UPS and heater(s)

Bill Stock wrote:

wrote in message
...
Personally, I'd concentrate on keeping the UGF fed with oxygen as a
priority
over the heating (unless you live in a very cold place). Oxygen starvation
snip
Thanks Mark the Powerheads on the UGF don't draw much current, so they I
have them on there now. The temp does get down to the low 50s during the
winter months, hence the concern about the heaters. I guess the tank should
hold it's temp for a while though, even at 50?F.

I'd wonder if I'd insulated the tanks as well as possible, first.
Stick 1" of polystyrene on the back and sides, and bottom if not visible,
to form a backdrop, and keep it warmer.
Depending on the design, insulating the top may also be possible.

Documented research indicate that on Mon, 11 Jul 2005 15:31:58 -0500, Rocco
Moretti wrote:

Ian Stirling wrote:

100, 200, or 400W heaters will use the same amount of energy at the same
temperature, if they can maintain the temperature at all.

Well, it'll depend on the efficiency of the heaters. A more efficient
heater will use most of the electricity to heat the tank, whereas a less
efficient heater will use less of the electricity for heating the tank,
and the rest will be ... wasted ... as ... heat.

Hmmm.

Never mind then.

The correct statement is that the more efficient heaters dissipate more
joules of heat per watt of power consumed, than the less efficient heaters.
And the more efficient heaters usually have more precise thermostats, and
thus react faster to temperature changes, whereas the less efficient
heaters need more of a temperature change before they notice that the
water's gotten colder, just as they won't be able to keep the temperature
as steady in the water, because they will also shut off later - the amount
of water in the tank usually evens that out so it's not such a big issue.


--
Rene Brehmer
aka Metalbunny

We have nothing to fear from free speech and free information on the
Internet, but pop-up advertising!

http://metalbunny.net/
My little mess of things...

Documented research indicate that on Wed, 13 Jul 2005 22:22:53 -0400, Bill
Stock wrote:

LOL, we keep the house at 60 at night, so the basement usually gets down to
55 or so, but can get lower on cool nights. It's cheaper to heat the fish.

Obviously this depends on the amount of heat you get from the sun, and how
high you have the day temp, but in many cases, lowering the temperature at
night does not save you much if any energy at all, since it means that
you'll just have to heat up the house that much more in the morning to get
it back to normal room temperature. The extra energy needed to reheat the
house usually far exceeds what you save by lowering the temp at night.

Not to mention that by letting the house get under 15 C/59 F you risk
humidity and moist problems that can result in bacterias that you do not
want living in your house.

Without a dehumidifier, lowering the temp that much is a health issue
waiting to happen.
--
Rene Brehmer
aka Metalbunny

We have nothing to fear from free speech and free information on the
Internet, but pop-up advertising!

http://metalbunny.net/
My little mess of things...

"Rene Brehmer" wrote in message
...
Documented research indicate that on Mon, 11 Jul 2005 15:31:58 -0500,
Rocco
Moretti wrote:

Ian Stirling wrote:

100, 200, or 400W heaters will use the same amount of energy at the same
temperature, if they can maintain the temperature at all.

Well, it'll depend on the efficiency of the heaters. A more efficient
heater will use most of the electricity to heat the tank, whereas a less
efficient heater will use less of the electricity for heating the tank,
and the rest will be ... wasted ... as ... heat.

Hmmm.

Never mind then.

The correct statement is that the more efficient heaters dissipate more
joules of heat per watt of power consumed, than the less efficient
heaters.

where does the wasted power go in inefficient heaters? if you can answer
that one, you've invented perpetual motion machines.

And the more efficient heaters usually have more precise thermostats, and
thus react faster to temperature changes, whereas the less efficient
heaters need more of a temperature change before they notice that the
water's gotten colder, just as they won't be able to keep the temperature
as steady in the water, because they will also shut off later - the amount
of water in the tank usually evens that out so it's not such a big issue.

--
Rene Brehmer
aka Metalbunny

We have nothing to fear from free speech and free information on the
Internet, but pop-up advertising!

http://metalbunny.net/
My little mess of things...

Charles Spitzer wrote:

"Rene Brehmer" wrote in message
...

Documented research indicate that on Mon, 11 Jul 2005 15:31:58 -0500,
Rocco
Moretti wrote:


Ian Stirling wrote:


100, 200, or 400W heaters will use the same amount of energy at the same
temperature, if they can maintain the temperature at all.

Well, it'll depend on the efficiency of the heaters. A more efficient
heater will use most of the electricity to heat the tank, whereas a less
efficient heater will use less of the electricity for heating the tank,
and the rest will be ... wasted ... as ... heat.

Hmmm.

Never mind then.

The correct statement is that the more efficient heaters dissipate more
joules of heat per watt of power consumed, than the less efficient
heaters.


where does the wasted power go in inefficient heaters? if you can answer
that one, you've invented perpetual motion machines.

Possibly radio waves or light. But more seriously, what if the mains
leads of the heater are too thin to carry the current efficiently and
dissipate heat themselves? But that doesn't mean the heater itself is
inefficient unless you regard the heater and leads as one single unit.

Nikki

Documented research indicate that on Wed, 20 Jul 2005 08:44:49 -0700,
Charles Spitzer wrote:

The correct statement is that the more efficient heaters dissipate more
joules of heat per watt of power consumed, than the less efficient
heaters.

where does the wasted power go in inefficient heaters? if you can answer
that one, you've invented perpetual motion machines.

The control curcuitry eat the rest. These days the differences between
heaters are more about the lifespan and the precision of the thermostatic
circuitry, rather than the real heating/power consumption efficiency. We're
talking differences in consumption of a couple W at best.

I never suggested that efficient heaters can emit more energy than they
consume, their control curcuitry simply use a lesser amount of the energy
consumed than the less efficient heaters. It's basically a difference in
the quality of the components used.


--
Rene Brehmer
aka Metalbunny

We have nothing to fear from free speech and free information on the
Internet, but pop-up advertising!

http://metalbunny.net/
My little mess of things...