When it comes to Operating Costs, beware of claims that sound too good to be true. An upstart contractor in our industry told a customer of theirs with a 25-lane shooting range that they could expect power consumption costs of $2,000 per month.  We know that’s highly unrealistic, and it’s not the first time customers of theirs have been misled by what they insist is “hard data”.

What’s wrong with this data?  

1.    They’re showing a snapshot of power draw at a point in time not actual operating data extending over a week or month.  The contractor’s website shows “a snap shot of a 24 lane range at a cool 68° inside while its 90° outside” and shows the range owner is spending $0.56¢ per hour, per lane at that point in time.  Yet power consumption in a shooting range varies widely at different hours of the day and days of the week due to changes in occupancy and usage, as well as outside weather.  A meaningful cost estimate must run over a reasonable time frame, such as a month, to measure these changes.

2.    They’re telling only a small part of the story.  The full story of operating costs for a range includes gas, electrical, and cost of filters, based on monthly consumption divided equally across all hours of operation.  The number will include the fan power consumption with both clean and dirty filters providing a true cost of operation.

3.    The data does not come from real customers.  In fact, no actual customers are identified anywhere on this contractor’s website, Facebook page, or literature.

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At Carey’s, we’re careful to provide our customers with a more realistic “big picture” of the Operating Costs they can expect.  Actual operation costs from Carey’s customers with re-circulation systems is about $1.80 to $2.00 per lane per hour including gas, electric, and filters.  Costs for Purge systems are typically under $1.00 per lane per hour.  These are actual operating costs based on 25 years of cost and temperature data from many actual shooting ranges with full HVAC systems.
         
More on Operating Costs
For more answers on Range Ventilation Operating Costs, see...

•    Answer Book #4, About Operating Costs 

 

Carey’s is happy to provide free advice together with a realistic estimate of
Operating Costs for your existing or planned shooting range.  Talk to us!