# Cost of running a UV light



## milkybarkid16

Hi
I was thinking of getting a bearded dragon but what really has been putting me of is the fact that they need a UV light and i want to know is it *expensive to run*??????Its *not *about how much the bulbs cost! Its because the electric bills have gone up so much and i wanna know if i can afford to *run* it!?!?!?!?!? 

Thanks!
Conor:2thumb:: victory:


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## milkybarkid16

Does anybody know??????????????? Are they measured the same as anyother bulb- the wattage??????????????


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## tortz

Yep there measured in watts, different watts for the different sizes.

As to the cost? Not sure, there prob is a formula to use to work out the exact cost, depending on what your paying for elec.

But for example, a 30 watt tube.. I wouldnt expect that to make a huge difference in your elec bill.

They cost around a tenner to buy, and need repacing every 6 months., this add to the 'true' cost of running.

Very small cost if you ask me....
:whistling2:


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## milkybarkid16

Good! Thanks for your reply!: victory:


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## Tommy123

Try this: Electricity Running Cost Calculator | Electricity Prices | Electricity Costs Hope this helps.


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## 7109

hi milky mate they need more than just a uv tube also a basking bulb. so say if you plan a 4ft viv you need to calculate what size bulbs n wattage


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## Graham

Your electricity is charged per Kilowatt Hour, that's 1000 Watts in 1 hour, or 500 Watts in 2 hours etc...

To calculate the running cost of a lamp you need to know the wattage, let's say it's 100W, in which case you can run it for 10 hours on one Kilowatt Hour of electricity (1000 divided by 100 = 10 hours).

Check your bill to see how much you pay for 1 Kilowatt Hour and you can work out the running cost of any lamp.


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## fixitsan

milkybarkid16 said:


> Hi
> I was thinking of getting a bearded dragon but what really has been putting me of is the fact that they need a UV light and i want to know is it *expensive to run*??????Its *not *about how much the bulbs cost! Its because the electric bills have gone up so much and i wanna know if i can afford to *run* it!?!?!?!?!?
> 
> Thanks!
> Conor:2thumb:: victory:



They're comparatively cheap to run

To check how cheap , a couple of days ago I plugged our vivarium into a power useage monitor whcih I bought at Maplins last year for £10.
I set the price for 1 unit of electricicty at 12p per unit (we pay between 10.8-11.6). Every day the viv uses just under 10p woirth of electricity.

In the viv is a 12 inch 16W UV tube, running from an 18W ballast transformer. There is also a 30W low voltage (12V) halogen spotlight whcih provides lots of heat.

The thing to bear in mind is that our ballast is the most common type which has a transformer inside and they're very inefficient. A modern 'electronic' ballast uses about half of the power of an old fashioned transformer type. I have an electronic ballast here which I bought on ebay for £4.95 but just haven't got around to fitting it, but it will save 2 or 3 pence per day, or will pay for itself within about 6 months or so, and continue with the savings after that.

To work out running costs, take the power in (Watts) and multiply by the number of hours of use at full power (estimate an average for an on-off heater). That will give you a figure in Watt-Hours. 1 unit of electricity equals 1000 Watt hours, and you will find the 'unit cost' on your last bill, but 12p is a realistic figure ( you have tax to pay too).

If you have a 60 spotlight on for 14 hours at full power, and a 16W UV tube for 14 hours, the total power = 74. 
Watt hours = power used X time = 74 X 14 = 1036 Watt hours (WHrs)
or 1.036kWh which is also 1.036 units of electricty.

If electricity costs 12p per unit and you use 1.036 units per day then your running costs will be about 12p per day. You need to sometimes allow small variances for losses in any transformers and so on, but this figure isn't too far off the mark.

Chris


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## wiz

ok how do you calculate the right wattage for the viv mines 6f x 2f x 18"


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## fixitsan

wiz said:


> ok how do you calculate the right wattage for the viv mines 6f x 2f x 18"


You would be better asking that in a forum which caters specifically for the species you are looking after. Some species need a lot of UV, some hardly any. 

Also, wattage isn't a measurement of the amount of UV which is radiated but is just a measure of how much electricity the tube requires. Some tubes give out 2% UV, some 5% and some 10%. You have to be careful because too much UV can be as harmful as too little, but not knowing what you are keeping and how far from the tube it is nobody can really say, like I say, you will probably get sound advice from one of the specialised species forums.


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