bluesboy Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Has anybody here seen their electric bill effected by how long their tube amps have been left on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 My bill is normally around $50-$60... I only have a problem in the winter when the temp is low enough that the heat pump isn't very efficient and the resistance heating comes on. The last one was $150. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 sometimes tube amps are involved in unexpected power factor correction math. an SS amp has a 2:1 to 1:1 ratio between the primary and secondary winding. A tube amp will have a 1:3 to 1:4 ratio between the primary and secondary winding. The resulting high ratio of tube amps will sometimes result in the power supply caps of tubes amps in participating in power factor correction of circuts in your neighborhood. Typically as neighbors use washers, dryers, dish washers, forced air heating, air conditioners, pool pumps, etc, in between AC cycles, the power stored in your tube amps power supply caps is sucked out due to adjacent inductive loads. this will cause your tube amp to draw more power and trannies run hotter. If your neighbors added power factor correction capacitors to their circuits, it would reduce this effect on your circut. This is more of a problem during months of high pool pumps, air conditioners, use due to the inductive nature of motorized appliances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tube fanatic Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Has anybody here seen their electric bill effected by how long their tube amps have been left on? In the context of the power consumption of the typical home, a tube amp represents a very small percentage which can be easily recovered by simply shutting off the lights in unoccupied rooms and so on. It's not something worth worrying about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groomlakearea51 Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 [Y] At an idle, the tube amp is like an unattended light bulb..... My Sansui AU-111, at an idle, showed about 80 watts on the UPS load meter. It did, however, produce a good amount of heat in the man cave after about 3-4 hours of "working".... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 The faster the meter wheel goes around the higher your bill will be. Total kilowatt hours + peaks + time of day. JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 In my case it wasn't a matter of how much current the amp drew but how much heat it put off. I can tell you with all certainty that when I ran my tubed amp (a Bob Latino VTA/ST-12) all day my living room was warmer and the air conditioner ran more. What did it cost me? I have no clue. Maybe a little but I suspect that we're talking pennies, nickles, and dimes at worst. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 It wouldn't hurt to see what your rated power consumption is, and do a ball park on electrical consumption over a several-hours period. Then also see what your refrig, TV, computer, and heat or A/C consumption is. A fridge will often use ~800 watts when on, one of the larger users in a house. Minor SS components use much less, often less than 50 watts. A high-power tube amp, like my 100-watt class A OTLs, can use a few hundred watts per channel when on. That will add up! An A/C will use quite a bit unless it's a recent very hi-efficiency type. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesboy Posted February 8, 2012 Author Share Posted February 8, 2012 I'm running a Scott LK-48 and a Mac 225 on at the same time so I can switch back and forth with a Niles switch.I've got a reel to reel running to the Mac and a TT to the Scott. They are on at most 2 hrs a night. From what I've read here I'm probably alright in terms of excess power use. Thanks guys for the input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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