High electricity bills?

[Kenny202]

Might be one for you Crossy :-)

Been here about 6 months now and electricity bill gone up now around 1800 baht. 2 people living in a smallish house. Talking to a few mates of mine with similar useage their bills seem to be around 1000-1200 baht / month. We have gas stove, LED lights. House is now insulated....do have an oven but use it rarely. Not using Hot water at the moment. Have microwave, fans, 50" LED TV, Big fridge (new) and usual Computer and phone chargers, kitchen appliances. We do have a 12000 Air con (new split) in the bedroom which we run all night every night in summer and comes up to temperature very quickly and cycles properly. Also have an 18000 split air con in the lounge room which we may have on a couple of hours every other day but not too much.

Im not complaining, I'm way ahead of my electricity bills in farang land of course and if its 1800 baht so be it but wondering if their is a possible issue. One thing does spring to mind is when the Electrician put the air cons in he did say he thought our meter was a little small and should be upgraded. He said 5 amps so I assume he wasn't talking about full load but maybe the tap coil? We usually don't have the 2 air cons on at the same time although I have done this and the mains are cool if thats any indication. Would an inefficient meter be an issue? Any help appreciated.

Edited June 2, 2015 by Kenny202

[green job]

Hi its always more expensive this time of the year,due to the weather ( hot ) when the rain setts in and it cools down your bill should go down. We did have a problem years ago when the guy next door

was connected to our system ( stealing ) you have to watch that kind of thing over here.

[Crossy]

If you have a 5/15 meter (it will be marked) you should get it upgraded to a 15/45 as it's likely overloaded. Meters are very robust but they do lose accuracy when pushed, and you can bet they don't read low.

That said, as others have noted it's very warm right now, our power bill has gone from 4k Baht to nearly 6k

Naam will be along shortly to scare us all with the power bill for his Arctic refuge

[Kenny202]

Who replaces the meter Crossy? Local service or get a sparky?

[Thailand J]

My elelctric bill was: Feb 2700B, March 2800, April 4500B and May 4900B.

[Tony Aparichio]

Hi I am in a smallish 3 bedroom with a small fridge 20 inch Led TV @ smallish air con units usually either a bedroom or the livingroom air running and occasional use of a few power tools.

Half the time just me.Girlfriend comes over about odd days. She uses more hot water for longer showers I prefer cool... Last month power bill was 2800.

Oh well, if I sat on a stool and paid for beer cooling it would have cost much more.555555555 If the meter seems to be running a little fast unplug everything flip yer mains off

and go out with a flashlight and see if yer meter is still turning. That will tell you if a nieibour (New Rule i before and after e if you lived through the 60s) is stealing from you.

The nieibour across, in a similar house Without aircon, never leaves a light on except in the portion of the room he is in paid 650. My budget is different than his.

Bad Tony

[Crossy]

Who replaces the meter Crossy? Local service or get a sparky?

The meter belongs to MEA or PEA (your local electricity authority) they will change it for a small fee.

However they may insist on replacement of the lines from the meter to your house dependant upon what size they are at present.

Best to contact the local office in the first instance.

[IMHO]

Your bill actually sounds low considering what you're running. It's sure better than the 9,200 Baht one I just paid (normally 5K in cooler months)

[circusman]

Isn't it interesting reading about the electric bills of others ?

[Jeffrey346]

I run a 25,000 BTU unit in the lounge from the time a wake till I go to bed. I turn the temp to 30 when I leave the house as I don't want to start the cooling process all over. My wife usually heads to the bedroom with the kids after dinner and they stream and play games on the TV. 15,000 BTU in that room. 12,000 in the kids room that is used from 8pm to 7am. My electric bill runs 4800 to 5500. No complaints. In fact, it's a cheap price to pay for comfort.

[irwinfc]

check your previous bills and see how much more electricity you have been using. with the stuff you have in your house, the bill seems high within expectation.

[kwak250]

My bill with a 18,000 btu air-con running 18 hours a day 2 large led tvs was 2900baht last month highest i have ever paid usually 2200-2400baht but then not complaining

[Monkeyrobot]

I live in a one bed 100sqm condo the rate is 5.5 b/unit plus VAT . I run the lounge room air con 18 hours a day and it's the older style not the inverter type , my bill was 9500 for the month,.

[South]

My elelctric bill was: Feb 2700B, March 2800, April 4500B and May 4900B.

Swop you!

35,000 - 40,000/month

[Vogele123]

Got to agree, in that last 3 or 4 months our bills have risen from what has been typically 1700 - 2000 Baht / month to almost 4K!

We have no aircon, shower is on 3kW setting, a couple of TV's and 3 fans. We use a microwave and 2 fridges, all lights are the energy saving fluorescent, cook on gas. The only thing I can think of would be the two PC's have been on 24/7 and a PS4, but it does seem like something has changed.

I am on a 15/45 meter.

[LoveThaiGirls]

I think the type of aircon can make a huge difference. My previous condo was some crappy old one that I'd use maybe 7-8 hours a day (never at night), and with just a TV, fridge, stove, hot-water etc it'd be easily 3000B/month. The newer 'inverters' are much more efficient and probably save a lot in the long run.

[Mousehound]

I am looking at a 50sqm condo. gets fairly hot in late afternoon and I need to keep temp at no more than 24C 24hrs a day. usual TV Pc etc but only micro cooking. Any guesstimates on a range of cost for electricity? Two people. I would really appreciate an estimate for budgeting. I understand the influences of position and insulation etc. 7Bht per unit.

Edited June 3, 2015 by Mousehound

[Kenny202]

Im not sure that inverter air conditioners are much good here. I was under the impression they don't deal with humidity as well as your basic split system. Maybe a little cheaper to run but the end result is below par

[IMHO]

Im not sure that inverter air conditioners are much good here. I was under the impression they don't deal with humidity as well as your basic split system. Maybe a little cheaper to run but the end result is below par

Whoever gave you that impression is mis-informed

[merlen10002]

Living in a two story house three bedrooms with wife , has air cond in main bedroom but never use it not necessary, paid the Elec bill today 677.18 THB , very happy I am from a warm country not like most Farangs that come from cold country's, don't like air cond very dry not good for your healthy, if I go to a hotel anywhere I turn it off . love the weather in Thailand.

[xtrnuno41]

well you can check your meter on a daily base and see what you use

you can check if meter is not running while ALL devices are off on several moments of day/evening

to see if you dont have a "side connection" to a neighbour or so.

There are 2 indications on the meter like 5(15)

It means it measures good in between 5% of the 5 = 0.25amps and the total max 15

In which it makes a measuring fault depending on the classe verification on the meter Class 1 is 1%, 2 = 2%

I dont think you run 15 amps any moment of the day coz that is 15x(220)240 = (3300)3600watt

so no overload for the meter.

Just see where you use most or if there is a side connection

[northernphil]

Sorry , I was about to say my last lecky bin with the a/c on every night but no security lights as our neighbour has a street light outside his place was 890B . But a boring topic so please all disregard.

[Kenny202]

well you can check your meter on a daily base and see what you use

you can check if meter is not running while ALL devices are off on several moments of day/evening

to see if you dont have a "side connection" to a neighbour or so.

There are 2 indications on the meter like 5(15)

It means it measures good in between 5% of the 5 = 0.25amps and the total max 15

In which it makes a measuring fault depending on the classe verification on the meter Class 1 is 1%, 2 = 2%

I dont think you run 15 amps any moment of the day coz that is 15x(220)240 = (3300)3600watt

so no overload for the meter.

Just see where you use most or if there is a side connection

Id only need my toaster and jug on to pull 15 amps. Big air con drawing around 3000W too I think.

[4u2mad]

A friend of mine got a 7,900 bill last month, normally 2,000. Had electric Co out and they agreed that the wheel was spinning fast. He then turned off everything in his house, meter stopped. As he turned on various circuits, the wheel resumed its frenetic spinning. Eventually a Thai sparks found a fault in the wiring above the suspended ceiling. No idea what, but sounds like a power to ground fault? Thai style wiring, so I assume no fuses. Any ideas Crossy?

[LookChang]

Do not underestimate the consumption of big refrigerators, in most homes the refrigerator is the second-largest user of electricity right after the air conditioner.

[White Christmas13]

I just don't understand how many expats complain how expensive it is in

what you call the nanny states, here you complain about paying a lot for

your power bills, I live in the nanny states again for a few years and I

pay for my electricity bill on average 110 AUD for 65 days so this works

out 55 AUD for one month which is 1500 baht per month so I guess

I Pay less then you do

[Kenny202]

Who said I was complaining and haven't heard anyone else complain either. It's a discussion

[nev]

I have 3 electric bills to pay we live on 5 rai have 2 homes and another which you can say is a small house, our combined 3 bills between 1100 to 1500 per month.

No air con, we do unplug most appliances and the computer, only 1 hot water heater and 2 water pumps, so not to bad compared with some on here.

[peterb17]

My bill last month was 9230baht- which I must admit was a bit horrendous. So don't worry too much about 1800- it's not much in the scheme of things; and if you can keep cool in this sweltering weather we are getting at the moment- it's worth it.

Regards

[green job]

It seems to me that many are being ripped off. We pay max 3000bt and thats for a large house teak Thai,with offices 2 on the ground floor,a guest house in the garden,and a swimming pool.

The security lights are on 8 all night