LED's and Hydro

[Darth]

Okay so now most here who upgraded to leds, would have had a chance to see about hydro bills, I am curious if anyone has compared a hydro bill froem the year before the leds to now, assuming nothing else much has changed. Where you using metal halides or t5's ?

I am just curious if it is the huge savings everyone was told about

Steven

[ray]

IMO if you are being told to expect significant decreases in your Hydro,you are being misled.Unless you are stepping down from a 250 or 400 w Mh w/T5 or PC bulbs.For example on a 4' 120gl I can keep most corals w/ a T5 light running 6x54W for total of 324W.Lighting the same tank w/ ie Radions @ 130W ea for a total of 260W and a difference of 64W/hr x10 hrs photo period is only 640W a day saving.At roughly 11cent per kilowatt you are saving neglible amount.What LEDs are helping w/ is being able to control the colour channels to create your own colour,thus eliminating having to try many bulbs.But this is only available in the higher end LED's.You should  note a bit less heat therefor less evaporation.Where the savings will come is in not having to replace bulbs on a yearly basis,even then it may take a few years to make up the cost difference
Just my opinion and what I inform potential customers

Ray

[Darth]

I know over all the cost of bulbs is a HUGE savings, and I am running a 250w mh with 4 24w t-5s so I can potentially cut my running cost of my lights in half, I personally don't find my hydro bill out of control ( I can only imagine what yours is ray LOL ) I just remember the 2 key factors when leds came out was electric costs and bulb replacement and the latter is the obvious

[Greatwhite]

Gah...  Don't make me pull out my lighting cost comparison spreadsheet... 

[Greatwhite]

Meh.. I already had it saved with fun facts... This is not exact, there are various factors that change the total - but it gives an idea of what the cost different MIGHT be per month.

edit; I think the costs and peak times may have changed since I did this spreadsheet up...

[NjOyRiD]

2x400w to 3x radion g2

[Darth]

2x400w to 3x radion g2

if I am understanding this correctly on average there is no real difference for you assuming the lighter is your mh, until dec, in dec there was a big drop? what was the cause of this?

[NjOyRiD]

I just removed my Mh dec First, and isntalled 3 x radions

the light green is 2 years ago, darker this year

[Greatwhite]

I just plugged Radion fixtures into my spreadsheet... If I was to change from my 6 bulb T5 TEK Elite to two Radion fixtures, my monthly savings are around $1.40...  BUT as Ray said, I would be able to tweak the color to exactly what I want, and I wouldn't have to change my bulbs, which is usually about $30 per bulb.....

The two 400W MH to three Radion fixtures is literally 1/2 the cost monthly.  My spreadsheet shows $24.22 down to $11.81...  The graph shows an even greater savings, but that might be caused by not having to cool the water, and other effects of the heat from MH...

[NjOyRiD]

I just plugged Radion fixtures into my spreadsheet... If I was to change from my 6 bulb T5 TEK Elite to two Radion fixtures, my monthly savings are around $1.40...  BUT as Ray said, I would be able to tweak the color to exactly what I want, and I wouldn't have to change my bulbs, which is usually about $30 per bulb.....

The two 400W MH to three Radion fixtures is literally 1/2 the cost monthly.  My spreadsheet shows $24.22 down to $11.81...  The graph shows an even greater savings, but that might be caused by not having to cool the water, and other effects of the heat from MH...

I didnt had to cool the water

[Darth]

this is interesting thanks for the info

[fishtail]

Just a quick addon to this discussion...

An often overlooked cost factor with LEDs (dimmable) is that you will only be using full 100% wattage for a few hours a day, compared to your standard 8 hour cycle with most other lighting.

For example, a 160w LED will only be using 160w for 3-4 hours of the day. This makes it a little harder to calculate true savings in a spreadsheet, without knowing exact intensity percentage for every minute of the day for your specific setting.

[Darth]

and what about growth, leds have been out long enough to see a growth pattern is it better same worse? I am def getting the razor in a few months so I sold on it, just like some more what to expect

Good points eric thanks!

[Greatwhite]

Just a quick addon to this discussion...

An often overlooked cost factor with LEDs (dimmable) is that you will only be using full 100% wattage for a few hours a day, compared to your standard 8 hour cycle with most other lighting.

For example, a 160w LED will only be using 160w for 3-4 hours of the day. This makes it a little harder to calculate true savings in a spreadsheet, without knowing exact intensity percentage for every minute of the day for your specific setting.

Yup - good point. That's why I only look at the sheet for a guideline... Actual savings are probably much greater with better LED systems for this reason.

[Cheebs]

From what I gather, if you are looks at having similar PAR ratings, if you switch form t5 to LED, the saving are minimal. if you are switching form MH, oyu may notice a fair difference.

As for growth.. When LEDs were getting very popular a couple years ago, there was a lot of scepticism about growth, and some people were complaining about browning SPS. Since then, tons and tons of people have posted amazing pictures of fantastic growth and colour under LEDs over extended periods of time. Turns out it can be difficult to find the right balance. Some people install their LEDs and either don't have an appropriate light cycle for growth, or they just blast their corals with them at 100%, resulting in all kind of bleaching and browning.

It comes down to experimentation and research!

[gvv]

Besides Hydro, keep in mind that MH bulb must be replaced every year and T5 probably as well...
There is no real history how long LED can work, but estimated period is about 10 years. I could be wrong here...