Chiller or home A/C????

Joined
Apr 20, 2016
Messages
143
Likes
0
Points
16
Location
La Puente
#1
So what do you reefers prefer or rather use, home A/C or chiller?. I just installed A/C for my home ending of last year so this is my first year to use it for summer. Last year I used my chiller but of course will exit out heat. Anyone that experience both which one is more cheaper to run? Or it doesn't really matter due to the fact that both will draw power about the same?! Who has actually paid attention to there bill and notice if there is a difference or not?
 

djrice69

SocaliReef M0DERAT0R IG Farmedfrags
Staff member
2020 Philanthropist
Supporter
Joined
Aug 21, 2007
Messages
2,373
Likes
676
Points
83
Location
OC
#2
i run ac
 
Joined
May 16, 2010
Messages
5,694
Likes
23
Points
38
Location
Rancho Cucamonga
#5
AC. Keep yourself cool in the process too. And chillers run inside create a lot of heat from exhaust like you said. I just have some computer fans run if the tank temp reaches a certain level.
 
Joined
May 5, 2014
Messages
1,055
Likes
84
Points
18
Location
Devore
#6
it depends on the efficiency of your home AC, but since yours is new it shouldn't be a problem. I previously lived in a 2nd story condo that was above a garage in the IE and in the summers the AC would run NON STOP and could only get the house down to 82-83. We would be gone all day but would leave the AC running because of the tank and our electricity bill got close to $500, for a small condo! I bought a chiller, would turn the Ac off when we weren't home and let the chiller do the work. It dropped the bill about $100 a month.
It was beneficial for me because our AC was TERRIBLE and it consistently got to over 100+ degrees out here, for others it may be better to just run the AC.
 

MitchW

New member
Joined
Apr 5, 2015
Messages
30
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Los Angeles, CA
#7
I run a chiller. The chiller adds very little if any warmth to the room.

I don't use my AC that often. Running the AC all the time is much more money.

The past 2 days though I ran my AC just because it was so hot in LA that I had too.
 

xraymatt

Premium Member
Supporter
Joined
Oct 17, 2010
Messages
579
Likes
27
Points
18
Location
La Quinta, Ca.
#10
Jump starting this post. :)
Living in the desert, I don't have much of an option, but to use both. Fortunately with solar on the house, the AC stays at 75 all summer, which means the chiller doesn't kick on that often. There is a burst of heat that comes from the chiller, but it's positioned in a way that it's not noticeable. Also, consider the type of lights you have that will dictate how often the chiller comes on. I switched from metal halides (used them for years), to the Hydra 52's. The heat problem from the lights is non-existent now.
 
Joined
Feb 18, 2018
Messages
14
Likes
3
Points
3
Location
Redlands
#12
it depends on the efficiency of your home AC, but since yours is new it shouldn't be a problem. I previously lived in a 2nd story condo that was above a garage in the IE and in the summers the AC would run NON STOP and could only get the house down to 82-83. We would be gone all day but would leave the AC running because of the tank and our electricity bill got close to $500, for a small condo! I bought a chiller, would turn the Ac off when we weren't home and let the chiller do the work. It dropped the bill about $100 a month.
It was beneficial for me because our AC was TERRIBLE and it consistently got to over 100+ degrees out here, for others it may be better to just run the AC.
I agree with this. My AC is the same. It has to run almost all day to keep the house in the low 80's. The price to do that in the IE is insane.
Initially, I was worried about heat and cost to run a chiller too, but I bought a chiller that was oversized for my tank volume. It turns on about 2 to 4 times a day in the summer but because it is oversized it only turns on for about 10 minutes each time. So there is very little heat produced or electricity being used. I also like the redundancy of a chiller. If it breaks my AC will keep it cool and vice versa.
 

Latest posts

Top