 hour period and saving $29.00 dollars per month.

My coral growth is as good with my Vega's units, so the benefits in cost savings is a no brainier.

Now that I'm using the AI Director in it's full potential, I would never go back to metal halides.

Thanks,
Randy

moondoggy4 · 11/20/2013, 09:00 PM

RentH Do you have a Kill-A-Watt? Can you track how long your heater is running?Can you shorten your light cycle?
Randy I am surprised that your saving are not more, I know it is all about the tier system here in Calif.

ca1ore · 11/20/2013, 09:17 PM

LEDs save me $ in the summer; not so much in the winter.

power boat jim · 11/20/2013, 11:02 PM

Save about 30 or so dollars a month after the switch to LEDs. Replaced 3 400w halides with 6 AI sols and 2 buildmyled full spectrum lights.

11/19/2013, 04:18 PM	#1
BrentH Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: so cal Posts: 1,288	From mh to led anyone notice a big diff in power bill? I really love mh and how good they work with sps but my edison bill is 750 a month just wondering if I switched to led if it would make a huge diff I'm running 4 400 watt radiums and 2 250 watt on a diff tank ?

11/19/2013, 04:45 PM	#2
rtparty Raise The Reef! Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Utah Posts: 7,404	Your power bill is directly related to how many watts you are using. If you use less watts with an LED system, your bill will be less and vice versa. 2+2 = 4 no matter what... Now if your heaters have to run a ton more to add heat back to the tank (doubtful in SoCal) then your savings may be insignificant. What dimensions are your tanks? I am betting the 400w halides could easily be replaced by 250w Radiums and save some electricity there. You also REALLY need to look at the pumps you are using. They are on 24/7/365 and will add a ton to your bill as well. People always over look this aspect. Pumps are just a big of drain on your electricity as lights if they are inefficient pumps. __________________ Ryan Click on my user name and check out my homepage! Current Tank Info: 50g Cadlights/Giesemann Spectra (250w Radium, 2 ATI Blue Plus, 2 ATI Actinic)/2 x Vortech MP10wQD/Skimz SN123/Eheim Compact 3000+

11/19/2013, 04:47 PM	#3
mixedreefjunky Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Pembroke Pines, FL Posts: 250	Def would notice a difference. Just made the switch from MH to LED myself and I went from 3680w in 8hr/day with MH down to 1960w with LED for 14hr/day. Not to mention my chiller would need to come on a lot before, now my tank will drop 4 degrees while the LED's are on if I don't put a heater on which I had to. Some people say that they don't make a difference especially if your LED's like mine are 240w max power. With that being said, you have to take into consideration that you do not and do not need to run your LED's at 100%power even at the peak of your lighting schedule. I still haven't decided where to peak my fixture at but currently it runs at it's peak for 5 hrs at 55% blue channel 35% full spectrum channel. I will be moving back to Florida in a year from Colorado and when I get there I will be saving a lot more with my LED's because I won't have to run my ac more to make up for the MH's heat production, which I did for 5 years and that wasn't cheaper. Btw I had 2x250w 14k MH's with 2x96w pc's before and my calculated watt usage was with my MH's only on for 4hrs, if you run them longer you will save more watts then me. Plus before I had 4 wires and two timers for my lighting fixture, now I have only 1 wire with no timers. Built-in controller is really nice. IMHO, make the switch you'll be glad you did, that is if you do your research first. Otherwise you might be real unhappy. Ecotech Radians are extremely overrated and don't have the spread of cheaper fixtures. Your just paying for the control, which you have to do through a computer and their server goes down a bit.

11/19/2013, 06:13 PM	#4
davidfrances Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Parkville, MO Posts: 666	I switched from 1,000 watts of MH's to 1,200 watts of controllable LED's. My electric bill dropped approximately $200 per month despite the increased wattage. I attribute it to the fact that I'm only running at 100% for about 4 hours a day AND the fact that the LED's give off a lot less energy in the form of heat.

11/19/2013, 07:44 PM	#5
mypepper Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: San Mateo, Ca Posts: 422	Used to run two 250 watt metal halides along with two 55 watt power pc's at 10 hours a day. Now I'm running two Vega color LED's for the same 10 hour period and saving $29.00 dollars per month. My coral growth is as good with my Vega's units, so the benefits in cost savings is a no brainier. Now that I'm using the AI Director in it's full potential, I would never go back to metal halides. Thanks, Randy

11/20/2013, 09:00 PM	#6
moondoggy4 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: menifee So cal Posts: 11,042	RentH Do you have a Kill-A-Watt? Can you track how long your heater is running?Can you shorten your light cycle? Randy I am surprised that your saving are not more, I know it is all about the tier system here in Calif.

11/20/2013, 09:17 PM	#7
ca1ore Grizzled & Cynical Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Stamford, CT Posts: 17,319	LEDs save me $ in the summer; not so much in the winter.

11/20/2013, 11:02 PM	#8
power boat jim Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Wisconsin, The big peninsula Posts: 2,100	Save about 30 or so dollars a month after the switch to LEDs. Replaced 3 400w halides with 6 AI sols and 2 buildmyled full spectrum lights.