Running Costs: Electricity, Insurance, Maintenance etc?

[Sam Carter-Smith]

Hi everyone, I've got a good idea of the initial investment required to setup a golf sim but wondered if anybody has any accurate figure for the ongoing residual costs associated?

Specifically:

- Electricity Costs
- Insurance
- Licensing
- Maintenance
- Tech updates
- Depreciation

For reference I'm looking at setting 3 sims up which will all be running daily.

Thanks in advance

[Wormburner]

your asking a lot with little info provided. Electricity should not be a factor in my opinion. your really are only running a computer and a projector for each sim. Your heat and air will cost more. Insurance, well that is a huge question. Carriers want to know what they are insuring, how its monitored, food and alcohol involved, hours of operation, location, projected revenue. Insurance can cost more than you expect. Indoor SIMs are an liability if someone gets hurt. Who is monitoring? Safety Signs up in SIM? Do you have waivers signed? Property coverage is probably whats on your mind but the Insurance companies worry about high liability exposure. Licensing, call the companies your interested with using. maintenance should be minimal, hire a local IT guy and have him on speed dial. As long as you dont short cut computers up front and get ones with high quality graphics cards you should be fine for a while w/o upgrading. Projector lenses will be an ongoing cost, each projector has a bulb life so monitor and replace when needed. Depreciation is something your accountant will handle for tax purpose. The launch monitors hold value pretty well if you buy a solid unit up front, not sure what your looking into buying. computers/projectors depreciate fast I would think.

[Sam Carter-Smith]

Thanks for the response. Sorry for the lack of info on my previous post. I'm looking at installing 3 all singing, all dancing bays (2x Trackman bays and 1x Skytrak bay (or similar)) in an existing athletic performance centre (no alcohol served etc), therefore the increased consumption in electricity is the only direct cost of running I can see after installation.

As an existing business I've already got all procedures in place regards wavers, safety, risk assessments, membership terms etc, but will call existing insurance company to see how much more the added liability from the sims and swinging clubs etc will equal.

Happy to hear the launch monitors hold their value well and I didn't realise projector lenses would need replacing, useful info, thanks.

[Wormburner]

Sounds really nice! Dependent on the projector you purchase will determine life. Projectors with bulbs will have life span of 2,000 hours to 5,000 hours of use. Bulbs will cost you several hundred $$ to replace. Remember that the bulbs will dim more and more as age increases. I replace my bulbs at the middle of life expectancy. You can purchase laser projectors that will give you 20,000+ hours of use and do not dim as they age. Laser units typically cost more. Your impact screen is another ongoing cost as they need replacing as they get abused by daily use and people using aged golf balls with markings an scuffs. I recommend Par2pro as they discount screens after first purchase and quality is great. Hitting mats are another cost that will be ongoing. I recommend CCE mats as they are durable as long as you rotate and they are very comfortable to hit off of. To keep maintenance to a minimum make sure you construct hitting bays to protect Technology, walls, ceilings, etc.....

[Sam Carter-Smith]

Again thank you for your help, it's really useful.

Long term it looks like a laser projector will be more cost effective adn I've taken your recommendations for mats and screens on board.

Next step is actually putting all of this together

Sam