How To Use 2 Submersible Pond Pumps and Save Money At Same Time
Because power costs in USA and UK are high it is cheaper almost
every time if you have a biofillter and a waterfall to run 2 pumps
instead of 1 ... let me explain why
Two submersible pumps in a pond are almost always better than a
single pond pump. This might sound strange but it is true as I will
explain. Let's take my own personal situation ....
My pond is outside my bedroom window and I have a very nice
waterfall. At night the waterfall "noise" would keep us awake and we
need our sleep. I switch this waterfall off every night and the fish do
not suffer. They do not suffer because I have a much smaller pond pump
feeding the pond biofilter continuously. This second pump is not big
enough to feed the waterfall but is big enough to supply the oxygen
needs of the biofilter.
You will remember this warning from another section .....
Never switch off your pond pump for more than a few minutes if you
keep fish. A pump in a fish pond serves a very important reason.
Of course it circulates the water and it drives a fountain or a
waterfall. Yes of course it adds character and movement to your system.
However its most important job is to provide life-giving oxygen to
bacteria in the fish pond biofilter.
A pumps works like your heart ... the heart continuously replenishes
your vital organs with freshly oxygenated blood. A pump in a pond does
the same ... it supplies freshly oxygenated water to the biofilter.
Now back to the 2 pumps are better story ....
1. The basic formula for calculating your annual cost starting with
amps is as follows
Voltage x Amps x 24 divided by 1,000 gives kilowatt-hrs (units) of
electricity consumed every day.
Amps are always shown on the pump. Voltage is your mains voltage
normally 110, 220, or 240
You can find unit cost per kilowatt hour on your electricity bill or
account. Multiply the above answer by this unit cost and then by 365 to
get annual cost. Here's an example
amps x voltage = watts
In USA voltage is 110, in most other countries it is 220 or 240
volts.
So in USA if amps = 0.5 and voltage is 110 the watts = 55
If unit cost is 8.3 cents then pump costs 55 x 8.76 x 8.3/100 =
$39.98 per year
2. The basic formula for calculating your annual cost starting with
watts is as follows
Look on the pump box and if you can find watts consumed multiply this
by 8.76 and you will get units (kWhrs) of electricity consumed every
year by your pump.
Go to your electricity or utility bill find cost per unit and you can
work out running cost of the pump.
Many pumps consume more than 400 watts and are totally unnecessary
for the pond's situation in by far the majority of cases. This little
equation can save you lots of money when you are about to select a pump.
The running cost is often far more important than the purchasing cost.
To buy two pumps, if selected correctly, is often no more expensive
than buying a single larger pump. However being able to switch off the
waterfall pump (normally the bigger of the two pumps) can save an
enormous amount of money over the lifetime of the pond.
The fish do not mind the waterfall being switched off most of the
time and if you are at work you cannot enjoy the sights and sounds of
the waterfall - so why waste electricity. Furthermore if one pump does
break down you can keep your biofilter alive by using the second (spare)
pump.
In one of my calculators you are shown how to calculate how much you
will be able to save by using two pumps in your pond. In the example I
use in the calculator $309 is saved over 3 years
Now take a look at the information below and see where you stand in
the electricity cost stakes.
The cost of running a pump can vary a lot depending where you live
.... refer to the cost of electricity by state in the table below for
2003. Running the same pump in New England states will cost about 50%
more than running the same pump in one of the West North Central States.
This means you need to be particularly careful on pump selection based
upon where you live.
Electricity costs by state in cents per kWatt-hour
in 2003 … ref DOE
U.S. average 8.74 cents
New
England 11.66 cents
Connecticut 11.35
Maine 12.88
Massachusetts 11.45
New Hampshire 11.99
Rhode Island 11.45
Vermont 12.79
|
Middle
Atlantic 11.65
New Jersey 10.73
New York 14.30
Pennsylvania 9.63
|
East
North Central 8.22
Illinois 8.50
Indiana 7.02
Michigan 8.51
Ohio 8.33
Wisconsin 8.61
|
Pacific
1 15.05
Alaska 12.75
Hawaii 16.59
Pacific 2 9.94
California 11.87
Oregon 7.06
Washington 6.24 |
West
North Central 7.53
Iowa 8.60
Kansas 7.86
Minnesota 7.74
Missouri 7.07
Nebraska 6.92
North Dakota 6.67
South Dakota 7.62
|
South
Atlantic 8.14
Delaware 8.64
D. Of Columbia 8.44
Florida 8.55
Georgia 7.85
Maryland 7.87
North Carolina 8.29
South Carolina 7.90
Virginia 7.88
West Virginia 6.26 |
East
South Central 6.75
Alabama 7.29
Kentucky 5.80
Mississippi 7.68
Tennessee 6.49
West South Central 8.74
Arkansas 7.42
Louisiana 8.02
Oklahoma 7.67
Texas 9.24 |
Mountain
8.06
Arizona 8.48
Colorado 7.97
Idaho 6.40
Montana 7.63
Nevada 8.97
New Mexico 8.69
Utah 6.84
Wyoming 7.10 |
Choose low cost reliable supplier on-line
I suggest you look a both suppliers and compare prices and shipping
costs ... take note that both suppliers offer specials at times and
these often appear in right hand border of this website.
These suppliers do sell other makes of pumps also of high quality and
performance which you might want to investigate and you can search the
websites for the model you want ...
Florida based
supplier specializing in very wide range of garden fish pond equipment
including pond pumps filters and UV lights ... just click the link
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