electric bill and lights

[GoFast]

I live in Chicago where the temps are barely in the 20s.....My house is 68-70 all the time. Get that bulb...

yeah but now since it gets really cold during the day since temps are like 30 its cold and it wont get that warm cuz the heater is set to be at 68 and it doesnt really get the whole house warm since my beardie is next to the window

 

[paullyn59]

I have a meter that tells how many KW any appliance uses. I tested a red 100 watt flood tonight and it uses only .1 kw an hour x 12 hours a day x 30 days a month. So a 100 watt flood would only use 36 kw a month. We pay approximately 14 cents a KW here so it would cost me only $5.00 a month. If all bulb wattages are equal, your bulbs are only $11.25 per month at 14 cents a KW.

 

[STR3TCH420]

I have a meter that tells how many KW any appliance uses. I tested a red 100 watt flood tonight and it uses only .1 kw an hour x 12 hours a day x 30 days a month. So a 100 watt flood would only use 36 kw a month. We pay approximately 14 cents a KW here so it would cost me only $5.00 a month. If all bulb wattages are equal, your bulbs are only $11.25 per month at 14 cents a KW.

but doesnt it also depend on hte state and city

 

[paullyn59]

Yes, I pay 14 cents per KW here. Some places pay only 5 cents per KW from what I have heard. In order for your lights to raise your bill $150.00, your state would have to charge over $1.85 per KW. There is no place that comes anywhere near that because only the rich could afford to pay that. I don't think I have even heard of anywhere that pays more that 20 cents per KW but maybe members can post what they pay per KW for comparison.

 

[suzuki4life]

electric is under $100 a month here...12 hour cycles, 8- 50w and 30 feets of 3w heat tape (ran 24 hrs a day


I would say the heater is the culprit quicker than a bulb.

 

[STR3TCH420]

i am gonna have to take a look at that hollogen bulb does any one know what watt i should get it and what might be the prise

 

[wes]

You don't need any special meters to determine the electrical cost of your lamps and heaters. You simply need to do a little math. The electric company charges you by the kilowatt hour (KWH), so you need to calculate how many kilowatt hours you are using per month. If you have a 150 W bulb and an 18 W fluorescent all on for 12 hours per day, 30 days per month, that's 168 W or 0.168 KW times 360 hours per month, or 60.48 KWH per month. If, with state and local taxes, you are at $0.20 per KWH (and that is pretty high -- you have to look at the electric bill to figure the actual charges per KWH, and that can be confusing), your lights are costing $12.10 per month.

Compare that to a 1,000W heater, on 24 hours per day for 30 days per month, which uses 720 KWH per month. (If it is on a thermostat, it won't be using that much electricity, because it will be cycling on and off.) At our fictitious $0.20 per KWH, that's $144.00 per month.

Another thing to look for on the bill is whether the previous reading was an actual or estimate. If you have an old electric meter where someone has to come out to read it, they may estimate the usage if they couldn't read the meter for any number of reasons. They may have underestimated what the charges were for the preceding month(s), before the heater was on 24/7, and then had to make up for it when they read the actual usage.

Halogen bulbs run about $6 give or take a dollar (if I recall correctly). Remember, you want heat, so don't get an energy efficient one. Wattage is really tough to guess because of all the variables that can affect temperatures. You could try a 65 W and check the temps to see if you need to go higher or lower.

 

[GoFast]

i am gonna have to take a look at that hollogen bulb does any one know what watt i should get it and what might be the prise

Look at my earlier post....$7.00 at home depot.

The only bulb you should need with a 55 gallon tank and your reptisun is a 50 watt, par30, halogen flood bulb. I am temporarily using a 75 watter in a 4x2x2 an my temps are 111 in direct light.

The 50 watt par 30 flood will get your temps to about 108 in your tank. With that one bulb you will use 100watts less power and save a ton of money. Make sure it is a par30 size, halogen, 50watt, flood light.

You don't need any special meters to determine the electrical cost of your lamps and heaters. You simply need to do a little math. The electric company charges you by the kilowatt hour (KWH), so you need to calculate how many kilowatt hours you are using per month. If you have a 150 W bulb and an 18 W fluorescent all on for 12 hours per day, 30 days per month, that's 168 W or 0.168 KW times 360 hours per month, or 60.48 KWH per month. If, with state and local taxes, you are at $0.20 per KWH (and that is pretty high -- you have to look at the electric bill to figure the actual charges per KWH, and that can be confusing), your lights are costing $12.10 per month.

Compare that to a 1,000W heater, on 24 hours per day for 30 days per month, which uses 720 KWH per month. (If it is on a thermostat, it won't be using that much electricity, because it will be cycling on and off.) At our fictitious $0.20 per KWH, that's $144.00 per month.

Another thing to look for on the bill is whether the previous reading was an actual or estimate. If you have an old electric meter where someone has to come out to read it, they may estimate the usage if they couldn't read the meter for any number of reasons. They may have underestimated what the charges were for the preceding month(s), before the heater was on 24/7, and then had to make up for it when they read the actual usage.

Halogen bulbs run about $6 give or take a dollar (if I recall correctly). Remember, you want heat, so don't get an energy efficient one. Wattage is really tough to guess because of all the variables that can affect temperatures. You could try a 65 W and check the temps to see if you need to go higher or lower.

What he said ^

 

[spyder79]

This has nothing to do with your reptiles. This is pretty much a national crisis at the moment due to the extreme cold snaps hitting the nation. 1 person in my area went from paying a average 200 dollar electric bill to over a grand. Its because your electric heat has to work 10 times as hard to keep your house at a constant temp when it is so cold outside. Google it you will find reports of peoples electric going up 3-4 times its normal due to the current weather conditions. I run 5 MVBs 1 heat bulb and 1 reptisun tube and a uth for my roaches and my bill didnt go up noticably until it started getting very cold outdoors.

 

[Buggsy]

I agree, i had the same argument with an old housemate. A lightbulb will not use near as much energy as heating. If you water is heated using an electric boiler that adds to the cost. Those electric heaters are well known by electricity companies as the appliance the used the most energy (in the UK anyway). I was suggested to swap to an oil heater, or just turn the heater off while your not it. It may take 30 min to warm up when you get home but you save lots on money!

 

[STR3TCH420]

do electric stoves use up alot of electircity to

 

[Judah'sHuman]

yes the stove uses alot of electricity, also the fridge

 

[Judah'sHuman]

I figured mine out and I run a 125watt Merc Bulb, a 60 watt Hallogin, A 125 wat CHE off and on through out the day and on all night, and a 65 wat energey eff. household bulb on the very end. I also use a heating pad on low under my roaches (I figure thats using about 100 watts) I pay approx .12cents per KWH...so with all that I come out around $25 per month for Judah's viv.

My bill was like around $250 last month. and again I have a 3000 S.F. house, we keep the heat at 68-70, we have 3 fridges a Single unit freezer. I guess the only plue side is we have a Gas heater it does use electric to turn on though. I feel greatful we have gas! guess I shouldnt yell at everyone all the time to turn the lights off around here we coudl be alot worse off.

Again do check some of those other things I mentioned, like your hot water heater and such every little thing helps!

 

[PHXSPAZZ]

Spazz has a 150 magray and 125 spotlight and it only cost $.50 a day .
If you realy want to know git a watt meter at radio shack , then multiply that buy how much you pay per kwh = cast per day.
or call your ele. compuny and they can tell you what it cost per day.

DOUG , ROSE & SPAZZ

 

[jewl495]

There are also a few things you need to find out. Do you have a meter reader still, or are you in an area that is installing smart meters? If your meter reader isn't coming in to read your meter your bill maybe higher because they will estimate the bill. Same goes for smart meters its great for some and others have a huge hike in their bill. For instant the smartmeter will be horrible for us. I use alot of energy during peak times so we will be charged more for the energy used at that time and the smart meters track that usage.(SORRY I WAS VERY WRONG ABOUT THIS. HOWEVER THIS IS WHERE THE SMART METERS ARE HEADING EVENTUALLY HERE IN CA WE WILL BE VOTING ON THIS TYPE OF BILLING) You should ask your family to pull up last yrs bills so you can see how much power they were using during the coldest part of the yr. Our power company has raise prices quite a bit here and we are paying almost a $100 more than we did last yr. Call your power company they are usually pretty good at trying to help you understand your bill. Good luck...........