Calculate electricity cost of fish pond pump or garden pump in USA
Select The Right Fish Pond Pump To Reduce Energy Costs
The majority of pond pump buyers will pay great attention to the actual cost of the garden pump, looking for a bargain when ever possible. However they fail in many cases to even consider the most critical aspect of any fish pond pump ... the electricity cost. In previous articles we have explained why it is essential that the pond-pump runs 24/7/365 days a year ... as a quick reminder it is because it needs to to supply vital oxygen to koi, gold fish and beneficial bacteria, responsible for purifying the pond water.
Calculating running cost of garden pump using watts
Firstly you need to ascertain the actual cost of a unit of energy (electricity) in the area that you live in ... you can find this on the utility bill. The unit cost can vary considerably depending upon which state or country you live in. A unit of electricity is expressed as a kWatt-hour or kWhr and it is the cost of running an item consuming 1000 Watts per hour.
Electricity cost in cents per kWatt-hour in 2003 … ref DOE
| 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 |
Using the above table you can see that the prices vary considerably between states and regions. Running an inefficient fish pond pump in Hawaii will cost you a lot more $ than running the same garden pump in Washington. The life span of a good pond pump is about 6 years so the $ wasted can be quite considerable. Here is an example using a 90 watt pump, purchase cost $90 to $120.
- Power consumption per hour = 0.09 kWhr
- Power consumption per day = 24 x 0.09 = 2.16 kWhrs
- Power consumption per annum of a 90 watt fish pond pump = 2.16 x 365 days = 788 kWhr
- Electricity cost of running the 90 watt garden pump in Hawaii = 788 x $0.1659 = $130.80
- Electricity cost of running the same pond-pump in Washington = 788 x $0.0624 = $49.17
- Over 6 years this equates to $784.80 in Hawaii and $295.02 in Washington ... a massive difference when you consider the actual cost of the pump was between $90 and $120
If you aren't sure of your fish pond pump wattage you can easily calculate it if you know how many amps it uses. All that you need to do is multiply the amps x the voltage. In the USA the mains voltage is 110 ... Europe 220 - 240 volts. e.g. 0.81 amps x 110 volts = 90 watts garden pump. The Watts and Amps figures are normally printed on the pump box .... if they are not then chances are the pump model uses a lot of energy.
How do I choose between various garden pump models
Assuming that everything else is equal here is a comparison of two pond-pumps in a pond in Washington (KWhr cost = $0.0624). KWhr = cost of running item consuming 1000 Watts/hour Pump A = 0.10 (100 watts / 1000) and Pump B = 0.065.
- Fish pond pump A purchase cost = $100 and is rated at 100 Watts (0.10)
- Fish pond pump B purchase cost = $135 and is rated at 65 Watts (0.065)
- Total cost pump A = $100 + $( 0.10 x 24 x 365 x 0.0624 x 6yrs) = $427.97
- Total cost pump B = $135 + $( 0.065 x 24 x 365 x 0.0624 x 6yrs) = $348.18
So by spending an extra $35 to buy pump B you have over 6 years saved $79.79 in electricity costs. The net saving is therefore $44.79. In Hawaii the net saving would be even greater ... Click here to use my Pump Comparison Calculator that automatically does the math for you.
Sump pumps consume lots of energy and that is one good reason why not to use Sump Pumps in a garden pond environment but they do however have their uses.