Reading A Volt-Meter Right

[mrkrabs]

We cannot figure out, what amount of kw our volt-meter shows.

Ís the small number also counted as a complete kw or not?

We used 1118kw or 11183kw?

Please only answere if sure.

Thanks

[gotlost]

The last digit is in tenth. Your reading is 1118.35 kwh. You meter is called a Kilowatt hour meter.

[Kwasaki]

gotlost spot on, your first four digits are your main head reading.

[mrkrabs]

The last digit is in tenth. Your reading is 1118.35 kwh. You meter is called a Kilowatt hour meter.

Thank you 2 very much. Looks like the houseowners screwed us for 9 months :-(

[mrkrabs]

I received thwe following pm from a member:

I believe the two answers you have already are wrong. Take a look at the little numbers above the the displayed numbers. you have 10,000 x 1 = 10,000 1,000 x 1 = 1,000 100 x 1 = 100 10 x 8 = 80 1 x 3 = 3 10,000 + 1,000 + 100 + 80 + 3 = 11,183 Hope this helps!

Hmmm kind of makes sense

[Crossy]

I received thwe following pm from a member:

I believe the two answers you have already are wrong. Take a look at the little numbers above the the displayed numbers. you have 10,000 x 1 = 10,000 1,000 x 1 = 1,000 100 x 1 = 100 10 x 8 = 80 1 x 3 = 3 10,000 + 1,000 + 100 + 80 + 3 = 11,183 Hope this helps!

Hmmm kind of makes sense

Agree with the above, a meter with a 1/10ths dial usually has the 1/10ths in red.

How much is your power bill each month, should give us an idea if you're in the ball park.

[Tywais]

Agree with the above, a meter with a 1/10ths dial usually has the 1/10ths in red.

As do I. The 1/10ths are the marks in between the last unit digit. So 11,183.5 to be more precise.

[mrkrabs]

I received thwe following pm from a member:

I believe the two answers you have already are wrong. Take a look at the little numbers above the the displayed numbers. you have 10,000 x 1 = 10,000 1,000 x 1 = 1,000 100 x 1 = 100 10 x 8 = 80 1 x 3 = 3 10,000 + 1,000 + 100 + 80 + 3 = 11,183 Hope this helps!

Hmmm kind of makes sense

Agree with the above, a meter with a 1/10ths dial usually has the 1/10ths in red.

How much is your power bill each month, should give us an idea if you're in the ball park.

Well, for last month it is 9,000Baht!! And this is impossible. The last months it was at highest 5000 Thb, which already is impossible. We are 3 people, air-con, 2 Laptops running 24h, refr., and other stuff normal like everybody.

But 9k is too much. Cannot be

[robblok]

I received thwe following pm from a member:

I believe the two answers you have already are wrong. Take a look at the little numbers above the the displayed numbers. you have 10,000 x 1 = 10,000 1,000 x 1 = 1,000 100 x 1 = 100 10 x 8 = 80 1 x 3 = 3 10,000 + 1,000 + 100 + 80 + 3 = 11,183 Hope this helps!

Hmmm kind of makes sense

Agree with the above, a meter with a 1/10ths dial usually has the 1/10ths in red.

How much is your power bill each month, should give us an idea if you're in the ball park.

Well, for last month it is 9,000Baht!! And this is impossible. The last months it was at highest 5000 Thb, which already is impossible. We are 3 people, air-con, 2 Laptops running 24h, refr., and other stuff normal like everybody.

But 9k is too much. Cannot be

How many and what kind of aircons for 24/7

[mrkrabs]

I received thwe following pm from a member:

I believe the two answers you have already are wrong. Take a look at the little numbers above the the displayed numbers. you have 10,000 x 1 = 10,000 1,000 x 1 = 1,000 100 x 1 = 100 10 x 8 = 80 1 x 3 = 3 10,000 + 1,000 + 100 + 80 + 3 = 11,183 Hope this helps!

Hmmm kind of makes sense

Agree with the above, a meter with a 1/10ths dial usually has the 1/10ths in red.

How much is your power bill each month, should give us an idea if you're in the ball park.

Well, for last month it is 9,000Baht!! And this is impossible. The last months it was at highest 5000 Thb, which already is impossible. We are 3 people, air-con, 2 Laptops running 24h, refr., and other stuff normal like everybody.

But 9k is too much. Cannot be

How many and what kind of aircons for 24/7

2300kw we "used". We have 1 air-con JetCool, so nothing big. Living on Phangan

[Crossy]

Rate is about 4 Baht per unit so 2300 units will cost around 9200 Baht.

So either you really are using that much, someone is stealing power, or the meter is up the spout.

Check the rating plate on your A/C units look for 'amps' or 'watts'.

[rgs2001uk]

Rate is about 4 Baht per unit so 2300 units will cost around 9200 Baht.

So either you really are using that much, someone is stealing power, or the meter is up the spout.

Check the rating plate on your A/C units look for 'amps' or 'watts'.

Agree with all of the above, however there is something not quite right about this, there is a scam somewhere.

Where are you living house or condo?

Where does your bill come from, direct from the electric company or from your landlord?

If you are in a condo how much are you being charged per unit, charges of 15 baht per unit are not unheard of in the LOS(cams).

I doubt you are using 1,000 units per month even with a/c on 24/7.

How long have you been in this accomodation, so you can compare with previous months,

in Bkk the electric bills show the previous 6 months usage by units per month.

To check an electric meter from the elect company in Bkk costs about 500 baht, may be worth a try.

Another alternative, wait until its dark then flip your breaker and see if any of your neighbours lights go out or if anyone complains about having no electricity.

At the same time check the meter and see if it is still ticking over.

Edited October 7, 2010 by rgs2001uk

[mrkrabs]

First, thanks for all the helpful answeres.

We rent a house, not being in an resort or anything like that, and living there for 9 months. At first the bill was always aroun 2000thb, then raised to 4000-5000thb, without us having any big changes in our uage. Then last month was about 5k and this about 9k, also with no major changes.

The bill is handwritten of landlord, and unit cost about 4 baht. But we can see the changes on the meter, so it would theoraticall be right, if those five numbers are all counted (11185kw), which still I could not find out for sure.

The other things will surely check out anyhow, but would love to be sure about the amount that is displayed, of it now is 11185kw or 1118.5kw???

[Jdietz]

My bet is on 11183.5 (all digits count), because of the markings about the digits.

But it is easy to check, as the meter itself states: 240 rev/kWh.

Take a look at that spinning wheel, and count 100 or so revolutions (won't be that long with the airconditioners on or your stated usage).

If the last number moves by about half a digit, that's the 1 kWh indicator.

If it moves way more, by about 5 digits, it's the 0.1 kWh indicator.

[DoubtingThomas]

My bet is on 11183.5 (all digits count), because of the markings about the digits.

But it is easy to check, as the meter itself states: 240 rev/kWh.

Take a look at that spinning wheel, and count 100 or so revolutions (won't be that long with the airconditioners on or your stated usage).

If the last number moves by about half a digit, that's the 1 kWh indicator.

If it moves way more, by about 5 digits, it's the 0.1 kWh indicator.

The meter says it is units, not tenths. Therefore by definition after 240 revs it will move one unit. Following your logic you only need to count 24 revs to "prove" (as if it needs proving) whether it's tenths or units. It's units, no doubt.

As a guide, my condo in BKK has four a/c compressors, two bedrooms running all night and living area at least one unit running all day (bedroom sometimes during the day too, if I get lucky!). My bill runs between 4500 and 6000 baht, depending on the season. Thermostats are set at 25/26. Cooking & Fridge of course too. So, something is very much amiss with your numbers; a consumption figure of 2300 units a month is way too high. Incidentally, if that darned meter were reading tenths your consumption would be 230 units, which is too low. Best thing to do is the "turn everything off" test. If that little disk is still spinning, something or someone is sucking your juice, and not in a nice way.

As a further guide I just pulled my latest US bill. Last month was <deleted> hot so the a/c took a real pounding, and my daughter likes it cold. The house is 2500 sq ft (I guess about 240 sq. meters) and my consumption was 2500 units (no difference in units between US and the civilized world, BTW). Electric cooking & fridge, of course. So, a 2500 ft house in 40 degrees with six people in it still only just matches your consumption. No way is yours right.

Edited October 7, 2010 by DoubtingThomas

[Goshawk]

your reading is 11183.5 KWh

no doubt at all... Its decieving in Thailand to think that the 'small' 5th digit is a decimal, its not.. it is 1kw

here's a standard UK electric meter for illustration..

the 1/10th here is the 6th digit.. omitted on Thai meters (or incorperated into the 5th)

as for a 9k bill.. that is very fishy ! your landlord could be tampering with the supply & or meter (although in your pic, the seals look intact).. or simply using his 'own' rate per KWh for extra income..

[DoubtingThomas]

your reading is 11183.5 KWh

no doubt at all... Its decieving in Thailand to think that the 'small' 5th digit is a decimal, its not.. it is 1kw

here's a standard UK electric meter for illustration..

the 1/10th here is the 6th digit.. omitted on Thai meters (or incorperated into the 5th)

as for a 9k bill.. that is very fishy ! your landlord could be tampering with the supply & or meter (although in your pic, the seals look intact).. or simply using his 'own' rate per KWh for extra income..

Agree Goshawk but the OP said (I think, it's not entirely clear) that his consumption was 2300 units, so I assume that at 9000 baht he's being charged the going rate. Of course, if his meter is "behind" another meter (happens a lot in Thailand) and the landlord has fiddled his meter but paying the bill based upon the master meter, he's doing quite nicely! The OP really needs to do the suggested tests and provide a bit more info to be able to reach a more reliable conclusion. Bottom line is something is wrong.

[bangkokcitylimits]

This guy he does not care.

ELECTRICITY MAN - HIGH VOLTAGE HUMAN CONDUCTOR FROM INDIA

[Jdietz]

So, OP, it's been almost a month now, what did you find out?

[Kwasaki]

I received thwe following pm from a member:

I believe the two answers you have already are wrong. Take a look at the little numbers above the the displayed numbers. you have 10,000 x 1 = 10,000 1,000 x 1 = 1,000 100 x 1 = 100 10 x 8 = 80 1 x 3 = 3 10,000 + 1,000 + 100 + 80 + 3 = 11,183 Hope this helps!

Hmmm kind of makes sense

It is right thats what was already written, look at your own electric bill which will explain it. 111835 on the bill will be typed 11183 then they deduct the last 5 digit reading and charge you the units used if you don't fligging believe me l post a copy of my bill.

Edited October 23, 2010 by Kwasaki

[travelmann]

As usual no reply from the OP in these type of posts.

[longball53098]

If you look closely at the OP's photo of the meter IMHO this meter is not a MEA or PEA meter as for the most part they install Mitsubishi meters but not exclusively. Also the background shows the meter is mounted to a indoor wooden board. If as I suggest the meter is not a government meter then the owner of the property is reading the meter and charging whatever they want to for KWH used by the renter So the owner can interpret the meter reading however they choose and the renter is charged based on that.

In post 13 the OP states the bill he receives is handwritten so the owner is doing what he feels he can get away with and reads that meter the way he feels works for him.

[Kwasaki]

If you look closely at the OP's photo of the meter IMHO this meter is not a MEA or PEA meter as for the most part they install Mitsubishi meters but not exclusively. Also the background shows the meter is mounted to a indoor wooden board. If as I suggest the meter is not a government meter then the owner of the property is reading the meter and charging whatever they want to for KWH used by the renter So the owner can interpret the meter reading however they choose and the renter is charged based on that.

In post 13 the OP states the bill he receives is handwritten so the owner is doing what he feels he can get away with and reads that meter the way he feels works for him.

Well done Sherlock miss that, your quite right +1.

Reminded me of who became friends, while living here in a rented house, they couldn't understand why the electric was such a high cost.

On visit, l checked their wiring to their meter, l found a another wire joined to it not very well hidden running off and around to another building which belonged to the owners daughter looking in the room there was the two ironing boards and electric irons for her little business she was running.

The embarrassed owner of course knew nothing about it.:jap: