About how much extra do you think t5 costs vs led?

[Paranoiattack91]

im considering switching my LEDs out for t5. I want yo see a bit more growth out of my sps. I currently run a reefbreeder photon 48 over my 120 gallon (48x 24x 24x). How much more a month do you think I am looking at on the electricity bill?

 

[TheEngineer]

Which fixture? The number of bulbs will play a role in determining this. You also need to account for the cost of replacing the bulbs (I think it is every 6 months).

The 8 bulb 48" Sunpower fixture uses eught 54w bulbs as an example. Unlike LED, these fixtures will pull close to that amount of power. Let's just round and say 400 watts. The fixture you have will pull 215 watts at full power. Let's call it 200 so the number is nicer.

I'll assume you run the light for 10 hours a day.

T5: 10 hours x .4kW = 4kWh/day
LED: 10 hours x .2kW = 2kWh/day

The national average is $0.12/kWh, so...

T5 is $0.48 per day
LED is $0.24 per day

This doesn't account for additional heat you'd have to remove with your air conditioner if you use t5.

Now bulbs... Let's say they are $10 each and need to be replaced twice a year. So that's $160/ year with the fixture I use in the example. The cost of the bulbs is then $0.44/day.

Now we can total it:
T5 $27.98/month
LED $7.30/month

 

[redfishbluefish]

@icecool2 , very nice breakdown of the cost differential. I only wish I could find $10 bulbs when I ran T5's. I paid between 22 - 25 a piece, but only switched them out once a year....so your numbers would work for me, because at approximately half the cost, and you switching them out every 6 months, the numbers all work out!

Nice job!

 

[TheEngineer]

@icecool2 , very nice breakdown of the cost differential. I only wish I could find $10 bulbs when I ran T5's. I paid between 22 - 25 a piece, but only switched them out once a year....so your numbers would work for me, because at approximately half the cost, and you switching them out every 6 months, the numbers all work out!

Nice job!

Thanks! I don't run T5s so I don't know the proper schedule. Ha! I googled 48" t5 vho and the first one was $10 so I went with it

 

[saltyhog]

Nice breakdown icecool! I agree the bulb cost is going to be more than you've estimated but your model will make it easy for anyone to plug their cost/replacement schedule in.

Electricity costs must vary widely. Mine comes from a city owned utility that buys electricity from Entergy. I pay 4 cents a KW which puts me at 1/3 the national average?! For me the main cost difference would be from bulb replacement. If It were not for the heat I'd consider switching to MH/T5.

 

[TheEngineer]

Nice breakdown icecool! I agree the bulb cost is going to be more than you've estimated but your model will make it easy for anyone to plug their cost/replacement schedule in.

Electricity costs must vary widely. Mine comes from a city owned utility that buys electricity from Entergy. I pay 4 cents a KW which puts me at 1/3 the national average?! For me the main cost difference would be from bulb replacement. If It were not for the heat I'd consider switching to MH/T5.

Got a new estimate to work off of for bulbs now $0.12/KWh is the national average but I think it is all in not just the generation costs.

 

[Pete polyp]

That math for bulb costs will work because a bulb is 20 each changed every 12-18 months. What wasn't factored in was that the tanks 400w heater will only be on for 1/4 the time during the photoperiod compared to led. Factor that in and you about break even on electricity.

@saltyhog
I thought mh would heat my tank up until I had one. 2x 250w mh 4x39w t5 over a 40b and two desktop fans keep it from heating up at all.

 

[TheEngineer]

That math for bulb costs will work because a bulb is 20 each changed every 12-18 months. What wasn't factored in was that the tanks 400w heater will only be on for 1/4 the time during the photoperiod compared to led. Factor that in and you about break even on electricity.

@saltyhog
I thought mh would heat my tank up until I had one. 2x 250w mh 4x39w t5 over a 40b and two desktop fans keep it from heating up at all.

There are a lot more factors that go into that. Like room temp vs tank temp, open or closed top, mounting height, tank construction (glass or acrylic, thickness, bottom type). It will have an impact for sure but i would estimate it to be fairly small without knowing some of those details.

 

[ChrisAndJulie2012]

Very good thread so far. Here in northern MS our power isn't too bad unless you do electric heat. Anyway back to the subject. Our tank is 6 months old first five months it's only ran with T5's. This past month we ventured into corals. We now run our Mh's for 4 1/2 hours w/T5's. Our electric bill barely moved/changed with adding the 125 to our home. This is with the 8 T5's running for on avg 8-9 hrs a day as they are not on a timer yet. I am curious on how much our power bill will increase.

 

[Paranoiattack91]

Which fixture? The number of bulbs will play a role in determining this. You also need to account for the cost of replacing the bulbs (I think it is every 6 months).

The 8 bulb 48" Sunpower fixture uses eught 54w bulbs as an example. Unlike LED, these fixtures will pull close to that amount of power. Let's just round and say 400 watts. The fixture you have will pull 215 watts at full power. Let's call it 200 so the number is nicer.

I'll assume you run the light for 10 hours a day.

T5: 10 hours x .4kW = 4kWh/day
LED: 10 hours x .2kW = 2kWh/day

The national average is $0.12/kWh, so...

T5 is $0.48 per day
LED is $0.24 per day

This doesn't account for additional heat you'd have to remove with your air conditioner if you use t5.

Now bulbs... Let's say they are $10 each and need to be replaced twice a year. So that's $160/ year with the fixture I use in the example. The cost of the bulbs is then $0.44/day.

Now we can total it:
T5 $27.98/month
LED $7.30/month

Thanks for such a detailed write up. I'm really considering switching to t5. I'm going to play with my light schedule a bit on my LEDs and hope I get better results, if not, then t5 it will be.

 

[Paranoiattack91]

That math for bulb costs will work because a bulb is 20 each changed every 12-18 months. What wasn't factored in was that the tanks 400w heater will only be on for 1/4 the time during the photoperiod compared to led. Factor that in and you about break even on electricity.

@saltyhog
I thought mh would heat my tank up until I had one. 2x 250w mh 4x39w t5 over a 40b and two desktop fans keep it from heating up at all.

I live in Southern California, even in the winter my heater rarely kicks on. My chiller is the one that gets a workout lol

 

[Pete polyp]

I live in Southern California, even in the winter my heater rarely kicks on. My chiller is the one that gets a workout lol

You guys don't run air conditioning much either

 

[jetmaker]

I use t5 and halides and love em I was there when led came out and even though they can match kelv they don't produce uv that the halides do. I run a uv steralizer and halides just give you more protection imo been in the hobby for 30 Plus yrs no tank disease. Thank god and knock on wood lol.

 

[jackson6745]

With an 8 bulb ATI fixture you will have complete coverage. You won't believe the improvement in your SPS. The additional cost is worth it IMO/IME. Good luck!

 

[Pfisherman]

It's my opinion that if you are serious problem reefing then the minor cost difference will not outweigh the benefits that t5 gives you. The most exciting part of my new upcoming build is that I'm going back to T5

 

[jetmaker]

If we worried about our power bill we would not be in this hobby lol

 

[Pfisherman]

If we worried about our power bill we would not be in this hobby lol

A more true statement has never been written.

 

[ChrisAndJulie2012]

This is true, but when you have twin infants you tend to watch your pennies a lil closer. This is def a true statement thou.

 

[Paranoiattack91]

You guys don't run air conditioning much either

Lol, I'm assuming that is sarcasm. My electricity bill hits just under $400 in the summer months and Im only in a 2 bedroom house.

If we worried about our power bill we would not be in this hobby lol

True story lol

 

[Dtackett]

could always put up a couple t5ho with your leds for a combo unit. then youll get better growth and keep the color from the led plus keep your monthly bills down and not have to replace as many bulbs. you could put 2 t5ho up with your leds and do just fine.