# Electricity Running Costs



## pristurus (Jan 15, 2012)

Hey guys,

I've not kept reptiles since back in the day when mum and dad paid the bills, so I really had no idea on how much things cost. I also know prices have gone up a lot as of late. I've been thinking of getting a setup over the last few months, and the other night I was really intrigued as to how much it costs to run things. I bought a Habistat dimming thermostat recently, and using this site to work out the costs.

Electricity Running Cost Calculator | Electricity Prices | Electricity Costs

The price came back at around £30 a month!!!!! :bash:
This is just for the thermostat, based on 10-12 hours a day, not including a light and heating equipment! Surely this cannot be right as I had multiple enclosures (around 20) about 10 years ago, and I am pretty sure the parents would have put an end to this hobby :lol2:

I would be interested in anyone else has or will use this calculator and feed back their results and if they believe it is true or not, as myself I cannot believe it would be this expensive.

Thanks in advance


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## Woody82 (Dec 23, 2010)

really?? i just worked out one light bulb in for 12 hours ish per day that i would have attatched to a thermostat and it cam back at £3, one of us has made a large mistake with calculator!!


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## pants125 (Jan 30, 2009)

A thermostat shouldn't cost anything to run (apart from the neon light)in fact it should lower the bill ie if u was using a 100w heater which is on for 8 hrs with a thermostat it mite only be on for 6 hrs therefor saving u 2 hrs


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## pristurus (Jan 15, 2012)

I just done it again to make sure. I only have the ratings on the back of the thermostat to go by, which are maximum load 2.6amp and 230v, ran for 300 hours over a month.....I actually worked it out wrong first time (dont know how) as I just got my rates off british gas (for electric) and its now coming out at over £40 a month :devil:

I also checked it for my router, which is coming out at £60 a month as it is on 24/7, but this cannot be right as I would notice as we have a key meter and we put nowhere near this on a month. Does anyone know a reliable way to work out this information as I cannot even trust a calculator created by a very reputable company :bash::bash::bash::bash::bash:


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## eightball (Jan 1, 2011)

average unit of electricity costs 4p - 12p depending on location and provider

(WATTS USED/1000)*UNITCOST*HOURSUSED works out how much it costs

for example

i have a 1kw heater than runs probably half the time so 1minute off 1 minute on so thats 500w an hour and probably about 400w of heatcable, mats etc

so 

(900w/1000)*10p*24hours = 216p a day (£2.16)

thats probably the best way to work it out IMO, weve got an electric meter so you plug in everything into the meter aslong as its less than 13A and it will tell you how much units youve used, the highest amount of wattage youve used etc so we dont have to work it out everyday we just leave it in and then we can simply calculate it like that, its got a function on it where you can put in how much it is for each unit and it will tell you how much its cost :2thumb:


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## eightball (Jan 1, 2011)

theyre about £10 on ebay


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## pristurus (Jan 15, 2012)

As I have no heating equipment yet, could anyone give me the name/manufacturer of their heat mat/or heat light together with the amp and volt rating please?


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## pristurus (Jan 15, 2012)

eightball said:


> theyre about £10 on ebay


Didnt think of that and Ive seen them used before :lol2: Thanks :2thumb:


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## eightball (Jan 1, 2011)

pristurus said:


> I just done it again to make sure. I only have the ratings on the back of the thermostat to go by, which are maximum load 2.6amp and 230v, ran for 300 hours over a month.....I actually worked it out wrong first time (dont know how) as I just got my rates off british gas (for electric) and its now coming out at over £40 a month :devil:
> 
> I also checked it for my router, which is coming out at £60 a month as it is on 24/7, but this cannot be right as I would notice as we have a key meter and we put nowhere near this on a month. Does anyone know a reliable way to work out this information as I cannot even trust a calculator created by a very reputable company :bash::bash::bash::bash::bash:


sums you will need are power(wattage) = amps * voltage
and the formula i put above

so 2.6amps * 230v = 598watts


(598/1000)*300hours = 6000p/179.4 = 33.4p

that means its 33.4p per unit if you run 598watts for 300hours and it cost £60, somethings wrong, how much is your electric per unit? and how many hours does it run, theres not 300hours in a month you see which is why it will be wrong so does it run for 300hours a month or 24/7 a month?


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## eightball (Jan 1, 2011)

pristurus said:


> As I have no heating equipment yet, could anyone give me the name/manufacturer of their heat mat/or heat light together with the amp and volt rating please?


theyll be different for each size etc, the heat mat should say on it, if it doesnt what size and make is it as youll be able to find it on the internet, and the light should say how many wattage it is (or amperage) in tiny tiny writing : victory:


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## pristurus (Jan 15, 2012)

eightball said:


> sums you will need are power(wattage) = amps * voltage
> and the formula i put above
> 
> so 2.6amps * 230v = 598watts
> ...


I have a key meter, if I had a bill it would tell me the cost of units per KWh, but I went on the british gas website and for tier 2 it says 24.45p per KWh.

Im aware of the formula as its the same on the website I mentioned  There are around 720 hours in a month (24(hrs) x 30(days) = 720) and I based it on 10 hours a day.

The data I gave was based on the info printed on the reverse of the thermostat, I dont know the actual amps/volts used 
Regarding the equipment, I know the sizes differ, I was hoping people would include that. I have looked on livefood.co.uk and it doesnt seem to give that information I need thats why I asked  

Think I should email ukpower to let them know I think their calculator is sh*t:lol2:


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

The thermostat will say it can take UPTO 600watts, so if you're running a 100watt light bulb it'll be a sixth of the price.... So if it came out at £30, a sixth is a fiver.


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## Iguanaquinn (Nov 13, 2010)

pristurus said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> I've not kept reptiles since back in the day when mum and dad paid the bills, so I really had no idea on how much things cost. I also know prices have gone up a lot as of late. I've been thinking of getting a setup over the last few months, and the other night I was really intrigued as to how much it costs to run things. I bought a Habistat dimming thermostat recently, and using this site to work out the costs.
> 
> ...


Here ya go M8, Good Egg Energy | Welcome we are a fuel poverty charity... I have developed "Good Egg Energy" we will be running this across the whole of the UK, so might as well see what we can do for you.

Only way to keep cost down and reps alive is to switch supplier :2thumb:

Anyone need any further advice PM me....

Regards,

Stephen.


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## eightball (Jan 1, 2011)

pristurus said:


> I have a key meter, if I had a bill it would tell me the cost of units per KWh, but I went on the british gas website and for tier 2 it says 24.45p per KWh.
> 
> Im aware of the formula as its the same on the website I mentioned  There are around 720 hours in a month (24(hrs) x 30(days) = 720) and I based it on 10 hours a day.
> 
> ...


i see now,

the rating on the back of the stat is just the max if you didnt already know, 2.6amps * 230 = 598watts (pretty much 600watts like it says on the front), get an individual meter for it from ebay


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