Has anyone else's power bills doubled? Summer rates maybe?

[Jason Green]

Hi all,

I live in a 90sq meter condo in Chiang Mai (Galae Thong Tower). The unit has two A/C units, one in the bedroom and one bigger one in the living room.

When I first came here in December, my power bills were in the 700-800 baht range. Wasn't using a lot of aircon since the weather was mild.

Then the heat came, and I started using the aircon. I remember the month where I left BOTH A/C units cranked nearly all day/night (March), and the bill was 2000 baht. So, I figured 2000 baht was the "maximum aircon" bill.

Then came April... I may have used it the aircon a BIT more since the smoke was so bad, I stayed inside a lot. In no way did I used it twice as much.

The bill for April was an astounding 4500 baht!!! :-o :-(

So, after nearly shitting myself, I backed off on the aircon. Tried to use more fans. I only used the bigger living room unit if there was company over. Ran the bedroom one in afternoons and while sleeping.

I can with certainty that I used LESS electricity and LESS aircon than last month.

Just got the bill for May: EVEN MORE! 4800baht! :-(

WHAT GIVES? Am I just experiencing the Thailand Summer Rate Jack? Do rates shoot up in the summer?

Are other people experiencing hiked rates? Doubled bills?

What are people's average bills for a house/condo this size?

I read in another thread about cleaning the aircon units -- can this make a big difference? The one in the bedroom will sorta go into 'warm air' mode after being on for a while, its like the compressor just shuts off. Then maybe 30-60 min later it will come back on and the cool air resumes. Is this because its low on chemical coolant? Or needs to be cleaned?

Sorry if i come across as an aircon n00b, i just am not used to using them back where I am from (Northern California).

[HeavyDrinker]

Ave monthly bill cool/wet season mid size 3 bedroom detatched on one of those sterile 'gated' estates is about 2500

Hot season ave bill 4-5000

[Crossy]

What per-unit rate is on your bill?

How many units have you used?

Do you have previous bills to compare?

What temperature do you set the aircon to?

[wayned]

The fuel surcharge increased last month fro 0.59 to 0.69 baht/KWH but that has been the only change that I have seen where I live.

[StefanBBK]

Best is to compare units consumed. You could make a point of checking the meter daily to keep track. If you suspect that electricity leeks, unplug everything and see if the meter still runs. Then plug back one by one. Higher bills in the hotter season are normal, but yours is excessive. Clean the air con might helps.

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Jason Green]

Thanks for the replies and info, guys!

Located the old bills and did some comparisons.

When I look at the units consumed, and divide that by the bill cost, it seems to work out to nearly the same numbers.

On the non-A/C months, i was using as little as 128 units. But this last month, its up to 1018 units!

Which is perplexing, because after the first 928 unit bill, I made a point to drastically reduce A/C use. More fans, just use the smaller AC unit in the bedroom, etc. Even my friends noticed! They'd come over and ask my why I had fans instead of AC.

So I guess I need to figure out if my AC unit(s) are in overdrive mode, maybe dirty and need to be cleaned.

Could lack of coolant/chemical be a factor at all? I notice my unit here shuts off for about 30-60 min, just warm air, then finally comes back to cold again. Also a light on it that says OUT DOOR comes on. I feel like it needs to be serviced.

The suggestion of shutting everything off then checking the meter is a good one. I will have to locate my meter!

Edited May 31, 2014 by Jason Green

[Jason Green]

One more thing, I do usually keep the thermostat set to as low as it can get (19C). Does that make the AC go into overdrive mode and use more power?

[Bung]

Bingo! Setting your AC to 19 means the unit is going to run and try to get it to 19 deg. Which it probably won't be able to do. Try 24-25 and your compressor won't run as much. The compressor is the thing that uses the most power, having it at 19 means it will run non stop.

[KhunBENQ]

19 degrees???!!!

Thai would kill me and our electricity bill.

Our "summertime" bill is about double as high than in Dec/Jan.

Today we got 2280 THB. Will probably go down from now.

Record low is below 1000 THB.

One AC used at 26 degrees and good insulation in the sleeping room.

[IMHO]

As someone else noted, ft (fuel tariff) increased again last month. Our bill went from 5500 to 7500 with the combination of ft and higher ambient temps (more AC usage)

Edited May 31, 2014 by IMHO

[Carib]

Thanks for the replies and info, guys!

Located the old bills and did some comparisons.

When I look at the units consumed, and divide that by the bill cost, it seems to work out to nearly the same numbers.

On the non-A/C months, i was using as little as 128 units. But this last month, its up to 1018 units!

Which is perplexing, because after the first 928 unit bill, I made a point to drastically reduce A/C use. More fans, just use the smaller AC unit in the bedroom, etc. Even my friends noticed! They'd come over and ask my why I had fans instead of AC.

So I guess I need to figure out if my AC unit(s) are in overdrive mode, maybe dirty and need to be cleaned.

Could lack of coolant/chemical be a factor at all? I notice my unit here shuts off for about 30-60 min, just warm air, then finally comes back to cold again. Also a light on it that says OUT DOOR comes on. I feel like it needs to be serviced.

The suggestion of shutting everything off then checking the meter is a good one. I will have to locate my meter!

Well there is a part of your high bills, the other part is the 19 degrees.

Have it serviced, and raise the temp setting

[JDGRUEN]

If you can - make a visual trace of the electric cables leading to and from your electric meter -- you should only have 4 -- two leading back to the electric lines (the source) and two leading to inside your condo unit. Thai electric meters are notoriously easy to tap. If tapped - someone is getting a free ride... This is probably not the case - but checking it out is wise... Compare your meter / wire layout to that of others... Also your meter may be encased in a big enclosure with the other meters where the wires do not show and cannot be messed with... this is good ... as long as you trust those who have access to the enclosure. It is very good advice to shut off all power - using your breaker box - hopefully you have a modern one and can do this. Shut everything down and see what the meter is doing. If still going - you either didn't shut everything off or you have a tap...

[Jason Green]

Thanks for all the help and info, guys!!!

As per this thread, I have now scheduled A/C service as well as raised thermostat temps.

Gonna try 23C instead of 19C

Also gonna peep the meter and see if there's any leaks... just have to locate it! It doesn't appear to be anywhere in the little doors that open in the walls around the condo. There's probably a cluster of meters on this floor somewhere...

[lopburi3]

Could lack of coolant/chemical be a factor at all? I notice my unit here shuts off for about 30-60 min, just warm air, then finally comes back to cold again. Also a light on it that says OUT DOOR comes on. I feel like it needs to be serviced.

Suspect that is a warning that your outdoor compressor unit has overheated and stopped working - after a long rest period it is able to start again. As said 19c is much too cold to expect from a normal sized aircondition unit. It does not cool any faster than setting to a normal 25c to get to a comfortable 25c room temp (many of us are comfortable at 28c). Have you checked your actual room temp? It could be units are dirty and a cleaning world help (only costs about 5-600 baht each unit so well worth while even if you have to do it out of pocket. FYI: April and May have been extremely hot months in Thailand.

[Pib]

19C...you from Alaska or something!!! But a 19C setting is probably going to keep the A/C condensor/compressor (the outside unit) running "all the time" during the warm-hot season and your outside unit is the electricity eating pig compared to the inside unit/portion. Try setting your temp to 25 or 26C and your electric bill should go down significantly...and your A/C outside unit will actually cut off sometimes/take a rest. Energy usage can easily double between the cool and hot season....not doubled because the price per kilowatt hour (KWH) has doubled because most likely its the same unless the Ft charge went up a little, but because your energy usage goes way up since the A/C has to work harder to keep your residence cool...and as mentioned, whenever the outside unit is running electricity is being eaten at a healthy pace. And if your A/C is dirty, especially the A/C outside unit, the electric usage can go way up as its cooling capability is reduced which forces it to run longer and run hotter which means more electricity usage...higher electric bill. But where you mentioned the unit seems to be shutting down for 30 to 60 minutes sometimes sure indicates a problem....maybe low on freon...maybe super dirty and overheating...etc.

Edited June 4, 2014 by Pib

[barryw52]

I run my air at 27 and don't think any colder than 25 is necessary as it is to much of a shock to your body when you go outside. The bill for last month (April) is the highest for the year over a 3 year period that been keeping records here in Bangkok and yes it can be close to double or more for the cooler months here when i only us the Fan. It not only the Air Con that uses power in the hotter months your fridge works hard as well if you not home and the air is off. It also depends how many hours you are home each day with the air on.

[gazzasore]

Man 19 deg we have ours set for 26deg

Our Bill was up a bit last Bill 3000 odd to 4200

We found one of our fridges the Door ruber was stuffed so we fixed that

and we also replaced all our Light Bulbs with LED ones

We have also been looking into Solar about a 5 kw one Grid tied is about $6k au

this would take about 6 years to pay for its self at today's prices

It will be interesting how much difference the LED make

[NoBrainer]

The rate seemed to go up by about 15% last month, from .59 to .69 per unit.

Also it has been very hot with record temperatures. When it is really hot you tend to stay inside more, than when the weather is cooler.

My bill jumped considerably last month.

[hellstens]

I only use my Air Con in the bedroom when I sleep, and set to 28ºC and that is perfect, so you don't go sick

My bill in hot season is about 2053thb as max, that include 3 computer set and 5 fan on whole day and some waterpump for shower etc.

[anthobkk]

I have exactly the same problem with my small condo (35 sqm)

1000 baht in December

1500 in March

2400 in April...then i stopped air condition, turn on the fan only most of the time and in may i received a 2800 baht electricity bill....it's way more expensive that what I would pay in Europe during cold season....and I don't know why it keep increasing like that.

[HUAHIN62]

Look at the number of units used, as simple as that.

[thinknirmal]

Mine jumped from 1200 to 4500 for a 65 m² condo. We bought a new fan so as to keep one air conditioner switched off, but the bill increased even more.

Tried asking the condo management and the MEA officials, but looks like I can't get a clarification unless I speak Thai.

[godden]

Man 19 deg we have ours set for 26deg

Our Bill was up a bit last Bill 3000 odd to 4200

We found one of our fridges the Door ruber was stuffed so we fixed that

and we also replaced all our Light Bulbs with LED ones

We have also been looking into Solar about a 5 kw one Grid tied is about $6k au

this would take about 6 years to pay for its self at today's prices

It will be interesting how much difference the LED make

read an article not long ago on LED light bulbs, can't remember where but their a complete sscam

[Joe Mamma]

Same here, and they changed the bill format too, now the wife listens to my solar plans.

[stgrhe]

There are a lot of misunderstandings regarding airconditioners and their power consumption. This summer has thus far been extremely humit and that causes the A/Cs to consume much more energy. Hence, it is not so much the temperature itself but the moisture content that has to be transported that sets the power consumption of the units.

[changbeer]

My bills spiked up huge in March and April as well, despite cutting AC usage drastically. It was to the point where I thought there must be some kind of mistake. It looks like I'm not the only one.

[Jeffrey346]

I have a 3 bedroom house. I run the ac in the living area 8-10 hours a day set at 27. My bedroom 10 hours at 22. The kids 10 hours at 28. last month was my highest bill B5080. For about $160. US a month I'm comfortable and about a third of the cost of the US.

Every month or so someone questions their electric bill. Bottom line, it's cheaper than your home country and if you can't afford it don't use it.

Edit: I should have mentioned, I built my house less than a year ago and used insulated concrete brick which helps a lot.

Edited June 5, 2014 by Jeffrey346

[Brian Robson]

One more thing, I do usually keep the thermostat set to as low as it can get (19C). Does that make the AC go into overdrive mode and use more power?

This is one of the most annoying habits of my visitors, trying to drive the AC down to 16 Deg C. It ain't going to happen, and the AC loses efficiency if the compressor is always engaged. The AC fans don't draw much power, it's the compressor which is power hungry. A comfortable temperature should be aimed for around 24 Deg C, and the compressor will cut in and out to maintain that. The newer ACs use inverter technology which maintains temperatures more smoothly, and as someone mentioned on another thread, halved his electric bill!

Finally, have an annual service to clean out the filters and re-gas if necessary. This typically costs THB 400 per unit, and is worthwhile.

[oneday]

If I were you I would scrutinize your bills for the numbers that represent the beginning meter NUMBER and ending meter NUMBER and as someone else said the per unit cost. You should also test your electric meter by turning the main breaker off and see if the meter is still running. It should not be running.

My bills are falling right where I expected them to for the AC I was using. No surprises here.

In the US we have a sliding scale; the more you use outside the norm the higher the per unit cost. I don't know if they do that here in Thailand. It certainly sounds like something is wrong given that you consciously backed off and then got an even higher bill. I would be concerned also.

[Jeffrey346]

Same here, and they changed the bill format too, now the wife listens to my solar plans.

You sound like a smart guy and know it will take 30 years to recoup the cost.