Our little friends boosting our electricity bills?

[The_Geeza]

Yep Caliherp most have quarterly electricity bills.

Now that it's summer you're bill should drop as you won't need as much heating? (well here in QLD anyway! my god it's getting hot here)

If its not heating bills its now aircon!!!!!!!!!!! cant win :evil:

 

[Snowman]

Out of curiosity if one sets up a solar panel system and used the energy generated by it exclusively for powering reptile heating and lighting would it reduce ones power bill? As in you wouldn't have to pay for the electricity to power that section of electrical equipment. I haven't done much research so I figured I may as well ask.

In theory yes it would reduce your power bill. But the outlay for the solar equipment means it would be a long time before you get any savings....as someone stated already, 2 heat bulbs, 3 heat mats and two lights works out to 1kw a day which is 22 cents. How long will it take to pay off say a $3000 (2kw) system?

 

[Pilbarensis]

Damn, that's a disappointment. Alright, thanks Snowman.

 

[thomasssss]

In theory yes it would reduce your power bill. But the outlay for the solar equipment means it would be a long time before you get any savings....as someone stated already, 2 heat bulbs, 3 heat mats and two lights works out to 1kw a day which is 22 cents. How long will it take to pay off say a $3000 (2kw) system?

being a sparky your probably the best person to ask this , ive been wondering if there is anyway to set up solar panels and YOU keep the electricity to power just your house not give it to the power companies or is such a system too complicated to have in suburban areas and what would be a rough price if it where possible

 

[borntobnude]

Am I reading this wrong, do you guys only pay 4 times a year? I pay over 300$ a month to to keep my scaley money pits worm.

no your reading it correctly now shoosh we dont want our people thinking about m:evilnthly bills


We have had our solar for 4 years 1.5 kw system for the first 2 years we were in credit then I think some F*&^%$%$t put a tarp over the panels as the bill started rising .Even with the Beer fridge and Spa our last bill was a disgusting $190 ,my single nextdoor neighbour for the same 1/4 paid $480 with not even a gecko

 

[Snowman]

being a sparky your probably the best person to ask this , ive been wondering if there is anyway to set up solar panels and YOU keep the electricity to power just your house not give it to the power companies or is such a system too complicated to have in suburban areas and what would be a rough price if it where possible

The only way is to store it in batteries which is very expensive.

 

[thomasssss]

The only way is to store it in batteries which is very expensive.

so how expensive we talking here ? and how big are these batteries to store power ?

 

[JasonL]

Just keep Pink Tongues, Diamond Pythons, Leaf tailed geckos and Mountain Dragons and you dont have to worry

 

[borntobnude]

being a sparky your probably the best person to ask this , ive been wondering if there is anyway to set up solar panels and YOU keep the electricity to power just your house not give it to the power companies or is such a system too complicated to have in suburban areas and what would be a rough price if it where possible

I think you can do this if you live in QLD

 

[Marzzy]

Choice magazine has an article that says its no longer worth it. The companies aren't paying as much for the power you put back on the grid. Most systems are supposed to pay themselves off within 10 years. Problem is the panels are only supposed to last 10 years. And they produce less as they age too.
If the power companies played fair and gave good credit for power generated it would be well worth it. The latest though is that solar panels are taking profits away from power companies so they have to increase infrastructure and supply costs. Which means larger house hold bills....

Solar panel subsidies scrapped early - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
and
Popular solar making old energy more expensive | Rural Weekly

They still sucked in a few people haha, was at a wedding awhile back and some guy was telling us about solar and how great it was, long story short it ended with you know the panels only last 10 years... That was the end of that.
10 years is **** all in my opinion especially for the price you pay.


What's the lifespan if the batteries ?

My last bill was $560 for the quarter and the last one before that was $1750.

 

[wokka]

Why do people think that globes use more power then mats or cords?

A 50w globe uses just as much as a 50w cord.

The problem with globes is the efficency. For the heat to get to the animal it needs to heat the air. A cord is normally in closer contact with the animal and so less wattage is required to provide the animal with adequate heat.Cords are generally used in conjunction with a heat bank such as tiles which hold the heat whereas hot air just blows away.

 

[JasonL]

The problem with globes is the efficency. For the heat to get to the animal it needs to heat the air. A cord is normally in closer contact with the animal and so less wattage is required to provide the animal with adequate heat.Cords are generally used in conjunction with a heat bank such as tiles which hold the heat whereas hot air just blows away.

100% correct, heat cord is a blessing and people need to seriously think how they design their enclosures. The problem is heating is a highly complicated aspect of keeping reptiles that very few people truly understand until they have kept and bred numerous types and species and worked out what both over and under heating does to them

 

[sharky]

What about arbpreal species? You need a heat light for those guys...don't you? Now you guys have got me all confused *sigh*

 

[WillyInBris]

Last bill was 700 for me. With mrs home all day with little ones. Plasma in lounge room pretty much runs 18 hrs a day which is where most of ours comes from. I run approx 700w in heating/lighting for 13 hrs ATM. So that's 9100w or 9.1kw a day. All thermos are dimming so would be using less than quoted

lol I got a energy monitor set it up in the lounge so the wife could see it and what everything was costing and told her she could spend what ever she saved on her self every qtr we dropped from a $600 bill to $400 and she spends that $200 on herself and that makes her happy and thus I get benefits ;-)

She is the house power nazi now.

 

[Rob]

What about arbpreal species? You need a heat light for those guys...don't you? Now you guys have got me all confused *sigh*

Some time ago Captain Ratbag made a post claiming that a heatmat/cord was fine for arboreal species because heat rises. However, in my (somewhat limited) experience with heat mats, the heat generated in the air is nothing and is certainly not enough to heat, say a Jungle 600mm up in the air. One way around this would be to put a basking shelf up high, and placing your heat source on that. IMO, it still wouldn't make a difference to the ambient temps but it would at least give the animal a basking site up high where it would feel safe and secure.

 

[Snowman]

Carpets will come down for the heat on a heated tile if that is all they are given. They will then go back up into their branch after they are heated up. Heated shelf is the best of both worlds I guess. I know a guy that puts a 13w heat mat in a 100mm pvc pipe that gives a nice basking spot of 33 degrees. Has some fake grass cable tied on for grip and the carpets seem to do well with it.

- - - Updated - - -

lol I got a energy monitor set it up in the lounge so the wife could see it and what everything was costing and told her she could spend what ever she saved on her self every qtr we dropped from a $600 bill to $400 and she spends that $200 on herself and that makes her happy and thus I get benefits ;-)

She is the house power nazi now.

Yeah I put one of those in too. They are pretty good.
http://www.efergy.net.au/index.php/au/products/elitev3din-wireless-monitor-au.html

I also changed all our down lights from halogens to GU10 LED.

 

[dragonlover1]

my bill went up about $30 on last winter to $350 for 1/4.I had 2 beardies and a bluey last year,this year I added 2 beardies .More lizards coming this year (total 5 flouro,2 MVB,5 basking lights,4 heat mats)
I have my elderly father live with me,kids have flown the coop.
No A/C,no plasma TV,no dryer,3 fridges/freezers.Most things turned off at the point while at work.

 

[wokka]

i have a 5 Kw system on my shed and got $1145 today for the quarter. Thats for the end of winter/spring. I expect a bit more over the summer quarter with longer and stronger daylight. I really need about a 10kw system to balance my power with two houses a few hundred snakes and a dozen freezers.The annoying part is that most of the power charges are for reticulating power around the country, and the necessary infrastructure. If more power was generated locally ( on everyones roof) we would not need such massive infrastructure to move the power from the centralised generators.

 

[Chris]

I looked into getting a solar system, however to cover our electricity bills meant I need to spend about 14k on the system. I couldn't justify spending that, I don't stay in the same house long enough for it to pay for itself. The industry itself has also gone the way of the 'roof restoration' industry with cowboys everywhere, too shonky & untrustworthy in my opinion.

 

[wokka]

The problem is that we are all being saddled with an inefficient distribution system. I looked at investing in a big wind generator,for about 2 million dollars. The idea fell over because the average price I would get for selling power to the grid was 4 cents per KW. In NSW they are selling the stuff for 25-35 cents a KW retail. As i see it the difference is distribution. Something needs to change. Around here now, about half the houses have air-conditioning. 20 years ago very few did. The increased peak power demand requires massive increase in reticulation infrastructure. Perhaps they shouldn't allow air-conditioning unless you have your own renewable energy source. Users need to think a little more about community benefit rather than just their own backyard.