Power saving tips and ways to save money!?

[reefwars]

Originally Posted by Baldy

The effects would be miniscule

its the little things that count , same as saying me throwing one coffee cup out my car window isnt gonna make a difference to such a large world, i think were passed the point in this world where we assume the little things dont make a diifference. the little things arnt so little when you multiply it by the number of people who honor them

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by reefwars

its the little things that count , same as saying me throwing one coffee cup out my car window isnt gonna make a difference to such a large world, i think were passed the point in this world where we assume the little things dont make a diifference. the little things arnt so little when you multiply it by the number of people who honor them

Wah

[Baldy]

I understand that the little things count. But the op is asking about what changes can be made to save money on his power bill. At 10w it would take 4 days to use 1kwh. 16 days roughly to cost 1$. Heaters, return pump, and lighting are the worst aquarium related. If he wants to make an impact on his power bill, the rest of the house needs to be looked at. A 3 bulb light fixture with incandescent bulbs draws as much as a return pump. I have 4 in my 860sq foot house. How long are lights like that run in a day?changing to cfl bulbs (twistys) draw less than 1/4 the power. Electric range and oven? Probably draw 10+ amps when running. That's 1200w. Electric dryer, same story. These aren't ran continuously mind you, but these add up. Natural gas is far cheaper to run these things.

Those are the changes that are going to make an impact. If your talking about environmental impact, then again, how effective is cutting 8w out of daily power usage when there are so many things worse. I used to work on a drilling rig that used diesel generators. In the winter with the boiler running that rig would burn 2800 liters PER DAY in diesel fuel. This is a larger rig mind you, but there are over 700 running in Alberta last time I heard. These are thtw kinds of things that need to change. Alternative renewable fuel sources. I'd hate to see what kind of pollution 2800l of fuel burn would produce.

I'm not saying that its not worth looking into the little things, but my point is the big things need to be looked at first. 250w down to 100w has me now saving for a new return pump now. I've already switched to leds which for me went from 260w of power compact lighting to 160w of leds.

The next big question is heating. 400w of heaters running is worth looking into.

[Reefer Rob]

The only real effective way to reduce energy consumption is to move to a smaller tank... or goldfish

[ckmullin]

The bain of keeping little critters outside their environment, the power needs. But SW is sooo interesting!

[Baldy]

Originally Posted by ckmullin

The bain of keeping little critters outside their environment, the power needs. But SW is sooo interesting!

Agreed. This hobby/obsession/lifestyle is definitely worth it.

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by Baldy

Agreed. This hobby/obsession/lifestyle is definitely worth it.

Like I said before, go look for a cave,... or be happy and wait for the big asteroid...

[PFoster]

When smart meters were put into effect in Ontario I just reversed my light cycle.

I ran the Leds for suppliment in the morning and evening and ran the main lights (t5's) in the evening during "off peak hours.
My power bill decreased and I didnt spend $0.01 extra.

I did also get a programable thermostat and run the furnace/ac more during off peak hours

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

Like I said before, go look for a cave,... or be happy and wait for the big asteroid...

Think about it. People moving to caves but for their typical demand, they would needs:

1. Longer transmission wires (loss)
2. Lights (loss)
3. Heating (loss)
4. Hunt for food (loss)
5. Damage to caves (loss)
6. Bears would be homeless (loss); thegrizz will have answer for this I am pretty sure
7. Bats would be homeless (loss)
8. Batman would be ****ed (loss)
9. More losses (loss)

[sphelps]

Originally Posted by Baldy

I understand that the little things count. But the op is asking about what changes can be made to save money on his power bill.......

Originally Posted by ashr

Hey all

We all know how much power our tanks can run and the ugly power bill that fallows. I wanted to know if anyone has any tips to help save power and keep our power bills down.

Has anyone noticed since the switch to smart meter (if you have switched) Has your bill gone up? Gone down? Share some of your tips and help us all save a little money!

Sorry I guess I read the topic of the thread differently, figured suggesting ways that could relate to all of us was appropriate.