HELP! Electric Bill is KILLING me!!

[mstidman]

I need some suggestions on how to cut my electric bill down. it has creeped up from around 180.00 a month to over 450.00...

I have 6 - 20 gallon terrariums with UTH and occasionally use the heat lamp at night when it is cold (Leo's)

I have 3 - 10 gallon terrariums (same as above) (Leo's)

1 - 8' x 7' x 3' enclosure for my Ornate Nile

1 - 6' x 4' x 3' 1/3 land 2/3 water enclosure for another monitor

5 - assorted size enclosures for the various snakes/iguanas with appropriate heat/light sources

I do not currently use heat tape or any type of rack system. Does anyone think that if I exchange all of the 20 and 10 gallon tanks for a rack system w/heat tape that my electric bill would go down at all?

Any suggestions/help would be appreciated. Thanks

LEOPARD GECKOS 3.9.3 - and 4 incubated eggs
KING SNAKES 1.1
NILE MONITORS (JASMINE AND JJ) 1.1
SAVANNAH MONITORS 1.1
"RED" IGUANA (CITRUS) 1.0
GREEN IGUANAS 1.1 - one named Gus
TRI- COLOR HOGNOSE 1.2 (actually down one female - loose in house seomewhere)
SIDE-WINDER 0.0.1
ALBINO BOA 1.0
RED TAIL BOAS 1.2 - one named Bess
VIPER GECKOS 0.0.2
FIRE SKINK 0.0.0 (poor baby died this week, do not know why)
BEARDED DRAGONS 1.1 - found out the hard way that these guys can be cannibalistic, lost one yesterday
AFRICAN SPUR THIGH (DASHER) 1.0
RED-EARED SLIDER 0.0.2
CHILDREN 5.6
GRANDCHILDREN 3.3.1
POMERANIAN (Lil' Dude) 1.0
MIN. PIT MIX (Ratchet) 1.0

 

[LeapinLizards]

DEFINITELY build a rack system, at least for all your geckos and smaller snakes. I built a rack system myself, and it holds 48 15qt tubs, or 24 30qt tubs.

The wattage needed to run heat pads and lights on ALL your tanks would be cut GREATLY due to only needing to run the 3" heat tape under the back end of the tubs, no lighting at all. Temps are controlled MUCH more easily. I can't tell you the exact difference one I went from 55 gallon tanks to the rack because I acquired most of my leos after the change over. IMO, that's way too many tanks to NOT build a rack

 

[MeiK]

I don't know how much this will help...

For people using 65W+ heatlamps - you can switch to a 25W lamp and use chimney flashing over the front/face of the dome (just cut a few holes in the bottom) and cover the top holes... (DOME - NOT THE BULB! lol)

It makes a 10G and 20H tank 80-85 with less than 1/2 the wattage. :main_yes: It's safe for any Home Depot/Walmart/Lowes clamp light housing - and has saved me I'd guess about $10/month with only 5 cages utilizing it.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Light bulbs use a LOT more energy than UTH's or heat tape. A medium-sized UTH only uses about 10-20 watts of electricity, and heat tape uses about 8-12 watts per foot.

 

[mstidman]

Light bulbs use a LOT more energy than UTH's or heat tape. A medium-sized UTH only uses about 10-20 watts of electricity, and heat tape uses about 8-12 watts per foot.

So it probably isn't the UTH's that are causing the huge increase in the bill?
It would be the ceramic heaters and lamps on the other cages as well as the heater on the water/land enclosure?

ANy thoughts on if I moved everything into one room and just kept that room warmer thatn the rest of the house?

 

[Nigel4less]

I would most definitely build a Rack! Especially considering how many Snakes and Geckos you have. Although for the Monitors due to their Unique lighting needs will need to stay in a cage.

 

[LizMarie]

A Rack might help with the bill and cleaning, etc.

I don't know if your an Oprah fan but I was watching it one day and she was talking about ways to save money. There was one lady on there that said her electric bill was TOO HIGH and just couldn't keep up with it so she found a solution. She reduced her bill by simply unplugging items that she wasn't using because even if an item isn't ON put it's still plugged in it still pulls energy. She claimed that she cut her bill in half by unplugging tvs, dvd players, taking out the cell phone charger when it wasn't in use, the microwave, etc. You can't exactly do the same for your animals but you might have something around the house that doesn't need to be plugged in and can save you a few bucks.

 

[cwazy]

yeah i think that woman on oprah was on crack lol... JMO

 

[eric]

Yes Marina, you would see a sufficient drop in your monthly bill if you switched to a rack system and they have these low E reptile lights or compact florescent bulbs now they use 15 watts as opposed to 100 watts. They come in all types like, full spectrum and UVB/UVA, check them out. You can get Racks at www.animalplastics.com or build your own.The lights can be found at www.thebeanfarm.com hope this helps.

 

[Dom3rd]

I dont have a rack system and i just keep most of mine in the same room, the leos have there heat pads and my beardies lights are on timers and with the heat from all the setups keeps the room warm and i really have not noticed a high bill even with all the other electronic toys i have in my house..LOL

In my Reptile room i have my 4 Beardies, 3 of my 4 male Leos and my 4 new baby Leos....

 

[simplechamp]

I would suggest buying a few of these devices called "Kill-A-Watts". You plug them in to whatever outlets you are using, and they record and display your power consumption. You can use them to monitor which sources are using/wasting the most juice, and make adjustments from there.

Looks like the price is around $20-$30 depending on what model you want. A little pricey for what it does, but it may be worth it if it can help you cut down your electricity bill over the longterm.

 

[nats]

If you want to save money, DO NOT use ceramic heaters!
They are high watt, high draw devices.

Incandescent lights aren't exactly "economy" either!

 

[Foreverandever]

Dang, how do you have all that plugged in safely? I've never seen more then 3 outlets in a room before.

 

[mstidman]

Dang, how do you have all that plugged in safely? I've never seen more then 3 outlets in a room before.

The majority of the geckos and iguanas are in the living room, with most of the snakes in the den. I have a couple of habitats set up on my granite counters in the kitchen. Gives me a little company in the evening when I am cooking...

All in all I have cages in five separate rooms of my house

 

[Foreverandever]

The majority of the geckos and iguanas are in the living room, with most of the snakes in the den. I have a couple of habitats set up on my granite counters in the kitchen. Gives me a little company in the evening when I am cooking...

All in all I have cages in five separate rooms of my house

Oh haha, I thought I had read that you had them all in one room. My mistake