My Electricity Savings going from MH to LED's

[flsalty]

Nice Article - it would be great if you calculated the cost of the fixtures in the 'total cost' per year.....

I came here to say this. According to these numbers it takes about 7 years to realize a cost savings, then it's time for another upgrade and 7 more years.

 

[mfinn]

Interesting reading.
I'll add my experience.

I switched both my tanks at the same time.
One tank I had 3, Radium 250 watt mh and 4, 160 watt VHO's
The other was 1, Radium 250 watt mh and 2, 75 watt VHO's.

My bulb replacement cost back them was 4 Radium bulbs at $80 each ( They are cheaper now, closer to $74) was $320 per year.
The replacement VHO bulbs ran about $140 per year. $25 each for the 72" and $20 each for the 24".
Totals were approx. $460 per year.
I don't remember what shipping was on any of them except the 72" bulbs never came with free shipping.

After switching over my average electric bill went down $50 per month.
Part of the savings was the chiller I used 8 months out of the year.
The savings on the electric bill was noted in my once a year energy statement from my power company, and also reluctantly reported by my wife. She almost divorced me after spending the $1800 on 3 gen 1 Radions. The 4th Radion was won in a raffle at my lfs.

 

[ca1ore]

Note that the author stated they lived in Texas, where a tank is more likely to need net cooling than I would in Northeast PA. If you plan on applying the article info to your tank, I'd suggest considering your local climate and home thermostat settings.

Yup ….. in CT I almost never ran my heaters with MH. With LED I run them a lot. House heating also ran less with MH. I've also ended up with double the LED fixtures versus MH to get similar spread. LED is certainly cheaper to run, but when you account for captial expenditures, the savings are less clear.

 

[X-37B]

I have run leds on my nano. Works well. I have 2 250 mh fixtures and ballasts + 1 150 watt mh not in use.
Currently run 6 bulb ati t5.
They all work. I just prefer the look of t5's.
So run what ya like!

 

[biecacka]

I switched from 2 halides 250 watts to 2 orpheks full panel leds in late July. I have yet to see any substantial savings. Right now the largest has been about 13$ a month but most run around 6-7$. My tank is cooler so I have to run my heaters more and the orpheks run at like 220 watts each I think. Now that is full steam and I’m not cranking mine out at 100% but the difference is not 2 halide bulbs a year thus far. But I didn’t switch for that reason either


corey

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

When I was shopping for a light fixture, I came across a MH/T5 fixture. Just looking at the weight and size of it alone made it seem too old school. I went with LED/T5 and glad I did. I think it’s almost the norm these days.

Who you calling, old school..... Hahaha

 

[reefwiser]

Yes there is no electric saving from using LED’s This was reported by Sanjay Joshi when he switch to Radions.
if you switch for electric bill it’s a wash. I found this out several years ago my self. Bulb life is not a big deal either as the bulbs last several years longer than people expect BRA did a video on that too.

 

[mfinn]

Yes there is no electric saving from using LED’s This was reported by Sanjay Joshi when he switch to Radions.
if you switch for electric bill it’s a wash. I found this out several years ago my self. Bulb life is not a big deal either as the bulbs last several years longer than people expect BRA did a video on that too.

I don't believe that at all.
My electric bill went down $50 a month.
As I stated in post #22.

 

[ingchr1]

In order to save on your electric bill, the LEDs running at the lower wattage would have to give you the same results as the MHs that are running at the higher wattage.

Then this raises the question, if the MH setup wattage was lowered to match the LED setup, would both setups provide the same results?

 

[JP Reef]

I run 175w MH supplemented with led. The typical led fixtures are running around 150 to 175w for the most part if you look closely. I have 2 radions and they run around 160w at where I have them setup, so no real savings there except less use of the heater when the MH are on. I also stagger my MH so they are only on at the same time for about 3 hours.

For smaller tanks I could see some savings, but as the tanks get larger the more fixtures you need, and the savings disappear.

I have looked at switching to the AquaticLife Hybrid, but 4 x 80W T5 plus the additional radion I would need doesn't save enough to pull the trigger.

 

[Gareth elliott]

my first led was for my planted tank. Tbh it was the bulbs that decided for me.

The having to change out bulbs, buy bulbs store bulbs. Ever hear the sound of a t5 bulb breaking? Nearly fainted when maintenance left some dead ones in my office behind a shelf. Well moved the shelf one day not knowing they were there. Was deaf for about 5 minutes and i think i had glass shards in my hair for a week.
But great article

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

I am setting up a 72" x 30"x 24'' and one the lighting I considering is 3 150 watt MH with two Reefbrites or Orphek, and I live in an expensive state for electricity, Tier baby.

 

[don_chuwish]

If I used MH I would need a chiller in summer and probably a little less heater time in winter. I don't want to run a chiller. Plus the ballasts for the MH are huge.
My R420Rs were less than $800 total for the pair. 2 x T5 LET retrofit another $150 or so including building my own 'hybrid' hanging fixture for it all. Not everybody goes for Radions and Orpheks. Likewise I wouldn't buy the most expensive MH if I went that route - probably come in less than $800 total as well. Bulb replacements are a turn off for me, as well as losing dawn-dusk function. I also just like the sleek compact look of LED fixtures better.
To each their own!

 

[Michael White]

Great analysis. I’ve been fortunate to come up in the hobby using only led lighting. As an electrician it makes perfect sense though. And as far as lighting costs go, there are more cost effective options, albeit lesser known. But you have to do spend more time in setting them up with a par meter, can’t just rely on presets.

 

[Bpb]

2x250 watt MH
6 hours per day
$0.11/kwh
$120.45 annually in electricity to run lights
No chiller
Approx $50 per bulb per year
Zero cost of entry, got my setup free

$220 annual cost of operation for MH for me or
$18/month

 

[Sleepydoc]

Note that the author stated they lived in Texas, where a tank is more likely to need net cooling than I would in Northeast PA. If you plan on applying the article info to your tank, I'd suggest considering your local climate and home thermostat settings.

This is an awesome write up. As several people have posted the net costs/savings depend highly on where you live and there are a lot of variables at play:

• If you live in the south where you have a higher number of net cooling days and need a chiller, then the savings are compounded by reducing the need to run (or even buy a chiller.)
• If the chiller is inside you have a double loss because you heat the room and then pay the A/C (essentially another chiller) to move that heat outside. If you can move the chiller outside (i.e. to a garage) those costs are reduced a bit, keeping in mind that your chiller will be less efficient in a warmer space)
• MHs (and T5s to a lesser extent) radiate a fair amount of heat into the tank. The heat production by LEDs is mainly by the power supply which radiates out to the room. You may still need to cool the room, but you lose the cost of the chiller
• In northern climates where you pay for heating at least part of the year the difference will be less. In Minneapolis we use natural gas for heat which is significantly cheaper than electricity, so using the electric heat of the lights to heat the house is still a bit more expensive.
• Equipment costs are very difficult to account for. If you are swapping out equipment then you have to account for the entire cost. If you’re just starting out or at a point where you need to replace a fixture you’re going to be buying lights regardless, so it‘s less of an issue
• T5 fluorescent lights have mercury in them and need to be disposed of appropriately - a bit of a hassle
• Maintenance - as people have mentioned above, MHs and T5s need to be replaced periodically. The direct cost of this is easy to calculate. The added work of ordering, replacing and properly disposing of the bulbs also has an indirect cost in terms of time, etc.
• Repairability - I had a ballast go on my T5 fixture last week. I ordered a new one from BRS for $35 and after an hour my light was working like new. Repairing LED fixtures is much more difficult to impossible.
• Technological evolution - LEDs have been rapidly evolving over the last 5-10 years. The fixtures available today are much different in terms of spectral output and efficiency than those from even a few years ago, making long term comparisons of cost and tank health difficult.
• Beware serial upgrade syndrome - if you use cost as a justification to upgrade and have a 7 year return on investment but then turn around and upgrade again in 5 years you’re not saving anything.

Bottom line - it depends!

 

[don_chuwish]

Very well said!

 

[dadnjesse]

I live in New Hampshire, my tank is in a finished room in my basement which has no heat. The room is well insulated. I have 3 radion XR30 with 4 t5's. My heaters never come on during the day when the lights are on and the tank stays at 79 degrees, so at least on my tank I am not using more electricity running my heaters with LED's. Tank is 120 gallon with 40 gallon sump.

 

[jda]

If they OP replaced 400w with those panels, then they should have been running 150w Halides in the first place and then there would be no chiller and 450-500 watts instead of 1500. Nobody NEEDS to use VHOS when the MH were running - this is a choice, not a necessity. Using 400w Halides when you did not need that much is a bad decision, not a problem with saving electricity.

This false equivalency is about the same as somebody saying that the cost efficiency for using LED is not worth it because you have spend $800 to replace a Radion every year. Both are not realistic. To me, neither are helpful.

 

[zoomonster]

I was running 3x250 MH and 4x 80w T5's with eballasts. When i went to LED I saved about $50 a month in power, the cost of halide and T5 bulbs but biggest savings came from AC. I live in a 2200 sq ft house, with vaulted ceilings in central Florida where most of the year the AC runs and most summer months the 5 ton unit struggles to keep the house <80 when set on 74. Hard to pinpoint but I would estimate my bill went down $150 a month in peak summer. Of course given my LED's died off I'm back to that MH fixture for at least a couple more weeks when I get new lights. The failure of my Kessils negates a lot of cost savings but you can't discount the aesthetics along with heat and power.