Question about a/c

[expatsailer]

Hey guys. been reading a lot on TV and decided to finally make an account.

 

So awhile ago i bought 3 a/cs 2 12,000 BTU Samsung and 1 18,000 BTU Mitsubishi. I guess i should have read more before buying. Anyways i suspect these are not the inverter type as my electric bill is usually about 5,000 baht a month. How much money did the inverters save you on electric with the change? I usually only run my living room a/c 24/7 when i'm home. is my bill still too high for the pattaya area? Thanks a lot

[johng]

Do you run the 18,000 BTU 24/7 ?

How big is the room...lots of windows ?

How cold do you like it ?

 

Do you pay electricity direct to the PEA or is there a "landlord" involved ?

 

What other electronics do you run ?

 

 

[expatsailer]

john, thanks for the reply.

 

yeah i run the 18,000 24/7 at around 18 degrees Celsius (i love it cold). the room is about 120 sq.m or so (living room and dining room combined) and there is no landlord "involved" we get the bill dropped off and pay at the local 7/11 or family mart. as far as the other electronics i like to relax and play my ps4 on my 75' TV. hope that helps

[johng]

Well 18 degrees is quite cold
not too surprising then about the big electricity bill !

[expatsailer]

yeah, my wife always keeps bumping it up to 21 every time I turn my back.

[johng]

If I set mine to any lower than 27 my wife starts putting on coats or blankets !

[wayned]

Your electric bill sounds reasonable.  If you run the 18000 BTU 24/7 at 18 degrees and the compressor is running 100% of the time it would cost around 5200 baht/month at the current electric prices.  The compressor usually doesn't run 100% of the time and if you increase the temperature setting it will run less reducing your electric consumption and your bill! 

 

I don't have aircon and have two houses with three refrigerators and a electric sucking old plasma TV that is on 16 hours/day and my bill usually runs under 2500 baht.  It's now 33.8 degrees, 42% humidity, in the living room and I am comfortable with a fans blowing but I have lived here for 20 years this month.

[expatsailer]

Thanks guys for the replies. I'll try and keep my temps to about 22 degrees and report my findings.

 

Now I'm dealing with moving out and the landlord trying to do the old "keep the deposit" move. 555. I'll share that on another post. thanks again

[wpcoe]

If you run the air con full time at such a low temperature so that the compressor is running full tilt at (or at least close to) 24/7, would there be any cost benefit to running inverters?  Inverters excel at lowering electrical use when they can slow down the compressor during lighter loads and also by reducing power surges when compressor snaps back on after being off, but in this scenario would that be a valid consideration?

[johng]

44 minutes ago, wpcoe said:

but in this scenario would that be a valid consideration?

It would seem to me ( but what do I know  ? ) that an inverter wouldn't save much in that scenario

also remember inverters are more costly to buy  and to fix  if you are unlucky with lightning strike or ants and gekos frying the main board.

[CGW]

Do you ever get the room down to 18c? doubt it very much in the summer, set the temp higher! 23c or thereabouts should be perfect! Though if its stinking hot outside 25/26c usually is more than cool enough - for some reason I cannot explain!

[expatsailer]

4 minutes ago, CGW said:

Do you ever get the room down to 18c? doubt it very much in the summer, set the temp higher! 23c or thereabouts should be perfect! Though if its stinking hot outside 25/26c usually is more than cool enough - for some reason I cannot explain!

I don't think I've ever actually gotten it that cold. crappy Thai roof insulation. But, i have gotten it pretty dang cold when i close all the doors in the house so the A/C is only supporting the living room and dining room. In the US we have thermostats that control our central A/C. Anyone know how well that works on split units? My guess is that the temp outlet on the A/C is only showing the degree output not necessarily  the temp of the room?

[johng]

The thermostat is measuring the room temperature ( though the sensor is inside the wall unit)

...the cold air coming from the evaporator unit (inside the room)  is a fixed temperature,

(16 degrees or so  ? )

when the room reaches the desired  temperature the compressor stops so cooling stops...the room heats up again the compressor starts, cooling begins and the cycle continues.

 

For inverter units they may be able to adjust the actual temperature of the cooled air ...not sure...where is that nice Klingon Mr Naam ?

 

[Moonlover]

On ‎3‎/‎17‎/‎2018 at 10:16 AM, CGW said:

Do you ever get the room down to 18c? doubt it very much in the summer, set the temp higher! 23c or thereabouts should be perfect! Though if its stinking hot outside 25/26c usually is more than cool enough - for some reason I cannot explain!

Lot of folks get a bit confused when it come ideal temperature in the room. In the tropics, it's as much about drying the air as it is about cooling it. 25c with dry air inside is a lot more comfortable than 25c outside with high humidity.

 

I agree that 18c is an unrealistic target and you're giving money away to PEA O/P. The compressor will be belting away all day and that's where the money goes.

 

I usually set mine at around 24c and will nudge it up or down 1c at a time until we're comfortable, always allowing it to settle for a while.

 

We only have one 18,000BTU unit in a room that doesn't have much in way of insulation and our last 2 bills have been under 900 THB

 

 

 

 

[johng]

12 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

our last 2 bills have been under 900 THB

So you just turn the aircon on then   

 

what about TV, washing machine,microwave oven,computer,modem,lights,fans,hot water heater

etc etc etc ?

My average is about 1200 baht  but has been up to  3000 baht.

[CGW]

1 hour ago, Moonlover said:

We only have one 18,000BTU unit in a room that doesn't have much in way of insulation and our last 2 bills have been under 900 THB

How big is the room? my bill is ~3,000 during the Isaan winter time when the AC is rarely used! It rises substantially when it gets hot - like now!

[attrayant]

Instead of cranking it down to 18 and hoping for inefficient radiative cooling, set it for a more realistic twenty-something and then turn on a nearby fan to get a light breeze. This will help you feel cooler without the room actually being cooler.  A snug-fitting t-shirt will help wick perspiration away and make you feel even cooler.

 

To answer the OP, I installed a inverter-style a/c in my bedroom two years ago and added a kWh meter inline with the switch.  The sleeping part of the bedroom is only about 18 m² so I bought the lowest powered a/c I could find.  I set it for 26 degrees and it costs me on average about 2 baht per hour to run.  I also double-insulated the room with stud walls, which helps a lot because they don't get warm to the touch any more.  If you haven't insulated the room you want to cool, you're spending a big chunk of your electric bill on continuously pumping out the extra heat that keeps circulating back in.