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Thread: 2017 vs 2018
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21-12-2018, 04:35 PM #1
2017 vs 2018
in december 2017 our average consumption each day, for electricity was 54 kilowatts, it went higher in jan and feb !
December this year we are averaging 24 kilowatts a day, this Is 100 % down to the pond, heat pump turned off, variable water pump turned down to 40 % flow, only 1 air pump going and u.v light turned off.
I pay 13 p per kilowatt, so im saving £3.90 per day or £120 in the month I
ive also cut gas usage with new loft insulation, there was only 1 x 100mm layer and it was old and not even a complete covering in all areas, now i have 400mm everywhere and its paying dividends.
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21-12-2018, 07:11 PM #2
i bet youve got a drum though,ive noticed since rebuild and adding my 2 small drums that electric has shot up and im not heated,ive put it down to the high wattage of the cleaning pumps,andi
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21-12-2018, 08:22 PM #3
Has anyone questioned whether say a standard 8k pump at half the wattage would suffice for the spray bar?
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andikoi Thanked / Liked this Post
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21-12-2018, 09:09 PM #4
ive been looking at 12/24v windscreen washer pumps for mine,after all most drums use wiper motors to turn them so why not the pump,might even fit wipers to the inside drum to keep it clear hahaha,andi
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Skoosh88 Thanked / Liked this Post
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21-12-2018, 09:47 PM #5
It is worth having a play with the jet sizes, you may find that going for a greater flow from the tip does the job against a pressure pump set up..Tips are colour coded according to flow. You can also look to see if by adding a plug in extension piece to the nozzle (which places the tip closer to the screen) you can run without a pump. You may however need to add a couple more nozzles to give the same coverage.
All demands a bit of risk of it not working and a small capital investment in terms of parts but potentially a shortish pay back period.
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21-12-2018, 11:52 PM #6
Bills here are about to go down because my solar panels are being installed in January
My gas and electricity bill combined are a couple of grand a year which Im not all that bothered about. Its not all the pond, we have a plug in hybrid car, a huge telly, big fridge and lots of gadgets too. But we are keen to reduce our substantial carbon footprint so the solar seems like a good idea. I work nights so can make full use of the electricity we generate in the daytime. I think I will put the ASHP on its timer too.
I have a novel approach to loft insulation- there is around 1m layer of accumulated over 20 years ‘stuff’ covering my entire loft on top of the insulation and boards. The energy surveyor guy was very suprised when he looked up there!2016 new 6000 gallon pond
https://www.koiforum.uk/pond-construc...ghlight=feline
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andikoi Thanked / Liked this Post
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22-12-2018, 12:47 AM #7
we had solar fitted march last year feline and to be honest i dont think its worth it anymore,we get £40-£50 per quarter,and a lot dont realise you have to phone up and give readings every quarter either,i didnt for 6 months i thought the smart meter told them lol,it will take 20 years to get the money back,plus the government keeps lowering the F.I.T and i heard are scrapping it next year so anyone after that will be giving any unused back to the grid for free, andi
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lee63 Thanked / Liked this Post
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22-12-2018, 01:44 AM #8
The FITs end in March, which is why I am installing mine now. Using average usage figures our system would pay for itself in 14 years (its sunnier in the south west).
Howver because of the way the current system works you can make a killing if you manage to use a large amount of what you produce. This is because they assume that you use 50% of what you generate and pay you accordingly, they dont actually measure how much of it you use. So if you imagine that you charge your electric vehicles, run the pond heat pump, washing machine, dishwasher, tumble drier etc, during daylight hours you could use way more of it.2016 new 6000 gallon pond
https://www.koiforum.uk/pond-construc...ghlight=feline
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22-12-2018, 08:00 AM #9
ive got right into the daily usage thing lol,its winter daylight that hurts lol,also been looking into storage batteries as ours is a solaredge system its battery ready,then we would make a killing as would get paid for giving nothing back to grid haha,its just the £5k price that puts me off lol,andi
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22-12-2018, 09:15 AM #10
I read somewhere that through using a Zappi switch which will charge your car using only EXCESS solar that is generated the car is charged for free as the government still pay you for the 50% you are using and they were using the Cars battery for night time consumption. This does mean you have to predict fairly accurately what power you will require from the car the following day. Also there was quite a bit of discussion as to the merits of using economy 7. Also finally there are now energy suppliers who will pay you to use low demand electricity. One thing is clear there is a massive change taking place
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22-12-2018, 09:48 AM #11
one thing that became clear quickly to us is its not as much of a money maker as was told,until its paid for that is,and as for the governments green energy policies,well they dont seem to stay green very long,i know some people that jumped on solar when it first came out that get nearly £2k a year from F.I.T,the energy companies make a killing off supplying us so why cant we get paid the same for supplying them with free electric,i jumped on the diesel wagon many years ago when it was the best thing you could have and look at it now,hammered due to somebody saying its bad for environment,so are fossil power station,buses and aeroplanes but you dont hear much about those nowadays,i still think a 12/24v pump is good enough for a drum clean though haha,andi
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22-12-2018, 10:34 AM #12
i think the wash pump on my queni drum is 500 watts which sounds daft, but it runs for about 10 seconds every half an hour, so it only runs 8 minutes in 24 hours, thats 6 days worth of washing for just half a kilowatt, which costs under 7 pence, which is a whopping £4.20 a year …. So while I agree that you could save energy on a drum wash pump, the modification will never pay for itself.
We had solar a few years back, fit payments are abut £800 a year but as Feline said the real benefit is, that they assume you only use half of the electric your panels make and they pay you for the other half, most of the year we use all the energy our panels make, so they are paying us for energy we aren't even giving them, its a win, win, when your heating a large pond.
Ours cost 6k in 2015, and If you went just on fit payments and the reductions in our bills, it would take probably take another 2 years to pay for itself, but with the scenario Feline mentioned and I just described, I think they have paid for themselves already.
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22-12-2018, 08:45 PM #13This year we made over £1600 directly and I estimate about another £350 so nearly 2 grand. We must be very nearly at the point of making money.
I think the amount of exported energy must be negligible.6000g in ground koi pond
+3000g lily/Anoxic pond attached
29 koi (40 to 65cm)
Bottom drain, Mid water & Skimmer to Drum
JBR boichamber->Blue eco 500 pump ->below surface return.
Blue Eco 240 -> Large MB -> Waterfall -> Planted Anoxic pond (25 baskets)
Best plants to remove Nitrate
pug has a very impressive veg filter on his pond, have a look at some of his his youtube videos....