Freaking Sick Electric Bill

[tosiek]

Im running 2x 250w off of lumenarc reflectors, lights my 170~ deep tank perfectly fine and the spread is great. It should help alot on the bill too by dropping it to 250's.

Either way though, your bill is ridiculously high. Something you should look into. They just upgraded our gas meters due to faulty readings among other things, so things do mess up on their end.

 

[Kaz289]

I dont think its your tank. U say u run the A/c all the time what kind of A/c & heating system do u have if its a forced air system that could be your problem they are money eaters. And if you live in a building on a higher floor then the heat from everyone else will be rising into your place. Also if u live in a building the boiler is usually left at a certain temp year round because it is the law for the temp to drop below 70 in the building so they leave it up year round. In the warmer months that will cause your place to always be hot in return causing u to run the a/c. But If I had to guess its not so much your tank as it is your cooling system and other electronics like a computer or tv being left on 24/7. Good luck with it I feel your pain my bill is a killer cause I have a loft with cathedral cielings and a 5x8 ft skylight where all my heat escapes in the winter. Try the energy bulbs they are expensive but you will make your money back in savings after a few months. Changing light bulbs cut about $30.00 a month out of my bill.

 

[Dre]

Check out the light rail in action at the N.Y.aquarium service 552 west 37 st.Or check out that pet place they cost about $400 you could use one M.H.

 

[rafal07013]

also check out the bill if it was actual or estimate. that may answer the question why was the bill so high since estimate is usually much higher than actual.

 

[DCG1286]

also check out the bill if it was actual or estimate. that may answer the question why was the bill so high since estimate is usually much higher than actual.

+1 ... but still $666 seems way too high.

 

[Dre]

True.True.True.But remember that you have 1200 watts of M.H.

 

[Frank]

Hi,
I would ditch the MH and go T5s, Im in the process of doing that now, just waiting for my ATI to come in

 

[2slo4me]

i had the same problem 2 years ago... i found out that my con ed bill had a sub contractor that was charging me for electric as well... now i make sure con ed does it all. good luck.

 

[greggnyce]

Dace, what provider and what rates are you paying where you live? I would think runing all of the equipment you mentioned would be alot. I run 2 250w mh, mag18, one 175w heater, a couple of high wattage cf bulbs and my bill was 400 this bill.

 

[greggnyce]

How and where can a neigbor acess your electricity feed?

 

[bad coffee]

I'd check your bill. Con Ed couldn't get into the house for a couple of months, so they estimated the bill for the months they weren't there. Once they did get in, they corrected the amount and we got a REALLY huge bill.

You could also run your lights at night, instead of the daytime. It will save on heat quite a bit.

B

 

[Orca1]

As luck would have it, I'm a Con Ed employee that looks for diversion (neighbor/landlord taking from a tenant). Electricity can, and in most cases is "jumped" by wire from one breaker panel to another. In most cases, this is found in smaller, multi-family homes, but rarely in larger in apartment buildings (from my experience).

Reducing your overall wattage is the key to reducing a high electric bill. I can say, without you even telling me, that the high bill last summer most likely happened during your August bill (rates were approximately 60% higher than usual....sorry:Yikes. Since then, the rates have gone down a bit, but still high when compared to other utilities in the nation. I'm not saying that there isn't a possibility of someone else diverting your service, but if you're in a larger building, the chances are slim.

2X250w halides would use more electricity than a single 400w halide if they were left on for the same time period. Bills are calculated based on kwhrs (kilowatt hours). One thousand watts used over one hour equals 1 kwhr, therefore, one 400w halide would need a little over 2 hours to add an additional kwhr to your bill.

I hope this helps a little.......

................E.

 

[Dre]

Light Rail Systems!

 

[QUESTIONMARC]

i run a photo studio. and a 150 with 3 250w and a chiller and a fridge.. and a nano with a 250w.. not to mention all the sump lights and actinics.. etc.. and a slush puppie machine.. and i have a girlfriend who leaves lights on everywhere becasue she thinks we have our own private generator in the back.. and NEVER has my bill reached that much.. lol.. EVER. maybe 600$ at the MOST.. one summer month when i was shooting everyday with air running 24/7 with everything running. Maybe at best.. 600$.. check the neighbors extension cord outside.. lol. maybe he is running his tank off your electric too!

 

[DCG1286]

i run a photo studio. and a 150 with 3 250w and a chiller and a fridge.. and a nano with a 250w.. not to mention all the sump lights and actinics.. etc.. and a slush puppie machine.. and i have a girlfriend who leaves lights on everywhere becasue she thinks we have our own private generator in the back.. and NEVER has my bill reached that much.. lol.. EVER. maybe 600$ at the MOST.. one summer month when i was shooting everyday with air running 24/7 with everything running. Maybe at best.. 600$.. check the neighbors extension cord outside.. lol. maybe he is running his tank off your electric too!

LOL!!! Agreed! :lol: :tongueani

 

[Marteen]

You should probably shut down the "grow out" operation in your basement.

 

[Dace]

Dace, what provider and what rates are you paying where you live? I would think runing all of the equipment you mentioned would be alot. I run 2 250w mh, mag18, one 175w heater, a couple of high wattage cf bulbs and my bill was 400 this bill.

central hudson, i'll have to gt back at ya with the rates

 

[HHaase]

I'd also suggest buying a kill-a-watt meter, and check all the individual items in the household. A co-worker of mine found a faulty pond pump which was drawing a few hundred watts, replacing it dropped the bill by more than the cost of the new pump. I didn't see mention of any heaters in there, but if you do have them I'd also check they aren't stuck.

But yeah, the biggest issue I'm going to say is the combined wattage of the 3x400 MH's. Then with the heat generated by them, the chiller is probably running fairly constantly. These two alone are dumping a lot of heat into the apartment, as well as the refridgerator. All of which your A/C has to deal with. This all adds up.

Just as a side question, how is the humidity in the apartment? You may want to think about a dehumidifier, which will make evaporative cooling of the tank more effective as well as improve the efficiency of all the other cooling devices in the apartment.

-Hans

 

[georgelc86]

Guys lets not forget that all of us are subject to different kilo-watt per hour cost, which is what Dace just touched on. Most of us in the lower Hudson valley have con ed and I think pay higher than guys up in Westchester. Just a thought to keep in mind. I would say go with T5's.

 

[GQ22]

make sure ur heater isnt on while you are running a chiller