Tank heating, Electric bill at $450 for last month.

OldReefGuy · Mar 2, 2023

$650 for me. The spike is the new temporary rates that LADWP have applied. My gas was also like $350...again, new temporary rates due to "increase" in natural gas prices by the supplier Sempra Energy (who also seem to own a controlling interest in So. Cal Gas)... . And its going to get worse.....So. Cal gas is applying for a permanent rate increase. Yikes!....https://www.latimes.com/california/...the-big-raises-for-utility-company-executives

OldReefGuy · Mar 2, 2023

Flame_Angle said:

350 for me.....and the war has nothing to do with it....99% of all Natural Gas the
US uses is from Canada.

OldReefGuy · Mar 2, 2023

Maybe this will become popular soon....

Ranch Reef · Mar 3, 2023

$400+ for me. I need to consolidate tanks.

All Delight · Mar 3, 2023

My bills used to be around $400 to $500 a month year round. But I also have a few tanks, totaling over 500 gallons.

I'd get a bigger heater, perhaps 300 watts. Lower your temp to turn on at 74.5 and turn off at 75 during the winter. In a couple of my tanks, I have it set to turn on at 73.5 and turn off at 74.

Keep in mind the more electricity you use the higher tiers you get pushed into and the costs per kw increases.
I eventually went solar since my solar payments were going to be the same as my monthly electricity costs. I got a Tesla battery so when the power goes out your house will continue to be powered. My battery can keep our house going for around 10 hours without altering consumption.

My electricity bills now are on average $70 during winter and zero during summer (even with AC running). Spring and Fall $20 to $30.

happaman · Mar 3, 2023

joseserrano said:

Tell 'em solar is definitely worth it. Replaced roof plus a 7 KWH system for around $40K before tax break. New tax breaks are even better.

My gas bill and electric combined was less than $100 for January. My entire electric bill for 2022 was almost nothing. I have 4 tanks = 900 watts cranking all night cuz 2 tanks (55 and 125) are in a unheated sunroom that got down to 60 degrees last week.

FYI I dont' work for solar companies, lol, but I replaced my gas stove with induction, replaced gas furnace with electric baseboard & wall heaters in each room. Had to spend some $ but will break even a lot sooner with these prices.

OldReefGuy · Mar 3, 2023

happaman.....do you lease or own the system?

happaman · Mar 3, 2023

OldReefGuy said:

Bit the bullet and bought it. It's an investment and my ROI is great compared to other investments.

five.five-six · Mar 4, 2023

Smite said:

I've got some reptiles in addition to my reef and a pool. We hit $700-750 for 2 months in a row. Our normal is around 4-450. Usually about the same winter/summer for us.
Peak hours kill for sure, so does getting into different usage tiers. It just starts to really add up. Turning off my heat (electric) during the day helped a ton. I also adjusted my tank's photo period earlier in the day to avoid peak hours. I got lucky with the heat off and running metal halides that is basically offsetting my 300w heater. My fan rarely kicks on, same goes for my heater during the day.

Moving my light schedule earlier, moving my pool equipment to run earlier and just paying attention to all the small things like lights ect in the house my last bill was back down to $450.

I'm thinking about going solar, but first I plan to insulate my walls. Ain't a shred of insulation in any of our exterior walls here!

Do PV, its a walk in the park for a guy like you. I have the special crimpers ill loan you.

Electricity and gas are not getting cheeper. They are going bend us all over Ron Jeremy style.

Smite · Mar 4, 2023

five.five-six said:

I'll have to check, I think I still have the crimpers. I did a couple PV installs before I left my last company. This might be the year I have to get it done. Roofs looking like shit and you're right, costs are just going to get worse.

five.five-six · Mar 4, 2023

Smite said:

You can actually do your roof too, it’s not rocket surgery.

PM me and I’ll give you the 411 on a firm that specializes in residential PV drawings. They do a bang up job and it sails right through plan check.

Smite · Mar 4, 2023

five.five-six said:

That's what I'm thinking. I've got a few old vents I can remove while I'm at it to fit more panels.

I'll shoot you a PM later today. Thanks!

Jimbo327 · Mar 5, 2023

I have SoCalGas, and the gas bills were definitely crazy high for January. It spiked to $3.50 per therm. However, I think March is going to be back to normal to about $0.60 per therm. But Socalgas is also proposing permanent hikes in the bill like.

Here’s how that breaks down for SoCalGas:

In 2024, it wants another $738 million (a 20.2% increase over 2023 expected revenues)
In 2025, it wants another $295 million (6.7%)
In 2026, another $261 million (5.6%)
And in 2027, another $379 million (7.7%)

As far as electricity, I have Southern California Edison, before I had the solar, my electricity bill was over $500+ per month (without a reef tank) in the summer. I installed solar about 4 years ago. And the current rate plan was awesome, it allowed me to not have any electric bills. But the latest rate plans by the electric company really screws with people with solar panels as they made the peak hours from 4pm-9pm, so the majority of electricity generated by the sun is at off-peak rates. And the peak rates are basically mostly in the evening now. I will be transitioned from my current rate plan to the new rate plan next year because you are only grandfathered into the current rate plan for 5 years.

Jimbo327 · Mar 5, 2023

MccReefer said:

I don't think it is your heater. Even if you run that 200w heater all day (24hr), it would only cost you ~5 kwh per day. So for a month, that's around 150 kwh total in a month for the heater. Your bill shows that you used 1200 kwh for the month. Unless your 50gal tank is in the garage, and it's snowed in outside...I don't think you are using 200w heater to the max all day long.

What is your typical bill like? How many kwh are you using per month on average? This is strange because you said your house heater is a wall gas unit as well. Adding a second heater will not help because you will be using the same amount of electricity to convert into heat for the tank.

djam · Mar 5, 2023

I used to have 6 x 300w heaters in my tank, always on (240+120 gal sump), when I setup my new tank (225+70g sump) I put 3 500w heaters and my bill went down month to month about $70 before the crazy prices. not sure about the logic, but seems like when the come on they are on less time.

Jimbo327 · Mar 5, 2023

^ BTU is BTU. You are heating 60 gallons less water. Plus probably less surface area to allow cooling as well. Not sure if you also upgraded to more efficient equipment. But if you just improve 5 kWh per day, and each kWh is like $0,40 (rate +generation). That will account for $70.

tygerjace · Mar 6, 2023

Its not just your 200w heater. Logically that can't be. It's a combination of everything you're using. My 70g frag tank is in the garage and I have 200w, 150w, and a 50w heater on that tank and its running 24/7. Everytime i look at it, its on. My last month bill was $130 or so, this month $170. I would recommend sacrificing some comfort to save. For instance bundle and keep thermostat at around 65-67 degrees. Wash clothes 9pm - 3pm. Use less hot water when possible which means wash clothes in cold. Don't leave tv on when not watching, etc etc.... It's a pain but be mindful of these things. lol

bvysochin · Mar 7, 2023

Tesla solar prices are pretty hard to beat these days.. got a 10.8kw system with 2 powerwalls for $46k in October, before the 30% tax credit. Sized system at 227% usage.. Surprised SCE was cool with it.

A friend's solar company wanted $68k for a comparable system. Nuts...

MccReefer · Mar 8, 2023

Jimbo327 said:

I have SoCalGas, and the gas bills were definitely crazy high for January. It spiked to $3.50 per therm. However, I think March is going to be back to normal to about $0.60 per therm. But Socalgas is also proposing permanent hikes in the bill like.

Here’s how that breaks down for SoCalGas:

In 2024, it wants another $738 million (a 20.2% increase over 2023 expected revenues)
In 2025, it wants another $295 million (6.7%)
In 2026, another $261 million (5.6%)
And in 2027, another $379 million (7.7%)

As far as electricity, I have Southern California Edison, before I had the solar, my electricity bill was over $500+ per month (without a reef tank) in the summer. I installed solar about 4 years ago. And the current rate plan was awesome, it allowed me to not have any electric bills. But the latest rate plans by the electric company really screws with people with solar panels as they made the peak hours from 4pm-9pm, so the majority of electricity generated by the sun is at off-peak rates. And the peak rates are basically mostly in the evening now. I will be transitioned from my current rate plan to the new rate plan next year because you are only grandfathered into the current rate plan for 5 years.

$3.50/therm?!?!? What city do you live in?

MccReefer · Mar 8, 2023

Jimbo327 said:

I don't think it is your heater. Even if you run that 200w heater all day (24hr), it would only cost you ~5 kwh per day. So for a month, that's around 150 kwh total in a month for the heater. Your bill shows that you used 1200 kwh for the month. Unless your 50gal tank is in the garage, and it's snowed in outside...I don't think you are using 200w heater to the max all day long.

What is your typical bill like? How many kwh are you using per month on average? This is strange because you said your house heater is a wall gas unit as well. Adding a second heater will not help because you will be using the same amount of electricity to convert into heat for the tank.

I’m typically paying $100-150 for electricity every month. Possibly 200-300 kWh every month.

Tank heating, Electric bill at $450 for last month.

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