It is always important to know how much a particular electrical energiser is going to cost you to run. 

The only thing you will need to know is how many watts your particular Electric Fence  energiser draws and the price/kilowatt charge from your particular electric utility company. This is assuming that you have a standard mains unit that plugs into a standard 220V outlet.

The basic equation is: watts x time / 1000 = kWh

Watts = The watts per hour consumed by the electric fence energiser during operation. This is probably not printed on the cover of the charger, but is usually on the box or the instruction manual that should come with it. If you don’t have the box or manual, then call the manufacturer and they should be able to tell you.

Time = The amount of time the energiser is operated. This should be calculated into hours per day and then days per month. Assume you will be running your energiser on a continuous basis.

1000 = Dividing by the number 1000 places the total into kilowatt-hours, which is what most utility companies use as the rate of consumption.

Example:

The power consumption of most energisers for agricultural / livestock control purposes will range from 1 watt up to 25+ watts - depending on the model. Operating a 4.5 watt energiser (a medium sized Farmer N200) continuously for 24 hours per day for 30 days at a utility company charge of 23 pence per kilowatt-hour will equal;

4.5 watts x 24 hours per day x 30 days / 1000 = 3.2 kilowatt-hours (kWh)

3.2 kWh x 23 pence = 73.6 pence/30days

So £0.736 is the cost of operating the 4.5 watt energiser for 30 days at this rate, or a cost of £8.84 per year. Now you know how much your electric fencing system is costing you to run.

 

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5 comments

  • In reply to Alison Lindley-Harden,
    I cannot find the exact power consumption but I think it is about 9 watts.
    9 × 24 × 30 = 6480 watts per month or 6.48 KiloWatts.
    Multiply that by the cost of your electricity will give you a monthly cost.
    Hope that helps.

  • Hi I’m using a rutland electric shepherd 600+ fence energiser and am wondering what the running costs should be per annum I think it is a 14wat unit
    Thanks in advance

  • In reply to Jackie Thompson.
    The cost of running an energiser depends on the energy it draws. You will need to establish this from the manufacturer and then insert that and the unit cost of your electricity into the equation given above. These two figures will vary between manufacturers and your energy provider. They are cheap to run.

    It does change depending on the load but not appreciably – don’t panic about that. Most examples given are for the maximum capacity of the energiser so less wire should be cheaper.

  • Hi I am thinking of buying mains electric fencing – how much will it cost to run – does it matter how many paddocks I have or how many strands of wire i have – will it cost more if branches keep blowing on to the fence – thanks for your help. Think of replaces all our barbed wire!

  • Thanks for the calculation of how much an electrical fence will cost you. I was wondering which wattage is needed to keep a fence at 5 kV. It must be suitable to keep African elephants away from crops.

    Thanks in advance.

    Kind regards,

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