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Cost of electricity per year to charge USB rechargeable headlights

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Cost of electricity per year to charge USB rechargeable headlights

Old 11-22-15, 08:24 PM
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Cost of electricity per year to charge USB rechargeable headlights

Any electricians or engineers out there who know roughly how much it costs in home electricity to charge these 1.5-hour life 1200 lumen or 1600 lumen lights on a daily basis?

1,000+ lumens is bright. More bright than car high beams. Electricity isn't free, folks. It comes out of your electric bill. So, does it cost $0.01 to charge up? $.10? $0.25? If done say 300 days out of the year, we're talking about the difference between spending $3 vs $30 vs $75 per year just to charge a headlight. Maybe those AAA headlights aren't such a bad deal after all?

For argument's sake, let's say a bike commuter rides 30 minutes to work, and 30 minutes home from work. So, the battery gets 2/3 depleted each day. What's the true cost?
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Old 11-22-15, 08:41 PM
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You're overthinking this. Whats next, the cost of the extra food you need to eat when riding vs. not?

However, it's not all that hard. The lights have a wattage rating. So let's say it's a 12w light. That means it uses 1/8 the juice of a 100w bulb. Then figure the hours run, and you'll have a sense of the watt hours used. Then look at your electric bill to see what a kilowatt hour costs you.

Of course, the above would only make sense if you were riding around with your light plugged in because there's an inefficiency in charging and discharging a battery in the process. So assume that you lose a certain percentage of efficiency. Pick a percentage, say 50% and get a number.

This isn't a precise answer, but will at least get you into the right ball park. If it turns out that it's costing you meaningful dough, then you can try to tighten it up. OTOH if it turns out that you're talking about pennies, you can forget the rest and sleep well, since trivial numbers are still trivial even if more or less trivial.
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Old 11-22-15, 08:42 PM
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how-much-energy-does-your-iphone-and-other-devices-use-and-what-to-do-about-it

A phone being charged costs about a quarter a year if you charged it every night... so there is some perspective
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Old 11-22-15, 08:53 PM
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Originally Posted by CompleteStreets
For argument's sake, let's say a bike commuter rides 30 minutes to work, and 30 minutes home from work. So, the battery gets 2/3 depleted each day. What's the true cost?
I have a Serfas 1500 (4.6Ah, 7.4V battery) which is quite bright. To charge a fully discharged battery takes 4.6 x 8.4 = 39Wh which costs under $2.00 for 300 days operation. That's a rounding error not worth worrying about.
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Old 11-22-15, 09:17 PM
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Originally Posted by crispbike
how-much-energy-does-your-iphone-and-other-devices-use-and-what-to-do-about-it

A phone being charged costs about a quarter a year if you charged it every night... so there is some perspective
+1 Any device that is regularly used and then charged... is better than using standard batteries. Where battery's are better is when a device is stored for long periods. As a recharged battery will lose a little charge (as much as 1%) everyday when in storage. Most standard battery's today are fine when stored for a couple years.
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Old 11-22-15, 10:33 PM
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Originally Posted by CompleteStreets
Maybe those AAA headlights aren't such a bad deal after all?
They might not be a bad deal if you're using rechargeable NiMH AAA cells (I do use NiMH AA cells in one of my headlights), but they're a lousy deal if using disposable alkaline cells. An alkaline AAA cell has a voltage of about 1.5V and a capacity of about 1 A-hr., so an energy storage of 1.5 W-hr. Even assuming pretty poor 50% efficiency of charging a battery, this would only take 3 W-hr of electricity, or less than 1/300 of a kW-hr. Typical cost of home electricity is about 15 cents/kW-hr, so the cost of putting this much charge into a NiMH or Li-ion cell is 0.05 cents vs. a cost of about 40 cents for a disposable AAA cell.

Unless your cost of electricity is unusually high the cost of recharging the battery for your light should be under a penny per charge.

Last edited by prathmann; 11-22-15 at 10:39 PM.
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Old 11-23-15, 06:08 AM
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Originally Posted by FBinNY
Whats next, the cost of the extra food you need to eat when riding vs. not?
Calories for a good 2 hr ride (~1000) likely exceed the cost of charging your lights for a year. FWIW: If you compare the cost of your food calories and cost of gas, it costs about the same to ride your bike or drive a given distance in typical sedan.

And don't forget the environmental impact of the food production and distribution. Riding is not without cost and environmental impact.
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Old 11-23-15, 09:22 AM
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Light = energy expended,
There's no free ride, each source has an associated cost.
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Old 11-23-15, 12:19 PM
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Originally Posted by FBinNY
Whats next, the cost of the extra food you need to eat when riding vs. not?
Actually, I find this to be an intriguing question. I estimate it to be about $6 per day, which can easily be the fuel cost of driving a car.

I read that a gallon of gas has 31,000 calories. Currently, it costs less than a loaf of bread, and what does that have? 1,000 calories? The car consumes more calories per mile than a human on a bike because a car is so much less efficient, but it still illustrates how underpriced fossil fuel is. The way I look at it, it's because it took billions of years to produce, which means we are borrowing from our ancestors, AND by depleting resources so quickly, we are also borrowing from our descendants.
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Old 11-23-15, 12:54 PM
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Originally Posted by FBinNY
Whats next, the cost of the extra food you need to eat when riding vs. not?
That's actually by far the biggest expense I have associated with my bike riding.

As noglider pointed out, the cost of fossil fuels is a real bargain compared to our grocery costs. Unfortunately my bike engine insists that I supply it with carbohydrates instead of hydrocarbons.
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Old 11-23-15, 01:57 PM
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Originally Posted by CompleteStreets
Any electricians or engineers out there who know roughly how much it costs in home electricity to charge these 1.5-hour life 1200 lumen or 1600 lumen lights on a daily basis?

1,000+ lumens is bright. More bright than car high beams. Electricity isn't free, folks. It comes out of your electric bill.
Well, neither is the 1,000 lumen light on your car free, it comes out of your gasoline. Do you worry about that?

I could figure it all out but it's not worth the effort. I think my time to calculate this would cost more than your entire year of charging your batteries. Unless you are very poor, the cost can be considered minuscule and certainly cheaper than using non-rechargeable lights. And if you are that poor that cents matter, then bike lighting is probably the least of your concern.

Originally Posted by noglider
Actually, I find this to be an intriguing question. I estimate it to be about $6 per day, which can easily be the fuel cost of driving a car.
The food cost is interesting, and probably one of the bigger way to save money. If you are eating a whole extra dinner at the steakhouse then it's going to get expensive quick. Trying to average the price of 'food' based on a calorie number is probably going to be meaningless for most people. There are many days I don't consume $6 worth for the whole day. Another day I may have a $50 meal.
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Old 11-23-15, 02:04 PM
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@T Stew, that's true. If my diet is already good and has sufficient vegetables, vitamins, fiber, protein and fat, then the supplement for riding can be starch such as pasta or potatoes. Those foods are cheap.

I hope @CompleteStreets is satisfied with our answer to his original question. The cost to charge these things is immeasurably small. Now we can carry on with our tangents.
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Old 11-23-15, 04:11 PM
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Originally Posted by T Stew
The food cost is interesting, and probably one of the bigger way to save money. If you are eating a whole extra dinner at the steakhouse then it's going to get expensive quick. Trying to average the price of 'food' based on a calorie number is probably going to be meaningless for most people. There are many days I don't consume $6 worth for the whole day. Another day I may have a $50 meal.
You can add more complication onto that though. For example, if you didn't bike would you need to pay to join a health club? Would you have more medicals bills or issues because of a lack of exercise? Etc.

It definitely gets complicated.
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Old 11-23-15, 04:29 PM
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Originally Posted by CompleteStreets
Any electricians or engineers out there who know roughly how much it costs in home electricity to charge these 1.5-hour life 1200 lumen or 1600 lumen lights on a daily basis?
FWIW, my Cygolite 850 is, well, a max 850 lumens. Moreover, I use it on the 2nd lowest setting, which is nowhere near 850 lumens. Might not even be 200 lumens.

Also I don't charge it every day because it uses so little charge.

Anyway, I'm with the camp that says "Use whatever makes you feel safe at night and fits your budget". USB lights, plain old battery lights, dynohub, whatever - it's all good.

Last edited by GovernorSilver; 11-23-15 at 04:51 PM.
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Old 11-23-15, 04:36 PM
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Originally Posted by Dave Cutter
+1 Any device that is regularly used and then charged... is better than using standard batteries. Where battery's are better is when a device is stored for long periods. As a recharged battery will lose a little charge (as much as 1%) everyday when in storage. Most standard battery's today are fine when stored for a couple years.
Depends on battery chemistry and purity of materials. Standard nicd nimh will lose 1% per day. The new eneloop style NiMH will retain 80% of their charge for 12 months. Li-ion/Li-po are way, way better and lose hardly anything.

Most of the bike light batteries are Li based batteries. Doesn't really matter the schedule you charge/recharge them. Their life is going to be limited by the number of charge cycles and their age. Charge cycles probably around 500 or so and age probably around 3 years before significant capacity loss. So if you won't do 500 charge cycles in three years, charge with impunity.

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Old 11-24-15, 10:18 AM
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Well, my house electric is covered 150% by solar, so it wouldn't cost me anything (after the initial cost of going solar).
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Old 11-24-15, 10:35 AM
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Why not simply charge your lights at work? Then it's nothing you have to worry about.
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Old 11-24-15, 10:38 AM
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Originally Posted by southpawboston
Well, my house electric is covered 150% by solar, so it wouldn't cost me anything (after the initial cost of going solar).
Nice! Are you still grid tied?
I am debating going solar in the future. More specifically if I build the house I want on a large piece of land and the cost to run electric to it could be significant so the cost of going solar would be no more expensive (or perhaps just a little more expensive). Would love to be off grid someday. Then again if you have grid-tied solar you can actually make money if your array is larger than what you consume and the fees/costs aren't bad.
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Old 11-24-15, 10:55 AM
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Originally Posted by PaulRivers
You can add more complication onto that though. For example, if you didn't bike would you need to pay to join a health club? Would you have more medicals bills or issues because of a lack of exercise? Etc.

It definitely gets complicated.
That just means you would have saved the difference between what your bike costs and what a pair of running shoes cost.
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Old 11-24-15, 12:13 PM
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Originally Posted by Seattle Forrest
That just means you would have saved the difference between what your bike costs and what a pair of running shoes cost.
That assumes one is willing to run outside, which many people are not. I have jogged before, and I do not usually find it enjoyable.
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Old 11-24-15, 01:43 PM
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Originally Posted by Seattle Forrest
That just means you would have saved the difference between what your bike costs and what a pair of running shoes cost.
Originally Posted by PaulRivers
That assumes one is willing to run outside, which many people are not. I have jogged before, and I do not usually find it enjoyable.
And assumes you wear and spend money on shoes
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Old 11-24-15, 03:25 PM
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Originally Posted by PaulRivers
That assumes one is willing to run outside, which many people are not. I have jogged before, and I do not usually find it enjoyable.
You're assuming most people would be willing to go to a gym but not to run. I don't find running enjoyable, although I'll admit it has a few things going for it: better brakes, less chance of getting hit by a car, and never having to change a flat in the rain.

All cyclists (but especially roadies) should do some weight lifting or running. Cycling is bad for bone density, we need weight bearing or higher impact exercise to balance it.
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Old 11-24-15, 04:09 PM
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I really don't know what it costs for rechargeable lights. However, I read about a calculation to recharge my 555 watt hour battery for my e-bike where it said at the cost of electricity in my area that it would cost $.07 to recharge it from empty to full. With my charging patterns, it's costing about 2-3 cents per charge (I normally charge it up when the battery level is between 60-70 percent.)

So, for even recharging batteries for a high powered light like the example given in the OP - it has to be below 1 cent per charge. Shouldn't be anything to worry about if you can afford 1000+ lumen lights.
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Old 11-24-15, 04:33 PM
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My bike has a 2s2p battery pack. It has cheap 18650 cells in it, so figure they're maybe 1700 mah each at 3.6 volts nominal. That's 1.7 * 3.6 = 6 watt hours per cell, times 4 = 24 watt hours for the whole pack. It gives me 3 hours of run time. I use about 1.5 hours a day. So that's about 12 watt hours burned per day.

If you assume the charge system is maybe 70% efficient (the charger should be around 90, the batteries maybe 80), it'll draw 17 watt hours from the wall socket to give me a day's charge. At a nominal 20 cents per KWh, that's 0.34 cents to run my lights for a day. I run them full on for 1.5 hours a day for maybe 50 days in the winter, then flashing the rest of the time so say it's equivalent of another 100 days, for 150 equivalent days a year.

That comes out to about 51 cents for a year's worth of electricity.
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Old 11-24-15, 05:33 PM
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Household electricity cost calculation (not answering the op question but may be informative):
How much electricity do household items use?
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