Huge jump in electricity bills!

[Joinaman]

On 4/26/2021 at 3:39 PM, Sheryl said:

I am amazed at how low the bills are that some people are reporting. Starting to think maybe I should accelerate planned replacement of very old air conditioners.

 

For the last 2 years my bills have ranged from slightly under 2,000 baht in times when weather was cool enough that not using a/c but not so hot as to be using huge amounts of water on the garden (water pump usage), to over 7,000 at height of the hot season with a/c on all the time etc.

 

Granted I have 2 households on the meter and my house is very large (2 story, about 250 sq meter on each floor. The other house is small and no a/c, but 3 people and its own large vegetable garden so using the water pump a lot). Can anyone with similarly large  house comment?

 

My a/c units are very, very old and maximum bill used to be more like 5,000. They (the a/cs) work but have become very noisy and as I recall, last time I replaced my a/cs the bills came way down.

 

From what I can tell, a/cs and water pump are the main things affected my usage. I do not have dishwasher or washing machine.

 

Just got my leccy bill , 2,450 baht, not the highest, but almost

2 air cons, one on all night, one maybe 4-6 hours a day

Usual washing machine, fridge, microwave, cooker, fans, tv, water pump, etc.

But it also includes the shop leccy, with air con unit, 3-6 hours daily, 2 freezers, drinks cabinet, fans, drinks machine and blenders, lights

 

 

 

[Sheryl]

Even when the a/cs were new, my bill was never as low as yours.  How big is your house and how many BTUS on the a/cs?

 

My house is 400 sq meters total and the downstairs, which is open floor plan, has two  24,000 BTU a/cs ( I usually run just one of them at a time except when it is unsually hot). Other house on same bill is  about 150 sq m but no a/c. However 3 people and large garden so water pump usage there is high.

 

My house in hot season when the a/cs were new ranged I think around 4,000 - 4,500. Now over 7,000 but I think that is down to the very old a/cs.

 

 

[BritManToo]

31 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Even when the a/cs were new, my bill was never as low as yours.  How big is your house and how many BTUS on the a/cs?

Last April I used 500 units and had an old Samsung air-con in my bedroom.

I replaced this with a Haeir inverter air-con and this year in April I used 350 units.

 

It appears I saved 150 units in 1 month just by replacing my old air-con.

[Crossy]

13 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Even when the a/cs were new, my bill was never as low as yours.  How big is your house and how many BTUS on the a/cs?

 

My house is 400 sq meters total and the downstairs, which is open floor plan, has two  24,000 BTU a/cs ( I usually run just one of them at a time except when it is unsually hot). Other house on same bill is  about 150 sq m but no a/c. However 3 people and large garden so water pump usage there is high.

 

My house in hot season when the a/cs were new ranged I think around 4,000 - 4,500. Now over 7,000 but I think that is down to the very old a/cs.

 

Those 24,000 BTU A/Cs will swallow about 2.4kW each when the compressor is running. If they are reasonably correctly sized that will be about 1 unit per hour each (unless you have a pet polar bear). Run 24/7 then that's 720 units per month each => about 3,200 Baht per month per A/C. Scary innit?

 

EDIT We are currently using about 1,800 units total per month with 3 x 12,000 BTU A/Cs running only at night (but we have koi and a pool as well as two big freezers and several PCs).

Without our solar that would be a scary 8,100 Baht per month!

[Sheryl]

2 hours ago, Crossy said:

 

Those 24,000 BTU A/Cs will swallow about 2.4kW each when the compressor is running. If they are reasonably correctly sized that will be about 1 unit per hour each (unless you have a pet polar bear). Run 24/7 then that's 720 units per month each => about 3,200 Baht per month per A/C. Scary innit?

 

EDIT We are currently using about 1,800 units total per month with 3 x 12,000 BTU A/Cs running only at night (but we have koi and a pool as well as two big freezers and several PCs).

Without our solar that would be a scary 8,100 Baht per month!

 

Thanks, good to know i am nto the only one with bills in this range.

 

I don't run these big a/cs 24/7, just in day time. Then at night run a smaller unit in the bedroom.

 

From what the bills are like when I am not using A/C  my "base" electrical cost   is around 2,000. (Was under 2,000 until added the second house).

 

Using  A/C's when the A/Cs were fairly new, 1,000 -   3,500 more depending on extent of use, but now  2,000 - 5,500 more with the a/cs being quite old.

 

 

[Crossy]

3 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Using  A/C's when the A/Cs were fairly new, 1,000 -   3,500 more depending on extent of use, but now  2,000 - 5,500 more with the a/cs being quite old.

 

Have they been cleaned / serviced recently?

 

You may score by replacing one of the units with a similarly sized "inverter" type which tend to use less energy.

[Sheryl]

9 minutes ago, Crossy said:

 

Have they been cleaned / serviced recently?

 

You may score by replacing one of the units with a similarly sized "inverter" type which tend to use less energy.

Yes, cleaned and serviced.

 

But they are really old, and making a lot of noise. Yes, I need to replace with inverter type. At least the 2 units that get the most usage, there is a 3rd one equally old but gets less usage and not making any (excessive) noise so I amy try using that one a bto longer. 24,000 BTU inverter a/cs aren't cheap....

[Crossy]

23 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

24,000 BTU inverter a/cs aren't cheap....

 

Sadly this is true. 

 

We have one in our lounge / office which I run when working from home if it gets just too hot for the fan alone. One plus, apart from the lower energy consumption, is that our baby genset will start and run the beast (inverters are "soft start" so no massive start-up surge).

[fondue zoo]

Do condos and houses have different rates?