Huge Electricity Bill

[Brownfarang]

Ok, so I lived in a house for a month and had the AC running 24/7. During the day, I ran the one in the living run non-stop. At night, I turned that off and turned on the one in the bedroom. Seriously, never turned them off. My electricity bill was 4500 baht. Then I moved to a different house. For some reason, the house is cooler, so I use the AC only during the day. At night, I turn it off and use a ceiling fan in the bedroom. First month in the new house, I get an electricity bill of 4,000. I was expecting bigger savings but oh well. Second month, my electricity bill is 5,500 baht. I'm still not using the AC at night, so what gives? This seems like a huge bill. It's a lot more than the one at my old house, even though I only use the AC half of the time. Something's not right. I do have a fish pond here with a filter and a pump running, but that can't be it. I mean, it doesn't even make sense that the new bill is 1500 baht more than last month, since nothing has changed.

Could electricity be "leaking" or something like that? The amounts don't make any sense.

[Brownfarang]

I have no neighbors on one side and the house on the other side is empty.

[dave111223]

Is the bill directly from the electric company? Or are these bills given to you by a landlord?

(Different landlords may charge different rates)

[mrtoad]

I have no neighbors on one side and the house on the other side is empty.

Do you have street lights? It's compulsory for Farangs to pay for all of the street lighting.

[Brownfarang]

No, I have a meter outside. Bill comes from the city.

[timekeeper]

ask the electric company to check the accuracy of the meter

for 500 baht they will come and install a brand new meter in tandem with yours

if the readings are different after 24 hours they will change your meter and refund the 500 baht

if they are the same, you know your meter is accurate but goodbye 500 baht.......

[Brownfarang]

ask the electric company to check the accuracy of the meter

for 500 baht they will come and install a brand new meter in tandem with yours

if the readings are different after 24 hours they will change your meter and refund the 500 baht

if they are the same, you know your meter is accurate but goodbye 500 baht.......

Thanks. That sounds like a good idea. I'll stop by their local office today and ask (I'm in Hua Hin, but I'm assuming it's the same thing everywhere).

[Brownfarang]

Out of curiosity, does this sound like a normal bill for running the AC half of the day (and a fan the rest of the time)? Am I crazy in thinking the bill is too big?

[Boater]

Out of curiosity, does this sound like a normal bill for running the AC half of the day (and a fan the rest of the time)? Am I crazy in thinking the bill is too big?

i have 2 aircons, 1 is constantly on at night, and the other aircon in the living room is used part - time . i have many electrical items , and also have alot of lights that are always on a night, my electric bill came from the month and it was 1700 THB

[steelepulse]

Do you have any old electrical appliances that are inefficient such as old A/C units, refrigerators etc.? How about old pumps for your water supply? etc. etc.

[neverdie]

The OP should turn EVERYTHING off inside his house, absolutely everything including the fish pond and then go outside and see if the disc in the meter is spinning. If it is, then theres something not right. Don't forget to turn the fridge off.

[Brownfarang]

Out of curiosity, does this sound like a normal bill for running the AC half of the day (and a fan the rest of the time)? Am I crazy in thinking the bill is too big?

i have 2 aircons, 1 is constantly on at night, and the other aircon in the living room is used part - time . i have many electrical items , and also have alot of lights that are always on a night, my electric bill came from the month and it was 1700 THB

Ok, so something's wrong in my house. I'm paying three times that amount and I think I'm using less electricity than you are.

[Brownfarang]

Do you have any old electrical appliances that are inefficient such as old A/C units, refrigerators etc.? How about old pumps for your water supply? etc. etc.

I don't think so. This is a pretty new house. It belongs to a farang, who used it only a couple of months a year, when he came for vacation. I'm the first tenant. The past month, I did have some trouble with one breaker (that corresponds to half the living room). It would just shut off and I would have to switch it on again, sometimes 4-5 times a night, though not every day. Eventually, the whole thing went out with a bang and I had to bring somebody in to repair it. It's been working fine since then.

[Nomad97]

I am running 2 aircons each night, all night, (9000 and 18000 BTU), in the bedrooms and another 18,000 BTU unit during the day in the living room as required. In addition, the bedroom aircons are often on for an hour or two each afternoon for the family siesta! I also have a hot water heater for hot showers, a washing machine, water pumps, refridgerator and two TVs running as and when, not to mention 6 or 7 outdoor lights each evening. We do not exercise the on/off switch as much as we could. Total bill last month 3,800 THB. Sounds like you have problems!

[Brownfarang]

I am running 2 aircons each night, all night, (9000 and 18000 BTU), in the bedrooms and another 18,000 BTU unit during the day in the living room as required. In addition, the bedroom aircons are often on for an hour or two each afternoon for the family siesta! I also have a hot water heater for hot showers, a washing machine, water pumps, refridgerator and two TVs running as and when, not to mention 6 or 7 outdoor lights each evening. We do not exercise the on/off switch as much as we could. Total bill last month 3,800 THB. Sounds like you have problems!

Thanks. I thought so. I'm going to the electric company right now to ask for somebody to come over and do... something.

[longstebe]

The advice Neverdie gave is a good idea. It does seem pretty high. What is the BTU on your aircon?

[GarryP]

My average bill used to be Baht 1,500 a month, but since I started using an airconditioner built by Bedrock Electric in one bedroom for 7 or 8 hours a night, the bill went up to an average of 3,500. Way too much, but in addition to the aircon being way old, the town house is not insulated so we are helping with cooling Bangkok every night too.

Edited September 30, 2010 by GarryP

[GarryP]

My average bill used to be Baht 1,500 a month, but since I started using an airconditioner built by Bedrock Electric in one bedroom for 7 or 8 hours a night, the bill went up to an average of 3,500. Way too much, but in addition to the aircon being way old, the town house is not insulated so we are helping with cooling Bangkok every night too.

Think l would fling your aircon unit over next doors wall, pronto.

Bit off topic but my Daikin ' inverter ' aircon unit is very cheap to run, more expensive initially to buy but the electric bills are low. No different to buying an economical new car and loosing money on day one but saves you cash day to day on running costs.,

I live in a rental property and will be moving into my own place mid next year. Also, I have only met the owner of the place where I live now about 4 times in the past 9 years and I like it that way. I simply pay my bill on time by bank transfer and that's it. A wonderful arrangement. I am not going to ask him to install a new aircon with the potential rent increase to go with it.

[Brownfarang]

I just came back from the electric company and they were a bit shocked at my bill. They couldn't believe I don't have a swimming pool or 3 AC running at all times. So yeah, you know it's bad when the electric company is surprised. They're sending somebody tomorrow to check my meter and the cables/connection outside. Their "tomorrow" didn't sound very convincing, so I might need to go back and nudge them again.

I don't mind paying the 4500 I paid in the old house if it means I can run the AC all day and night. But 5500 for half a day of air is ridiculous.

[Brownfarang]

Well, somebody from the electric company showed up as soon as I posted that. They checked the meter and somebody from the office just called me. Everything's fine outside. Meter's working, no problems with cables/connections. I'm wondering if it can be connected to the breaker problem I had this past month. The breakers kept going off (I'm guessing because there was too much power being used) and it turned out I had a short in one of the connections/lights. Once somebody cut off the connection to that particular cable, the breakers were fine. Could that be the reason somehow that power consumption went up? I know I'm reaching for straws here, but it'd be nice to figure out how to pay less next month!

[Farma]

We recently had the electrical people out to check our place after our bill jumped unexpectedly.

They did a good job checking everything one by one. They tracked the problem to a drinks fridge that was failing. We replaced the fridge and the bill is back to normal.

[Brownfarang]

Well, somebody from the electric company showed up as soon as I posted that. They checked the meter and somebody from the office just called me. Everything's fine outside. Meter's working, no problems with cables/connections. I'm wondering if it can be connected to the breaker problem I had this past month. The breakers kept going off (I'm guessing because there was too much power being used) and it turned out I had a short in one of the connections/lights. Once somebody cut off the connection to that particular cable, the breakers were fine. Could that be the reason somehow that power consumption went up? I know I'm reaching for straws here, but it'd be nice to figure out how to pay less next month!

I am no electrician but if you had a short to the ceiling metal work frame, in other words it was receiving current, then it costs you money.

If that's the case, the next bill should be lower, but I don't want to wait a whole month to verify that just in case I'm wrong (and the next bill is equally high). Maybe have somebody come in and check everything to see if something is consuming too much electricity (like the fridge Farma mentioned).

[Farma]

It was the people from the electric company who did our checks as part of their visit. The wife spoke to them and they went through checking the items one by one.

[Brownfarang]

It was the people from the electric company who did our checks as part of their visit. The wife spoke to them and they went through checking the items one by one.

Hmmm... they told me they can't check inside and I would have to get somebody to do that.

[Farma]

Different areas different people I suppose. I don't know where you are. We're upcountry so the folks may be a bit more accommodating. The checks were all part of the visit. No financial incentive was asked by them.

[Heng]

ask the electric company to check the accuracy of the meter

for 500 baht they will come and install a brand new meter in tandem with yours

if the readings are different after 24 hours they will change your meter and refund the 500 baht

if they are the same, you know your meter is accurate but goodbye 500 baht.......

Or you find out your meter is slower than normal (algae + dirt buildup, etc.) and then they install the new meter free of charge. You'll be paying more per month in the long run but you'll be doing the right thing.

[DtemJai]

In our house in UT, we have 3 Samsung's high efficiency MAX air conditioner 13,000 BTU, one running continually 24/7 – 365/year.

Energy saving No: 5. 5-TV’s, 2 always on, almost - ...+ ordinary household items. El-bill charge1,600 baht last month

++ - Super reflective windows all around, 3 coats of Beger Cool – Super Ceramic Shield wt, Ultra Solar Radiation Reflective (90% of infrared heat...bye bye forever.

Radiant barrier system in the attics, in form of foil glued square foam plates.

N.B The radiant heat is invisible and has no temperature, just energy. When this energy strikes another surface, it is absorbed and increases the temperature of that surface.

Radiation from the sun strikes the outer surfaces of walls and roofs and is absorbed causing the surface to heat up. This heat flows from the outer wall to the inner wall through conduction which is then radiated again, through the air spaces in the building, to other surfaces within the building!!!

[sirineou]

Well, somebody from the electric company showed up as soon as I posted that. They checked the meter and somebody from the office just called me. Everything's fine outside. Meter's working, no problems with cables/connections. I'm wondering if it can be connected to the breaker problem I had this past month. The breakers kept going off (I'm guessing because there was too much power being used) and it turned out I had a short in one of the connections/lights. Once somebody cut off the connection to that particular cable, the breakers were fine. Could that be the reason somehow that power consumption went up? I know I'm reaching for straws here, but it'd be nice to figure out how to pay less next month!

It was suggested earlier by Neverdie, and I think it is a good idea, Turn everything in the house off, if the meter still reads consumption, then you have leakage somewhere. lf this test is negative, you will need to do some detective work, Turn all your Circuit Beakers (CB) off and turn them on one at the time with normal load, each time you turn the CB on check the meeter to see what the increase is, perhaps you will see a significant increase at a particular CB zone, once you isolate the culprit CB zone turn all other CB zones off and start to work with individual components at that zone ( ie, refrig, lights, a/c. TV), this could give you an indication on the particular component with the unusual high consumption. If this does not work, then your next option would be to hire n electrician with a meeter to check the consumption rate of all your individual circuits.

Pay particulate attention to the CBs that is popping. CBs are rated for a particular rate of electrical current flow, if that flow rate increases to above the circuit designed capacity ( wire gage too thin), then the CB pops, some times the CB might malfunctions and not pop, or it might have being changed with a oversizes CB, if that is the case . then the circuit could overheat, in that case the condition could manifest it's self in higher electric bill, as you are heating the conduit and walls.also if that is the case , there is a potential for an electrical fire.

I hope my reply was helpful

Chock dee,

Edited September 30, 2010 by sirineou

[JohnLeech]

....the next bill should be lower, but I don't want to wait a whole month to verify that just in case I'm wrong (and the next bill is equally high).

No need to wait for a month.

Check your consumption for 24 hours then multiply it by 30 and compare it with last month's. If its the same you still have a problem, if its considerably lower your problem was isolated and you were paying for the short.

Its not rocket science.

DtemJai, you are confusing radiant heat and radiant energy, which are two totally different things. Radiant energy consists of electro-magnetic waves (which have no direct heat content) which are turned into radiant heat when they hit a suitably dense object.

You are also confusing radiation and convection. Once a wall, for example, is heated by radiation comparatively little of that radiation is then "radiated again" as the energy of the electromagnetic waves has already been converted to radiant heat; subsequent heat transfer is mainly by convection from the object which has been heated. Convection, in simple terms, is to a gas or liquid what conduction is to a solid.

"NB". All heat is invisible to the naked eye - it is only the effects of heat which are visible, whatever their source.

You are also falling for the hype over paint as an insulator/reflector; Independent tests have found all these paints to be next to useless as infra-red reflectors and no better than conventional paint as an insulator. A 90% reduction of infra-red heat would need about 6" of foam insulation and a reflective (metallised) coating. They are the paint equivalent of Thai skin whitening creams. Sorry.

[DtemJai]

Okay okay – I speak in practical term @ UT – you can do explain in a complicated matter wt academics in that subject............not me...I'm a man who knows much more than common regards to almost everything here in TH. Regards to energy bill, I've half it after I took my previous measures, that's a fact, I don't need to show off – coz my experience is over the highest level the most exparts, with Thais is second to none. I can play with [anyone] Thai lady's love via their mostly via their heart. Back to your reply: Thais know but no money!!! Etc. Allot of farang's @ upcountry are so naive, & they do not understand Thais play wt their minds. Sorry allot of beer's tonight!!1 Source: http://www.radiantfo...MA_Handbook.pdf

So much laziness in my part...chk out a excellent webpage for futher info.....find it your self!!!!!!!!!!!!!11