Power companies LOVE audiophiles.

Sci-fi Polk Guy

Most of the guys in Club Polk have pretty sophisticated gear, including some SS amps, that use a lot of juice. (Mine does. When I installed it into my system and ran it 4 to 5 hours a day for a month, my electricity bill increased by 50%!!)

I have heard tube amps, and they sound wonderful. I am thinking about replacing my receiver with a tube preamp sometime in the future. What I'd like to know is if tube preamps are power hungry. I'd really like to hear from those of you who own tube gear.

tonyb

The nature of tubes, and design, is going to use more power. Some are better than others but in general tube powered gear uses more electricity than SS all things being equal. Though some higher powered SS amps can be hogs too. Tube pre amps are not necessarily power hungry, as compared to tube amps anyway.

If electricity costs are a concern, then stay lower powered SS and speakers that compliment that desire. Electricity sure isn't going to get cheaper any time soon.

heiney9

I call BS. Your gear is NOT causing a 50% increase in your power bill. Your amp is a high bias A/B home theater amp that would NOT be capable of a 50% increase in consumption. Pre-amps and receivers us a miniscule amount of electricity in the grand scheme. You either are mistaken or have something else in your house using all the electricity. The only thing that can double my bill is running the central A/C in the Summer.

(10) 100W light bulbs running for 1 hour = 1kWh (kilowatt hour). In my area 1kWh costs about 7.6c

My amp (single ended class A) idles using 200 watts (at idle) and I have left it on for weeks at a time in addition regular listening sessions and noticed a negligible increase in my electric bill. Between $5-6 a month.

My amp uses 1/5 kWh per hour so divide 5 by 7.6c = 1.52c per hour. If I left my amp on which idles at 3-4 times the rate your amp does for 24 hours a day for an entire month it would cost me $10.94. So something else is going on if you are experiencing a 50% increase in your bill.

Sure the rest of your gear is on as well, but it uses very little power.

H9

halo71

Yeah...no way that amp increased you power bill that much! Just no way at all.

tonyb

Granted, 50% is a lot....never experienced that much of a boost myself running tubes or SS. Could be you had the air conditioning on a bit longer than normal....given your location and all that's not too much of a stretch.

F1nut

It wasn't your amp.

Tornado Red

F1nut wrote: »

It wasn't your amp.

Agree, it wasn't your amp. Check and see if a neighbour plugged his portable a/c unit into the side of your house...

Sci-fi Polk Guy

Actually, I installed my amp into my system in December, and I didn't use the air conditioning system that much since it wasn't warm. Also, now that I remember, 6 to 8 hours was the amount of time that my system was OFF, not on. Interestingly enough, electricity in my area is not cheap. It costs about 12 cents per kwh before taxes and fees. I keep track of my electricity bill, and there was a 50% increase. I did more cooking than I did before, but, I did not do triple the amount of cooking that I would normally do. And, yes, I did use the air conditioning system a little, especially after baking the turkey, dressing, candied yams, and mac and cheese for Christmas dinner. The amp was not solely responsible for the increase in my electrical bill, but it was a major contributor. I changed my usage habits, and I saw the bill go down by 20%. (I started using my gear only about 6 hours per day instead of the usual 10 to 16 hours. BTW, I use it primarily for home theater.) I enjoy my system so much more since the installation of the amp. Thanks for the input.

Mikey081057

I use my TV's and HT gear alot. My tv usually watches me sleep, and I have a 40,000 gallon heated pool (84 degrees) where the filter runs 12 hours a day, I keep my AC at 74 constantly, and have lots of low voltage landscape lights.... My total gas and electric for the last cycle was $216...

All my indoor lighting is LED now, and the refrig and AC are very efficient. My HT rig even with the new plasma tv draws around 4 amps...Granted it has been a relatively cool summer here in the NE (Sorry Al) but newer AC systems when properly sized, are designed to run more as start and stop is what chew up the KWH.

The real electric bill killers are motors and they are even more efficient today. Oh yeah and folks who grow weed indoors are huge consumers of KWH's. That is how many people get caught too.

F1nut

Mikey081057 wrote: »

Granted it has been a relatively cool summer here in the NE (Sorry Al)

Al jumped off the global warming bandwagon as no one with half a brain bought it. He's now on the climate change bandwagon, so now he can say that we're having a cooler summer because of climate change. :rolleyes:

Of course, when he gets to hell he'll jump back to the global warming bandwagon.

Sci-fi Polk Guy

Mikey081057 wrote: »

I use my TV's and HT gear alot. My tv usually watches me sleep, and I have a 40,000 gallon heated pool (84 degrees) where the filter runs 12 hours a day, I keep my AC at 74 constantly, and have lots of low voltage landscape lights.... My total gas and electric for the last cycle was $216...

All my indoor lighting is LED now, and the refrig and AC are very efficient. My HT rig even with the new plasma tv draws around 4 amps...Granted it has been a relatively cool summer here in the NE (Sorry Al) but newer AC systems when properly sized, are designed to run more as start and stop is what chew up the KWH.

The real electric bill killers are motors and they are even more efficient today. Oh yeah and folks who grow weed indoors are huge consumers of KWH's. That is how many people get caught too.

All the grass and weeds that I have are in my lawn.

halo71

Sorry I just have to say. The more I think about the more I think this thread reads like a PFB thread. I just can not see that amp making that much of a noticeable difference in the power bill.

tonyb

Sci-fi Polk Guy wrote: »

Actually, I installed my amp into my system in December, and I didn't use the air conditioning system that much since it wasn't warm. Also, now that I remember, 6 to 8 hours was the amount of time that my system was OFF, not on. Interestingly enough, electricity in my area is not cheap. It costs about 12 cents per kwh before taxes and fees. I keep track of my electricity bill, and there was a 50% increase. I did more cooking than I did before, but, I did not do triple the amount of cooking that I would normally do. And, yes, I did use the air conditioning system a little, especially after baking the turkey, dressing, candied yams, and mac and cheese for Christmas dinner. The amp was not solely responsible for the increase in my electrical bill, but it was a major contributor. I changed my usage habits, and I saw the bill go down by 20%. (I started using my gear only about 6 hours per day instead of the usual 10 to 16 hours. BTW, I use it primarily for home theater.) I enjoy my system so much more since the installation of the amp. Thanks for the input.

Ahh...so this was around Christmas time ? When days are shorter, nights are longer and your lights also stay on longer ? Could also be you may have had a rate increase at this time. Compare KW used and see if it's roughly the same, give or take a few. Take some readings yourself off the meter to double check against the electric company. God knows, they never been accused of cheating.

Sci-fi Polk Guy

tonyb wrote: »

Ahh...so this was around Christmas time ? When days are shorter, nights are longer and your lights also stay on longer ? Could also be you may have had a rate increase at this time. Compare KW used and see if it's roughly the same, give or take a few. Take some readings yourself off the meter to double check against the electric company. God knows, they never been accused of cheating.

Thanks for the tips. BTW, I did not intend to bring any drama to the forum. I was just curious to find out what you guys were experiencing, as far as electricity usage was concerned. In the final analysis, all that matters is that we enjoy our gear. And, it's really nice to see the gear what you guys have. It gives me something to shoot for. (P.S. I have been using my A/C more lately because I fried a processor and a motherboard on my computer. Cost me $200 plus tax to get it fixed at the local Buy More, and I do believe that the curtain is falling on my water heater. Maybe I can get a dozen squirrels, put them on treadmills and hook them up to a generator.) :-D

Polkie2009

Older(more than 10-15 years old) electric dryers, a/c units, a/c & heating blower motors, refrigerators(these are like power consuming vampires especially in warmer rooms like a kitchen) as was mentioned before , can add up the kws used.

Sci-fi Polk Guy

Polkie2009 wrote: »

Older(more than 10-15 years old) electric dryers, a/c units, a/c & heating blower motors, refrigerators(these are like power consuming vampires especially in warmer rooms like a kitchen) as was mentioned before , can add up the kws used.

Yeah. My fridge and water heater are about 25 years old. But, the A/C was replaced late last year. I'm sure that they factor into the equation.

Polkie2009

I have an older refrigerator(1979) and it sucks the kws up. Runs a lot in the summer because I usually keep the a/c thermostat set to 81 degrees til around 7pm and I adjust it down to 78 degrees. Then readjust back up to 81 at 7 am. Houston summers are brutal.

heiney9

Sci-fi Polk Guy wrote: »

Actually, I installed my amp into my system in December, and I didn't use the air conditioning system that much since it wasn't warm. Also, now that I remember, 6 to 8 hours was the amount of time that my system was OFF, not on. Interestingly enough, electricity in my area is not cheap. It costs about 12 cents per kwh before taxes and fees. I keep track of my electricity bill, and there was a 50% increase. I did more cooking than I did before, but, I did not do triple the amount of cooking that I would normally do. And, yes, I did use the air conditioning system a little, especially after baking the turkey, dressing, candied yams, and mac and cheese for Christmas dinner. The amp was not solely responsible for the increase in my electrical bill, but it was a major contributor. I changed my usage habits, and I saw the bill go down by 20%. (I started using my gear only about 6 hours per day instead of the usual 10 to 16 hours. BTW, I use it primarily for home theater.) I enjoy my system so much more since the installation of the amp. Thanks for the input.

I just showed you the math, the price per kWh is all relative. The amp in your sig is NOT a major contributor to your electric bill, even if you left in on 24/7. Believe what you want, but there is something else to the story or something else going on.

H9

P.s. your electric stove uses more power than your amp, by a wide margin. I suspect it's many little increases in use of electronic items, but certainly not the amp. How long did you track it to get your outcome? I tracked my amp for 6 months when I first got it. Sounds like you did it for the month of Dec when you had extra activities going on.

Sci-fi Polk Guy

heiney9 wrote: »

I just showed you the math, the price per kWh is all relative. The amp in your sig is NOT a major contributor to your electric bill, even if you left in on 24/7. Believe what you want, but there is something else to the story or something else going on.

H9

P.s. your electric stove uses more power than your amp, by a wide margin. I suspect it's many little increases in use of electronic items, but certainly not the amp. How long did you track it to get your outcome? I tracked my amp for 6 months when I first got it. Sounds like you did it for the month of Dec when you had extra activities going on.

Actually, I've tracked usage for about 6 months. And, it is primarily the A/C that is the major culprit. As I said in an earlier post, I fried a processor and a motherboard in my computer when I tried to save energy by keeping the A/C turned off. During the month of January, I did not use the A/C at all, and I did not use very much heat. The amp provided some heat in my den because I used my system a lot. All that being said, I leaned the lesson of moderation, so I can enjoy a cool house and watch my favorite blu-ray movies over decent gear. (I really love the pod race scene in Stars Wars I: The Phantom Menace.)

LeftCoast

halo71 wrote: »

Yeah...no way that amp increased you power bill that much! Just no way at all.

Maybe he was running his toaster at the time.

Sci-fi Polk Guy

LeftCoast wrote: »

Maybe he was running his toaster at the time.

Nope. If I wanted that kind of toaster, I'd get a huge pair of class A monoblocks.

Polkie2009

What type of heater are you running over there , gas or electric? As Brock mentioned , a electric oven or stove can sure use a lot of energy, you'd be surprised even things like the older vacuum cleaners and hair dryers and toasters,lol can draw a lot of watts.

pitdogg2

you need to find one of these..

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=kill+watt+meter&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=34205999507&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10962264080513709552&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_jly2vfj4g_b


I leave two big amps on all the time and it makes a smidgin of a difference. Heck My Patton House fans draw more power than any of the A/V gear.

Sci-fi Polk Guy

Polkie2009 wrote: »

What type of heater are you running over there , gas or electric? As Brock mentioned , a electric oven or stove can sure use a lot of energy, you'd be surprised even things like the older vacuum cleaners and hair dryers and toasters,lol can draw a lot of watts.

I'm using electric heat. All of the system except the duct work was replaced last October with an energy efficient system.

Sci-fi Polk Guy

pitdogg2 wrote: »

you need to find one of these..

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=kill+watt+meter&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=34205999507&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10962264080513709552&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_jly2vfj4g_b


I leave two big amps on all the time and it makes a smidgin of a difference. Heck My Patton House fans draw more power than any of the A/V gear.

Great idea about the power usage meters. Thanks. And, now that you mention it, we do run ceiling fans to help distribute the air, so I'm sure that they were a contributing factor, much more than I thought.

mgforshort

We have a Killawatt meter. The Polk Lsi 15s driven by a Onkyo receiver (in preamp mode) and an Emotiva XPA-2 amp and a Yamaha SACD player use about 165 watts. If I use it 10 hours daily = 165 x 10 = 1,650 KW x $ 0.18 = 30 cents per day or about $ 9 a month.
Take this with reserve, math isn't my best talents.
The interesting part is that it doesn't matter much if the Polks are barely on or trying to blow off the windows. The difference between whisper and full on is maybe 10 watts.
Even at idle, with the CD player off, the Onkyo and Emotiva on, the meter shows 145 watts being consumed.
Our old 46-inch Sony LCD TV was using 240 watts. The 50 inch Panasonic LED TV needs 75 watts only.
You would be surprised how much the toaster needs, over 1,000 watts, and the vacuum cleaner as well. I'm going to get rid of mine.

Sci-fi Polk Guy

I had no idea that vacuum cleaners used so much juice.

Thanks, guys for all of your input. Since my initial post, I've apologized profusely to my amp. I will probably keep it, unless I run across a B&K Reference 200.5 or a 7250 and get the dough to make the purchase. (I remember going to a Sound Advice store and auditioning a B&K Reference 200.5 years ago. Talk about sweeeeeet!!!)

RamZet

I'm on long Island (NY) and our only power company was replaced by PSEG. Not only did we already have the highest prices in the USA we are now at a record high with this new company...
Are you sure its the amps and not PSEG hoarding cash?

boston1450

My power bill is-well i dont know.i Havent paid it in years & have no idea how much it is. Wifes bill

WLDock

As suggested by others...The OP should get a Kilowatt meter and measure consumption. B.S. is the first thing that came to my mind also. No way in hell would that amp draw that much power running 4-5 hours a day. Heck, a full 1500 watt draw 10 hours a day for a month at 12 cents would be about $56.

Power co.'so do love audiophiles...but they love consumers in the North with electric heaters more!

BlueFox

Power companies hate "audiophiles". When I got my amps in July 2013, I doubled my electric bill with only a little over two weeks of use in that billing cycle. This was due to a combination of the amps, and increased AC use. I installed solar in August, and became a generator in September. Now they pay me.