sfsuphysics
Supporting Member
For the past couple weeks I've been getting a bit antsy about my tanks electrical usage, I have the two tanks.
One tank uses 17.6 kWh per day, the other tank uses around 10kWh per day. So I figured man I need to switch out to LEDs to bring those down, however a quick analysis of the situation told me I shouldn't even bother with it (although I think I might anyways just for kicks and giggles). I could have figured this out a bit earlier mind you if I simply did the math, but looking at my smaller tank (the anemone one) I was shocked to see it so high since I only have a 175w MH plus a couple 24W T5s over it, and I use a LOT more lighting for the 180g tank.
Lets just analyze the big one, and I'm going out on a limb and estimate with 100% efficiency of the ballasts since they're electronic (I know it's an underestimate but not by that much). halides 500W x 5.5 hours a day = 2.75kWh per day, Blue t5s 220W x 9 hours a day = 1.98kWh per day, actinic t5s 110W x 11 hours a day = 1.21 kWh per day, 1 return pump 50W x 24 hours per day = 1.2kWh per day, 4 vortechs ~ 80W x 24hrs a day = 1.92kWh per day.
Lights
2.75
1.98
1.21
Pumps
1.20
1.92
= 9.02 kWh per day, with only about 6kWh per day of that being light.
So ignoring the power my controller takes, the top off pumps that work for very little time, and the 3w fuge light, about 8.6 of that is electricity used to heat the tank. So my 2-300W heaters on on more than 14 hours per day to keep it at a relatively cool 76°. So I think this is the place that I need to attack as far as keeping electrical usage down.
Some ideas that are running through my head.
--Cover for the sump/fuge areas with acrylic, cut holes for pipes and what not, that should keep the evaporation issues down a bit, there's still the tank itself, and i think I might have an idea there, a switch to LEDs (DIY versions) I could cover the top and poke holes just large enough for the lenses to fit through. Downside to this however would be condensation all over the lenses (might affect light), plus gas exchange might become problematic.
--wrap foam around sump/fuges. This one almost seems like a no brainer, even though I do like looking at my little critters swimming around the macroaalgae it might help a bit to insulate that. For the main tank, this is not an option.
--Move tanks back upstairs, although the house itself isn't kept much warmer than the basement, as the day moves on it definitely gets warmer upstairs.
--Insulate the entire fish room area, this would be an expensive and time consuming task as I'd basically have to remove all the drywall to add the insulation, plus the humidity would become problematic to the point where I might have to put in a fan to pull air out (more electricity being used)
--I could try to build a nifty gas powered heat exchange unit like Chicken did, but that might be a last resort, however a solar powered water heater style one might be nice to at least keep the heat up during the day.
Now why am I getting am I trying to figure things out? In a nut shell, I live in San Francisco, and in the summers PG&E has decided that in this area we should only use 8.3 kWh per day (baseline)... so doing the math 17.6+10=27.6kWh per day which puts me at 333% baseline usage, which might get a bit problematic for my electricity bills, doubly so because that is ONLY the tanks not rest of house usage. Which if they do get too problematic, I'm going to veto the wife on wanting to keep the anemones and leathers that are in one tank, and break that one down completely, which would help a bit, but still put me in a bit of a pickle. Granted it has been unusually cold recently, so that could have a significant affect on how much juice the tank is using now (when I recorded the numbers), but we shall see.!
If anyone else has updates feel free to put them in. I'm going to see what I can do with the steps above and see how that impacts usage, granted all parameters aren't going to be the same, because it is starting to warm up, but we'll see.
One tank uses 17.6 kWh per day, the other tank uses around 10kWh per day. So I figured man I need to switch out to LEDs to bring those down, however a quick analysis of the situation told me I shouldn't even bother with it (although I think I might anyways just for kicks and giggles). I could have figured this out a bit earlier mind you if I simply did the math, but looking at my smaller tank (the anemone one) I was shocked to see it so high since I only have a 175w MH plus a couple 24W T5s over it, and I use a LOT more lighting for the 180g tank.
Lets just analyze the big one, and I'm going out on a limb and estimate with 100% efficiency of the ballasts since they're electronic (I know it's an underestimate but not by that much). halides 500W x 5.5 hours a day = 2.75kWh per day, Blue t5s 220W x 9 hours a day = 1.98kWh per day, actinic t5s 110W x 11 hours a day = 1.21 kWh per day, 1 return pump 50W x 24 hours per day = 1.2kWh per day, 4 vortechs ~ 80W x 24hrs a day = 1.92kWh per day.
Lights
2.75
1.98
1.21
Pumps
1.20
1.92
= 9.02 kWh per day, with only about 6kWh per day of that being light.
So ignoring the power my controller takes, the top off pumps that work for very little time, and the 3w fuge light, about 8.6 of that is electricity used to heat the tank. So my 2-300W heaters on on more than 14 hours per day to keep it at a relatively cool 76°. So I think this is the place that I need to attack as far as keeping electrical usage down.
Some ideas that are running through my head.
--Cover for the sump/fuge areas with acrylic, cut holes for pipes and what not, that should keep the evaporation issues down a bit, there's still the tank itself, and i think I might have an idea there, a switch to LEDs (DIY versions) I could cover the top and poke holes just large enough for the lenses to fit through. Downside to this however would be condensation all over the lenses (might affect light), plus gas exchange might become problematic.
--wrap foam around sump/fuges. This one almost seems like a no brainer, even though I do like looking at my little critters swimming around the macroaalgae it might help a bit to insulate that. For the main tank, this is not an option.
--Move tanks back upstairs, although the house itself isn't kept much warmer than the basement, as the day moves on it definitely gets warmer upstairs.
--Insulate the entire fish room area, this would be an expensive and time consuming task as I'd basically have to remove all the drywall to add the insulation, plus the humidity would become problematic to the point where I might have to put in a fan to pull air out (more electricity being used)
--I could try to build a nifty gas powered heat exchange unit like Chicken did, but that might be a last resort, however a solar powered water heater style one might be nice to at least keep the heat up during the day.
Now why am I getting am I trying to figure things out? In a nut shell, I live in San Francisco, and in the summers PG&E has decided that in this area we should only use 8.3 kWh per day (baseline)... so doing the math 17.6+10=27.6kWh per day which puts me at 333% baseline usage, which might get a bit problematic for my electricity bills, doubly so because that is ONLY the tanks not rest of house usage. Which if they do get too problematic, I'm going to veto the wife on wanting to keep the anemones and leathers that are in one tank, and break that one down completely, which would help a bit, but still put me in a bit of a pickle. Granted it has been unusually cold recently, so that could have a significant affect on how much juice the tank is using now (when I recorded the numbers), but we shall see.!
If anyone else has updates feel free to put them in. I'm going to see what I can do with the steps above and see how that impacts usage, granted all parameters aren't going to be the same, because it is starting to warm up, but we'll see.
