Is This An Expensive Hobby

[Fishy_7]

I am not referring to food and potions, just the electrical aspect. Our electricity bill is quite high and I am wondering whether it is down to the filter, heating and lighting of the aquarium? The other things that run all day long are a fridge freezer and chest freezer.

My set-up is in my sig. Heater is 150W and there is a UV light recently added that comes on for about 12 hours per day. Apart from the UV bulb itself, the filter is 9 watts.

Thanks.

 

[JenCliBee]

IME the fridge alone will use more elecricity than the whole of ur fish tank , after i set up my 4 foot tank i thought i'd have a much bigger electric bill but i think mine worked out 2 be about an extra £1- £2 a week so on the whole i would say by electric standards it was quite a cheap hobby


jen

 

[geo7x]

Don't ask me I don't pay the leccy bills

But AFAIK most energy is used for heating the tank, and in the summer months these will barely come on even in the UK. Lighting tubes are fairly efficient and so are filters.

 

[Rooster]

Don't ask me I don't pay the leccy bills

But AFAIK most energy is used for heating the tank, and in the summer months these will barely come on even in the UK. Lighting tubes are fairly efficient and so are filters.

Nooo, lighting is BY FAR the most expensive part... my 4 footer runs 75W for 10 hours a day...
Thats the equivilent of:
750 Watts for 1 hour per day, 5250 Watts for 1 hour per week, and 273000 Watts for 1 hour per year !!!! Phew, making me think now ! lol

Was about to get an electricity bill, and work out the cost, but I thought better of it !

 

[geo7x]

Ok I stand corrected

*reminds self that he actually knows very little about aquarium hardware *

 

[dgwebster]

Don't ask me I don't pay the leccy bills

But AFAIK most energy is used for heating the tank, and in the summer months these will barely come on even in the UK. Lighting tubes are fairly efficient and so are filters.

Nooo, lighting is BY FAR the most expensive part... my 4 footer runs 75W for 10 hours a day...
Thats the equivilent of:
750 Watts for 1 hour per day, 5250 Watts for 1 hour per week, and 273000 Watts for 1 hour per year !!!! Phew, making me think now ! lol

Was about to get an electricity bill, and work out the cost, but I thought better of it !

Electricity is charged in units and 1 unit is 1KW over an hour therefore for every 1 kilowatt used in an hour will cost 1 unit.

quick maths say 273KW for your light for the year. I am currently charged 10p a unit (well just under) so thats £27.30 for the year.

Not bad really. I run a 36W bulb for bit less time (the room gets plenty natural light) so i'd guess about £20 for the year.

whats most likely to be costing you most money is your washing machine (and tumble dryer if you use) also cookers can go through a fair whack.

also remember to switch items off at the socket - even having the tv switch off at the tv takes up some energy. I have most of the house kitted out with remote socket controls which cost about £1 a year to run but must save much more in all the items that get completely switched off at the socket as a result.

And if you have someone in your home like my OH (she leaves lights on alot) make sure you are on energy saving bulbs. I can light the entire place on energy savers for the price of one standard 100W bulb.

Edit: meant to add, for most the heater in terms of wattage will most likely be higher, but once a tank is heated, they are thermo controlled therefore only come on to top up a tank. hence although higher in consumption their "on" time off sets this to make them cheaper than lighting.

 

[Rooster]

Money spent on pets, isnt an expense in my eyes.. its an investment !
Thats what hobbies ARE.... contrivences to consume money and time (just like kids...)

 

[shewolf]

i agree with rooster

 

[SJ2K]

Electricity Cost Calculator

Easy to use, tells you exactly how much your spending on the electric for your tank Enjoy.

 

[kribensis12]

According to the calculator, my parents spenmnd a little over 400 dollars a year. ( E 200 )

 

[Rooster]

Electricity Cost Calculator

Easy to use, tells you exactly how much your spending on the electric for your tank Enjoy.

Likely to induce panic !!!! The heater is NOT "on" 24/7 despite being plugged in all the time, also lighting consumes MORE electricity than what written on the tubes !!!
Take results with a pinch of salt...

 

[KraKen]

Don't ask me I don't pay the leccy bills

But AFAIK most energy is used for heating the tank, and in the summer months these will barely come on even in the UK. Lighting tubes are fairly efficient and so are filters.

Nooo, lighting is BY FAR the most expensive part... my 4 footer runs 75W for 10 hours a day...
Thats the equivilent of:
750 Watts for 1 hour per day, 5250 Watts for 1 hour per week, and 273000 Watts for 1 hour per year !!!! Phew, making me think now ! lol

Was about to get an electricity bill, and work out the cost, but I thought better of it !

Actually your lights use the same amount of watts no matter what time interval you measure.

watts are a measure of power not energy.

power = energy / time so watts = joules / seconds

the electricity componies charge you per kilowatt hour, whichnis another measure of energy that is far larger than a joule (1kilowatthour = 3.6 * 10^6 joules)

So if you leave 75 watts of light on for 10 hours you use 2700000 joules which equals .75 kilowatt hours

If you really want to save money on your energy bills, install some solar panels

 

[Rooster]

Don't ask me I don't pay the leccy bills

But AFAIK most energy is used for heating the tank, and in the summer months these will barely come on even in the UK. Lighting tubes are fairly efficient and so are filters.

Nooo, lighting is BY FAR the most expensive part... my 4 footer runs 75W for 10 hours a day...
Thats the equivilent of:
750 Watts for 1 hour per day, 5250 Watts for 1 hour per week, and 273000 Watts for 1 hour per year !!!! Phew, making me think now ! lol

Was about to get an electricity bill, and work out the cost, but I thought better of it !

Actually your lights use the same amount of watts no matter what time interval you measure.

watts are a measure of power not energy.

power = energy / time so watts = joules / seconds

the electricity componies charge you per kilowatt hour, whichnis another measure of energy that is far larger than a joule (1kilowatthour = 3.6 * 10^6 joules)

So if you leave 75 watts of light on for 10 hours you use 2700000 joules which equals .75 kilowatt hours

If you really want to save money on your energy bills, install some solar panels

Award yourself a prize for the most long winded reply !!! LOL 75W times 10 hours = 750W=0.75kW Hours !!!!!!! Theres NO need to convert to joules...
Electricity companies charge in kWh as you say.... thousands of Watts per hour. (my maths is easier)
As a side note, I think solar panels are a bit of a red herring - they produce very little power when compared to cost, and manufacturing processes damage the environment more than they save, if you ask me !

 

[KraKen]

I just wanted to explain myself fully...

About the solar panels, the cost is actually falling drastically and at the same time the efficiancy is contsantly rising.

depending on what factory/compony makes them the prtoduction can be environmentally harmless

 

[shroob]

Might be abit off topic but can someone tell me the average cost of electricity for a 300 litre tank a year? I'm not good at working things out, I always confuse myself. I know there will be a ton of variables but an average tropical 300 litre tank.