altolamprologus Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 heaters, lighting, electricity, tanks, salt, food, time,time,time cooling in the summer and heating in the winter did i say time oh yah and then there are those 500 electric bills So basically electricity and time are the biggest problems? Doesn't sound so bad to me. I live in the sf bay so temps are pretty mild. Last winter we saw snow for the first time in 20 years and 90 degree weather is rare Link to comment
rrcg50 Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 snow is not the kicker. keeping your tanks at 82 is a little harder than keeping snow off the floor. also the humidity is another problem,running a dehumidifier in a larger setup is a must Link to comment
oceancube Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 heaters, lighting, electricity, tanks, salt, food, time,time,time cooling in the summer and heating in the winter did i say time oh yah and then there are those 500 electric bills and im complaining of $300.00 electric bill,,,lol Link to comment
Pickle010 Posted October 7, 2011 Share Posted October 7, 2011 and im complaining of $300.00 electric bill,,,lol My bill last month was over $700 Link to comment
xxbrianxx Posted October 7, 2011 Author Share Posted October 7, 2011 would it be possible to get a quick estimate of your wattage? because everytime I calculate this based on the rate in my area, it never comes out to what others claim they're paying. I'm probably doing something wrong lol... Link to comment
Pickle010 Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 would it be possible to get a quick estimate of your wattage? because everytime I calculate this based on the rate in my area, it never comes out to what others claim they're paying. I'm probably doing something wrong lol... My usage was pretty high last month - on average my bill is @ $300 - $350 per month. My house is 2700sq foot and I run two AC units. I had a couple of days last month that my kids tried to air condition the neighborhood and left windows open with both units running. Link to comment
rrcg50 Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 I'm thinking about going solar but my roof isn't big enough to support a 500$ electric bill, and I'm expanding to more tanks soon Link to comment
Pickle010 Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 I just got quotes on a system out here l"m on 10 acres so I have the room to place the system on the ground - there are so many options to consider and I like the idea of being able to expand it as my needs change. Honestly though - when you look at the pmts - which would be close to one one my regular solar bills now, all I'm doing is locking in my rate for the next 20 years and praying the system holds up. Link to comment
rrcg50 Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 I just got quotes on a system out here l"m on 10 acres so I have the room to place the system on the ground - there are so many options to consider and I like the idea of being able to expand it as my needs change. Honestly though - when you look at the pmts - which would be close to one one my regular solar bills now, all I'm doing is locking in my rate for the next 20 years and praying the system holds up. thats why you get a system thats bigger than your needs and then grid tie it. also add in a compact wind turbine or 2 and then you are making money on it. more pricey but once you have the backbone you can easily upscale. the incentives in cali are insane. would of done it a long time ago if they were good in florida Link to comment
ericm1205 Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 my electric bill is about 600 per. i think my heat pump is a mess and my water heater is on he fritz so i got really large bills. that why i switched all my lights to leds and i got 1 return pump for all tanks. oh and i got 1200w in heaters getting the wter to 84f. i make my own food. i paid around $120 from the local seafood store, and a trip to the asian market for nori, and then to a website where i get freeze dried cyclops and a 5.5lb brick of mysis. i made enough to fill up 10 ice cube trays. i use 2 cubes a day along with pellets. so thats about $120 in food for 60 to 75 days. Link to comment
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