Chiller vs. inverter aircon

**uklau** · 1st Sep 2014, 22:03

Hi folks,

I wonder if anyone ever calculated the power consumption of cooling down a 3 feet tank using a chiller vs. turning on an inverter aircon 24x7 (for a small room).

Is using chiller consuming much more little power as compared to aircon in long run?

Thank you!

**Shadow** · 1st Sep 2014, 22:09

3ft tank using 1/10hp artica chiller will cost you around $10 a month. Not sure about aircon

**AQMS** · 1st Sep 2014, 22:20

Originally Posted by Shadow

3ft tank using 1/10hp artica chiller will cost you around $10 a month. Not sure about aircon

My inverter aircon 8hrs a day,plus minus about $50sgd.

**Urban Aquaria** · 1st Sep 2014, 22:38

I did some calculations before to see if aircon or chiller is better... came up with these figures:

Aircon unit watt consumption = 1,200 watts (ie. single split unit)
Hours of operation daily = 24 hours
Electricity Tariff = 25.68 cents per kW (assuming as of july-sept 2014)

So...

(1,200 watts x 24 hours x 30 days / 1,000 ) x $0.2568 = $221.88 per month

I guess the overall cost would probably work out less as the aircon doesn't have to work so hard during the nights when its usually cooler.

I've never personally switched on my aircon 24 hours for one whole month before to test though, so these figures are just theoretical... anyone here with actual experience keeping their aircon on 24/7 and seen the resulting bills please do chime in.

For just one tank, chiller is still cheaper, unless you have a dedicated fish room with 100+ tanks to spread out the costs.

Though with aircon on the whole day the room will be very comfortable for you, no need to tolerate the chiller venting out heat and making the room feel like a sauna during hot days.

**atolylica** · 2nd Sep 2014, 00:08

How about checking with fish shops with aircon on during their opening hours? Some LFS switch on aircon without needing a chiller, while others run a chiller and fan together. Believe they can give you a rough figure of their utilities bill.

**vannel** · 2nd Sep 2014, 01:57

I've ever met someone who runs their aircon 24/7 in a small fish room. Depending on the temperature you are hoping to achieve, it will only be more cost effective to run the aircon 24/7 if you have more than 3 large tanks to chill.. This is of course depending largely on the aircon, ambient temperature, size and number of tanks, target temperature, size of room, whether you sleep in the same room.. Amongst many other variables.

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**uklau** · 3rd Sep 2014, 21:17

Thanks all for your great input. Makes my life so easy!

@Shadow, $10/month with 1/10hp chiller really puzzled me! Many years back when I was toying with Teco TR10 (together with 4x39W T5HO, Rena XP3 & a Eheim Compact+), my monthly bill close to $100! (On top of the the existing bill, before the tank was set up).

**Urban Aquaria** · 3rd Sep 2014, 22:58

Originally Posted by uklau

Thanks all for your great input. Makes my life so easy!

@Shadow, $10/month with 1/10hp chiller really puzzled me! Many years back when I was toying with Teco TR10 (together with 4x39W T5HO, Rena XP3 & a Eheim Compact+), my monthly bill close to $100! (On top of the the existing bill, before the tank was set up).

Shadow's running cost estimate actually isn't too far off the mark... that can usually be expected for tank setups which are placed in areas with moderated temperatures and without too many sources of excessive heat in or around the tank.

Higher running costs are usually due to the tank being subjected to high ambient temps (ie. placed right next to window facing east and getting direct sunlight or placed in areas with poor ventilation) or the water temp is set really low or the chiller is undersized for the tank volume, hence the chiller ends up overworked and have to run non-stop without any rest.

For a TR10 chiller running at 220watts, even if it is running constantly without rest for 24 hours a day for a whole month, the running cost locally works out to around $40+, but that would just be in the worse case scenario... for most tanks in optimal conditions, they should only be running at 20%-30% of the time (ie. kick in 30 minutes, kick out 90-120 minutes) so in such setups the overall monthly running cost of the chiller itself should theoretically only average around $10-$15.

**uklau** · 3rd Sep 2014, 23:10

Thanks bro UA for the detailed explanation. More reason to get a chiller

**Shadow** · 4th Sep 2014, 08:20

Originally Posted by uklau

Thanks all for your great input. Makes my life so easy!

@Shadow, $10/month with 1/10hp chiller really puzzled me! Many years back when I was toying with Teco TR10 (together with 4x39W T5HO, Rena XP3 & a Eheim Compact+), my monthly bill close to $100! (On top of the the existing bill, before the tank was set up).

This was measured using Kill A watt within one month duration. Unless the equipment malfunction

, it should be accurate.

**milk_vanilla** · 4th Sep 2014, 18:50

You should factor in the maintenance cost by running air con 24/7, definitely more higher compare to those who run the aircon during the evening time, for example.

I never use chiller so far, is there any regular maintenance cost other than repairing cost if it's spoilt?

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