Bangkok electric bill seems really high - is someone tapping into our line?

[davb]

I just got our monthly bill for a very small 1-bedroom home and it was 6,200 baht. Does this seem normal? Last year it was always a little under 3,000 baht. In addition to our lights and television, the only electricity we use is for two wall-airconditioners.

 

I know the rates recently went up, but this seems high. 

 

About six months ago the neighbor had someone update the wiring into his house. It was a sloppy job and a whole bunch of wires were left hanging from the meter into our yard. Is it possible they somehow connected to our electricity? The guy said he was having work done to help charge his electric car, and it was around then that our bill started going up. Is there a way to tell if he is using our electricity to charge his car? I'm not well-versed in electrical wiring, and the area around the meters (four of them) has wires going everywhere.

 

What do other people pay for a stand-alone home (not a condo) in Bangkok?

[OneMoreFarang]

If you can switch everything off in your home and have a look at your meter. If it runs, then someone else is using your electricity.

Best do this several time, especially when you think someone might charge the car, use AC, etc.

 

Another reason could be dirty ACs. If they are dirty, and old, then they need a lot more power to cool down the home.

[Crossy]

Start here ^^^.

 

It's also worth noting that it's currently somewhat warm, your A/C will be working hard and therefore using more juice.

 

If you have the MEA or PEA App you should be able to check historical usage, PEA certainly goes back over a year. Check units used not cost.

 

[torturedsole]

17 minutes ago, davb said:

I just got our monthly bill for a very small 1-bedroom home and it was 6,200 baht.

 

What was last month's bill?

 

17 minutes ago, davb said:

About six months ago the neighbor had someone update the wiring into his house.

 

Has the monthly bill been increasing since then?  As previous poster mentioned, aircon units require regular maintenance.

[NoDisplayName]

Shut off all power.  Is the meter still running?

 

Go to the four co-located meters.  Locate your meter, identify all wires connected.  Trace them as far as possible to your entry point.

[davb]

Thank you everyone. I found some of the previous bills, so maybe it didn't go up as much as it seems. Here is what I've been paying - I'll try to find the amount of electricity used. I was just really surprised to see it go over 6,000 baht.

 

2023
April 4,673
May: 5,034
June: 5,063
July: 3,534
Aug: 4,646
Sept. 4,937
Oct - can't find
Nov: 3,096
Dec.: 3,111
2024
Jan: 3,452
Feb.: 4,487
March: 5,090
April: 5,317
May: 6,245
 

[davb]

This is what I got out of the app as far as amount of electricity used.

[torturedsole]

28 minutes ago, davb said:

Thank you everyone. I found some of the previous bills, so maybe it didn't go up as much as it seems.

That's interesting, but like you say, your bills do appear quite high for a very small 1-bedroom home.

 

Two quick questions if I may, a) when was the last time the units were cleaned by a professional; and b) how long and at what temp(s) are you running the units?

[Scouse123]

On 5/8/2024 at 4:27 PM, OneMoreFarang said:

If you can switch everything off in your home and have a look at your meter. If it runs, then someone else is using your electricity.

Best do this several time, especially when you think someone might charge the car, use AC, etc.

 

Another reason could be dirty ACs. If they are dirty, and old, then they need a lot more power to cool down the home.

 

 

Or if nobody is tapping in to his meter, and the meter is still running, it can mean a ' leak to earth ' as I found out after returning to Thailand in February to a large bill when I was expecting a small one as I hadn't been here and nor had the Mrs, she was with me.

 

I mention the leak to earth, because he states they neighbour has had cowboys in messing with wires.

 

 

 

 

[Crossy]

16 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

Or if nobody is tapping in to his meter, and the meter is still running, it can mean a ' leak to earth ' as I found out after returning to Thailand in February to a large bill when I was expecting a small one as I hadn't been here and nor had the Mrs, she was with me.

 

I mention the leak to earth, because he states they neighbour has had cowboys in messing with wires.

 

Yes, this is possible, we had an example a while back where L and N had become swapped at the meter!

 

https://aseannow.com/topic/1250930-earth-rod-is-hot/

 

A pretty extreme example but it's definitely worth checking your supply polarity.

[itsari]

16 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

 

 

Or if nobody is tapping in to his meter, and the meter is still running, it can mean a ' leak to earth ' as I found out after returning to Thailand in February to a large bill when I was expecting a small one as I hadn't been here and nor had the Mrs, she was with me.

 

I mention the leak to earth, because he states they neighbour has had cowboys in messing with wires.

 

 

 

 

We had the same problem as somebody had the wires connected wrong into the meter from the grid. It doubled our usage and we asked PEA to be compensated which resulted in no offer from them . It took PEA many attempts over a few days to find the problem which i found surprising. 

[nobodysfriend]

On 5/8/2024 at 4:17 PM, davb said:

Is it possible they somehow connected to our electricity? The guy said he was having work done to help charge his electric car, and it was around then that our bill started going up.

 

Just turn off all the electricity to your house ... go and check the meter ... if it still turns ...?

[KhunLA]

That's a lot of units for a small 1 bedroom.   We use about that much for 106m² of living space, and we abuse the hell out of the ACs & have EVs.  Bedroom now being a comfy 24.3C and wife under the comforter 

 

 

Though your April & May last year & this, really isn't that far apart, and it has been hot, with last year have discounted rates.

 

If own the house, maybe time to think about adding some insulation, curtains/shading, and maybe some new energy efficient  ACs.   

 

Our 'glass exposure' off the dog's sofa area & eat in kitchen gets the morning sun till 0800 hrs since facing eastward.   Curtains are a must.  Same with bedroom.  Most of that side of the house is glass exposure.

 

We have curtains, but not as effective as they could be, since on the inside.  But at 0800 hrs, and the the sun is off the glass, as the veranda roof is extended quite a bit.

 

 

April & May 2023 and April 2024 and we used about the same 1000kWh +/-, which would translates to a PEA bill of ~฿5000 last month at current rate.

[thailand49]

On 5/8/2024 at 4:51 PM, davb said:

Thank you everyone. I found some of the previous bills, so maybe it didn't go up as much as it seems. Here is what I've been paying - I'll try to find the amount of electricity used. I was just really surprised to see it go over 6,000 baht.

 

2023
April 4,673
May: 5,034
June: 5,063
July: 3,534
Aug: 4,646
Sept. 4,937
Oct - can't find
Nov: 3,096
Dec.: 3,111
2024
Jan: 3,452
Feb.: 4,487
March: 5,090
April: 5,317
May: 6,245
 

2024,  it does seem to be a jump from previous year. As noted locate your meter outside where PEA read and bill.

Your guess when neighbor is home charging vehicle.  Turn on your lights etc you should see meter spinning go back in to panel shut it all down go back out your meter should have stopped. If not, then yes, get a hold of a good electrian.

[KhunLA]

Not yet 0800 hrs, and the sun was already off the glass.   Extended roofing ... 👍

 

[actonion]

On 5/8/2024 at 5:22 PM, torturedsole said:

That's interesting, but like you say, your bills do appear quite high for a very small 1-bedroom home.

 

Two quick questions if I may, a) when was the last time the units were cleaned by a professional; and b) how long and at what temp(s) are you running the units?

We've just had our bedroom air con unit cleaned at 500b, we do it every 6 months, they guy told us  being  the unit is 7 years old we should have it "deep cleaned" next time  at 2,000b  because it seems to be taking longer to cool the room  at 24c. or is it because of excessive heat, anybody  know what a deep clean involves, seems expensive,..awaiting the May bill with fingers crossed

[CecilM]

Quite possible and common (from

my experience).

Like suggested, turn off everything and check your reader.

Also be aware that old/dirty A/C use a lot of electricity. (In old home my with old A/C my e-bill was significantly higher than in my new home with new A/C and.) 

[john donson]

I had a renter, well not me, my ex...

 

they claimed high electricity bills, must be a loss of somewhere...

 

easy to close main circuit and check if meter is running, no?

 

but, I passed the house a few times over the weeks and months and airco was on, all over, almost 24/7...

 

well, it is the type that makes a loud noise, the compressors, that is...

 

a next renter had very low electrical bills...  they only used fans....

 

[KhunBENQ]

On 5/8/2024 at 4:51 PM, davb said:

Thank you everyone. I found some of the previous bills, so maybe it didn't go up as much as it seems. Here is what I've been paying - I'll try to find the amount of electricity used. I was just really surprised to see it go over 6,000 baht.

 

2023
April 4,673
May: 5,034
June: 5,063
July: 3,534
Aug: 4,646
Sept. 4,937
Oct - can't find
Nov: 3,096
Dec.: 3,111
2024
Jan: 3,452
Feb.: 4,487
March: 5,090
April: 5,317
May: 6,245
 

May 23 5034

May 24 6245

 

No dramatic rise after the historic heatwave.

But: we are 3 people in a two storey house.

3 ACs. During the heatwave: one running "a couple of hours" during daytime.

Two running about 7 hours in the night at 26 to 27 C.

Last night without AC. Quite fresh and a light breeze.

Last bill 3800.

 

So compared your bill is extreme.

ACs running 24h?

What temperature? 

 

[rwill]

Looking at previous bills it is better to look at usage rather than cost.  See if your usage has increased compared to before.  Rates can change so not as good of a way to see what's happening.

[KhunBENQ]

3 hours ago, rwill said:

Looking at previous bills it is better to look at usage rather than cost.  See if your usage has increased compared to before.  Rates can change so not as good of a way to see what's happening.

Yes. But the bill has increased 24% compared to 2023. By no way can this be explained by rate increase.

A heat wave is a heat wave. Poorer people lured in the shopping malls. Those who can pay sat under the AC at home or office.

New record peak power consumption nationwide.

[richard_smith237]

On 5/8/2024 at 12:17 PM, davb said:

I just got our monthly bill for a very small 1-bedroom home and it was 6,200 baht. Does this seem normal? Last year it was always a little under 3,000 baht. In addition to our lights and television, the only electricity we use is for two wall-airconditioners.

 

I know the rates recently went up, but this seems high. 

 

 

Edit - see that you are comparing to the same month last year. 

 

How often do you have the AC units cleaned (we do ours at least once per year but try to do it every 6 months)...

 

Increased usage could be due to the AC having to work hard to achieve the same in-room temperature (due to being dirtier etc).

 

 

On 5/8/2024 at 12:17 PM, davb said:

About six months ago the neighbor had someone update the wiring into his house. It was a sloppy job and a whole bunch of wires were left hanging from the meter into our yard. Is it possible they somehow connected to our electricity? The guy said he was having work done to help charge his electric car, and it was around then that our bill started going up. Is there a way to tell if he is using our electricity to charge his car? I'm not well-versed in electrical wiring, and the area around the meters (four of them) has wires going everywhere.

 

What do other people pay for a stand-alone home (not a condo) in Bangkok?

 

Its possible. One way to check is to turn everything off inside your house and see if the meter is still running.

[Eaglekott]

Maybe consider put heat reflecting film on the windows?

[pest]

Please be careful checking any electric work near your power poles We have lost expats before working near them

[johng]

5 hours ago, actonion said:

anybody  know what a deep clean involves, seems expensive,..

I had mine done a few months back    what they did was fully dissemble the  aircon taking the whole compressor unit  on the outside  and the evaporator unit on the inside   down from the wall  and jet washing all the accumulated gunk  that can't be got to whilst stuck on the wall  and there was a surprising amount of gunk..

Also to my surprise the aircon technician managed to do this total disassembly/reassemble  without loosing any refrigerant  somehow managing to trap it all in the compressor unit...they remade the copper flange connectors  bolted it all up opened the valves and it all worked.

I don't know how or if they pulled a vacuum in the system  as I was distracted by my lovely cold beer !

 

P.S  yes it worth doing and not really expensive if they do as I describe above.

[transam]

8 minutes ago, johng said:

I had mine done a few months back    what they did was fully dissemble the  aircon taking the whole compressor unit  on the outside  and the evaporator unit on the inside   down from the wall  and jet washing all the accumulated gunk  that can't be got to whilst stuck on the wall  and there was a surprising amount of gunk..

Also to my surprise the aircon technician managed to do this total disassembly/reassemble  without loosing any refrigerant  somehow managing to trap it all in the compressor unit...they remade the copper flange connectors  bolted it all up opened the valves and it all worked.

I don't know how or if they pulled a vacuum in the system  as I was distracted by my lovely cold beer !

 

P.S  yes it worth doing and not really expensive if they do as I describe above.

Inside and outside pressure wash clean.....

Just take the casing off, sheet plastic funnel to collect the water...500bht 🤗

[arick]

Ceramic nano film does wonders

[Will B Good]

That is high.....we have a three bed house and run one or two units almost 24/7........average bill March/April, the big hitters, 3,500B.

[SmokeandIce]

My suggestion to reducing electric cost is when you run the air conditioning, set the temp a few degrees C lower and use eith a fan.  This works for me.  

[Upnotover]

12 minutes ago, SmokeandIce said:

My suggestion to reducing electric cost is when you run the air conditioning, set the temp a few degrees C lower and use eith a fan.  This works for me.  

Lower?