High electricity bills?

[ebonykap]

I need to save 5 baht /month, so I'm gonna leave my lights off and buy some candles.

[green job]

I need to save 5 baht /month, so I'm gonna leave my lights off and buy some candles.

Yep I agree, this thread is a bit like My Dads got a bull dog with a dirty ass,, Lick that

[jasonsamui55]

I wish I had 1800. Mine has risen from about 18000 to about 23000 in hot and rainy season.

[catman20]

get over it , electric the same price as Europe I live alone one air con on at a time small pool 6/7 thousand baht a month. move on or go back home

[Naam]

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

not this month as i am spending 8 days in Singapore from sunday onwards. therefore i expect a moderate may/june bill not exeeding 15k Baht.

as so often i would like to mention that the average "arctic" temperature in our home is ~26ºC

[Naam]

I wish I had 1800. Mine has risen from about 18000 to about 23000 in hot and rainy season.

i concede defeat. you beat my last years june/july record bill of 20,683 Baht.

[Happy Grumpy]

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

Pretty much the same as me.

Average of around 2,600b.

Then the last 2 months 4,500b from out of nowhere.

Direct bill with the MEA.

[Happy Grumpy]

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

Yes, it is.

I thought the jump of mine over the past 2 months was unusally high, even for the hot season. Even made some changes because of it - plugged out the second fridge, turned off my computer during the day while away.

Reading their comments it seems it was the same jump for others. 2.5k to 4.5k.

[vento]

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.

I would not even consider Moving in to a place which not run government rates. Why would the owner have Any interest in maintaining anything related to ac in such place. The older and less effecient equipment, the more he earns.

[pkspeaker]

Im in a 31sqm room and i pay at least 1800/m .. 2 small aircons, and wife likes hot water for bath and laundry.. And yes thats 31sqm! Very small room..

[ba ba]

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.

two fridges cheak that they are not runing a lot

i just pissed one off got a new one, elec units went down from 20 a day to 8

[nev]

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.

two fridges cheak that they are not runing a lot

i just pissed one off got a new one, elec units went down from 20 a day to 8[/quote

]

As previously stated the fridge uses up the most electricity after a air con unit, so you was very wise ditching your old fridge will cost you first up but will be worth it.

[Naam]

most people don't seem to know that "i run my aircon(s) x hours and my bill is y Baht" does not mean anything without room size and without set temperature

note:

a lower ºC setting does not increase energy consumption linear but progressive!

example:

assumed outside temp 35ºC, reducing the set temp from 27º to 24º (-11.1%) does not increase consumption by 11.1% but by ~25%.

[BlackJack]

so what is the unit price of the electricity

in my office its 1-150 units is 2.7628 baht per unit

150 units plus is 3.7362 baht per unit

but my condo says 4.33 baht per unit

[Brian Robson]

Interesting to see the leccy bills being bandied about, and pleased to see I'm in the 4-5000 Baht range depending on visitors in a three bedroomed villa. But 18-20K sounds excessive!

I have four ACs but only run one at a time depending on the room occupied. Plus side, is I've lived in Africa most of my life, so 27 Deg C is comfortable!

But a 12,000 unit uses round 4 kW, the equivalent of a four bar electric fire at full blast. I'm a stickler for keeping windows and doors closed. If the bill hits 5000 Baht I make economies.

[IMHO]

Interesting to see the leccy bills being bandied about, and pleased to see I'm in the 4-5000 Baht range depending on visitors in a three bedroomed villa. But 18-20K sounds excessive!

I have four ACs but only run one at a time depending on the room occupied. Plus side, is I've lived in Africa most of my life, so 27 Deg C is comfortable!

But a 12,000 unit uses round 4 kW, the equivalent of a four bar electric fire at full blast. I'm a stickler for keeping windows and doors closed. If the bill hits 5000 Baht I make economies.

You might want to consider a new AC if yours is using 4kW (!)

e.g. The Daikin Ekira 12,590 BTU uses 4.2A at max. power.

[ThaidDown]

so what is the unit price of the electricity

in my office its 1-150 units is 2.7628 baht per unit

150 units plus is 3.7362 baht per unit

but my condo says 4.33 baht per unit

Your unit figures are correct but you need to add on the Ft charge and then 7% VAT to get the final cost.

My April bill Ft was 0.5896 Baht/unit (3.7362 + 5896 +4.3258)

Note that for May the Ft charge (for me) has gone down to 0.4961.

If paying MEA/PEA rates you can calculate your bill here http://www.mea.or.th/aboutelectric/index.php?l=en&tid=4&mid=280&pid=116&ctForm=form12

[Brian Robson]

Interesting to see the leccy bills being bandied about, and pleased to see I'm in the 4-5000 Baht range depending on visitors in a three bedroomed villa. But 18-20K sounds excessive!

I have four ACs but only run one at a time depending on the room occupied. Plus side, is I've lived in Africa most of my life, so 27 Deg C is comfortable!

But a 12,000 unit uses round 4 kW, the equivalent of a four bar electric fire at full blast. I'm a stickler for keeping windows and doors closed. If the bill hits 5000 Baht I make economies.

You might want to consider a new AC if yours is using 4kW (!)

e.g. The Daikin Ekira 12,590 BTU uses 4.2A at max. power.

Erm, a big difference between Watts (power) and Amps (current).

These are the technical specs...

http://www.samsung.com/za/consumer/home-appliances/air-conditioner/inverter/AR12FSFNAWKNFA

[IMHO]

Interesting to see the leccy bills being bandied about, and pleased to see I'm in the 4-5000 Baht range depending on visitors in a three bedroomed villa. But 18-20K sounds excessive!

I have four ACs but only run one at a time depending on the room occupied. Plus side, is I've lived in Africa most of my life, so 27 Deg C is comfortable!

But a 12,000 unit uses round 4 kW, the equivalent of a four bar electric fire at full blast. I'm a stickler for keeping windows and doors closed. If the bill hits 5000 Baht I make economies.

You might want to consider a new AC if yours is using 4kW (!)

e.g. The Daikin Ekira 12,590 BTU uses 4.2A at max. power.

Erm, a big difference between Watts (power) and Amps (current).

These are the technical specs...

http://www.samsung.com/za/consumer/home-appliances/air-conditioner/inverter/AR12FSFNAWKNFA

Correct!

Power draw in watts = volts x amps x power factor.

Your AC draws 5.2A (cooling) / 6A (heating). You appear to be confusing cooling and heating "power" with electrical current draw. It's not the same thing.

Form that same spec sheet:

Power Consumption (Cooling)

1,090W

Power Consumption (Heating)

1,110W

Edited June 4, 2015 by IMHO

[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.

I would not even consider Moving in to a place which not run government rates. Why would the owner have Any interest in maintaining anything related to ac in such place. The older and less effecient equipment, the more he earns.

Not that easy to find a govt rate place that I like.

[sandyf]

Erm, a big difference between Watts (power) and Amps (current).

These are the technical specs...

http://www.samsung.com/za/consumer/home-appliances/air-conditioner/inverter/AR12FSFNAWKNFA

Correct!

Power draw in watts = volts x amps x power factor.

Your AC draws 5.2A (cooling) / 6A (heating). You appear to be confusing cooling and heating "power" with electrical current draw. It's not the same thing.

Form that same spec sheet:

Power Consumption (Cooling)

1,090W

Power Consumption (Heating)

1,110W

It is not quite straightforward as that, what you are quoting is instantaneous power rather than usage which is measured in Kwh or units.

With AC's their is 2 components, the internal fan and the compressor, lets say they are 290w and 800w(1090w)

If that AC could not reach the the desired temperature then it would run continuously and in one hour it would use 1.09 kilowatt hours or 1.09 units.

If however the outside air was low enough to make it cycle say 2 mins on/2 mins off (50%) then in one hour it would use 0.29 units for the fan(continuous) and 0.4 unit for the compressor(cycling), total of 0.69 units.

In other words a saving of 0.4 units per hour, about 37%

I had a 13K BTU in the bedroom and at this time of year it just ran continuously set at 27 degrees. I changed it for an 18K BTU and at 27 degrees that is probably off about twice as long as it is on. I am not sure on the powers but say they were 4Kw and 6Kw, my usage would have gone from 4 units/hour to about 2.5 units per hour with a lot more comfort.

At the end of the day it is all about balancing the system for comfort and efficiency.

[Naam]

Interesting to see the leccy bills being bandied about, and pleased to see I'm in the 4-5000 Baht range depending on visitors in a three bedroomed villa. But 18-20K sounds excessive!

I have four ACs but only run one at a time depending on the room occupied. Plus side, is I've lived in Africa most of my life, so 27 Deg C is comfortable!

But a 12,000 unit uses round 4 kW, the equivalent of a four bar electric fire at full blast. I'm a stickler for keeping windows and doors closed. If the bill hits 5000 Baht I make economies.

only a pre-World War II built 12k btu/h unit will use 4kw actual consumption is approximately 1.1-1.2kWh.

[sandyf]

Interesting to see the leccy bills being bandied about, and pleased to see I'm in the 4-5000 Baht range depending on visitors in a three bedroomed villa. But 18-20K sounds excessive!

I have four ACs but only run one at a time depending on the room occupied. Plus side, is I've lived in Africa most of my life, so 27 Deg C is comfortable!

But a 12,000 unit uses round 4 kW, the equivalent of a four bar electric fire at full blast. I'm a stickler for keeping windows and doors closed. If the bill hits 5000 Baht I make economies.

only a pre-World War II built 12k btu/h unit will use 4kw actual consumption is approximately 1.1-1.2kWh.

Actual and approximate are a contradiction in terms. The Kw hours is based on the cycling ratio of the compressor, an unknown variable subject to circumstances.

[IMHO]

Erm, a big difference between Watts (power) and Amps (current).

These are the technical specs...

http://www.samsung.com/za/consumer/home-appliances/air-conditioner/inverter/AR12FSFNAWKNFA

Correct!

Power draw in watts = volts x amps x power factor.

Your AC draws 5.2A (cooling) / 6A (heating). You appear to be confusing cooling and heating "power" with electrical current draw. It's not the same thing.

Form that same spec sheet:

Power Consumption (Cooling)

1,090W

Power Consumption (Heating)

1,110W

It is not quite straightforward as that, what you are quoting is instantaneous power rather than usage which is measured in Kwh or units.

With AC's their is 2 components, the internal fan and the compressor, lets say they are 290w and 800w(1090w)

If that AC could not reach the the desired temperature then it would run continuously and in one hour it would use 1.09 kilowatt hours or 1.09 units.

If however the outside air was low enough to make it cycle say 2 mins on/2 mins off (50%) then in one hour it would use 0.29 units for the fan(continuous) and 0.4 unit for the compressor(cycling), total of 0.69 units.

In other words a saving of 0.4 units per hour, about 37%

I had a 13K BTU in the bedroom and at this time of year it just ran continuously set at 27 degrees. I changed it for an 18K BTU and at 27 degrees that is probably off about twice as long as it is on. I am not sure on the powers but say they were 4Kw and 6Kw, my usage would have gone from 4 units/hour to about 2.5 units per hour with a lot more comfort.

At the end of the day it is all about balancing the system for comfort and efficiency.

Actually, it' not even as simple as that

The AC Brian has is an inverter - so the only time it cycles off is when 3,200 BTU is too much for the job

[chiang mai]

FWIW, 1,600 square feet, four aircon units, only one is used at a time and then sparingly since the house is quite cool anyway, highest monthly bill thus far is THB 1,450. BUT, all appliances are less than six months old and all lighting is LED - three water pumps supply domestic water, deep well water for one rai of garden sprinklers and one shallow well for the same, watered daily. Finally, just spent circa 50k on attic insulation and getting three gable vents enlarged.

[sandyf]

Interesting to see the leccy bills being bandied about, and pleased to see I'm in the 4-5000 Baht range depending on visitors in a three bedroomed villa. But 18-20K sounds excessive!

I have four ACs but only run one at a time depending on the room occupied. Plus side, is I've lived in Africa most of my life, so 27 Deg C is comfortable!

But a 12,000 unit uses round 4 kW, the equivalent of a four bar electric fire at full blast. I'm a stickler for keeping windows and doors closed. If the bill hits 5000 Baht I make economies.

only a pre-World War II built 12k btu/h unit will use 4kw actual consumption is approximately 1.1-1.2kWh.

This is a valid mistake, and something I was not aware of.

I went and checked the data plate on my 13K unit. The rated current was shown 5A and the output as 3.5Kw. This is obviously inconsistent, at 5A the input power would be about 1200w.

I did a bit of google and it would appear that modern day cooling devices have a higher output power than input power, but not going there.

Electricity bills are based on input power and, as in my case, that is not shown it is not unreasonable for someone to be misled by the output power.

[sandyf]

Correct!

Power draw in watts = volts x amps x power factor.

Your AC draws 5.2A (cooling) / 6A (heating). You appear to be confusing cooling and heating "power" with electrical current draw. It's not the same thing.

Form that same spec sheet:

Power Consumption (Cooling)

1,090W

Power Consumption (Heating)

1,110W

It is not quite straightforward as that, what you are quoting is instantaneous power rather than usage which is measured in Kwh or units.

With AC's their is 2 components, the internal fan and the compressor, lets say they are 290w and 800w(1090w)

If that AC could not reach the the desired temperature then it would run continuously and in one hour it would use 1.09 kilowatt hours or 1.09 units.

If however the outside air was low enough to make it cycle say 2 mins on/2 mins off (50%) then in one hour it would use 0.29 units for the fan(continuous) and 0.4 unit for the compressor(cycling), total of 0.69 units.

In other words a saving of 0.4 units per hour, about 37%

I had a 13K BTU in the bedroom and at this time of year it just ran continuously set at 27 degrees. I changed it for an 18K BTU and at 27 degrees that is probably off about twice as long as it is on. I am not sure on the powers but say they were 4Kw and 6Kw, my usage would have gone from 4 units/hour to about 2.5 units per hour with a lot more comfort.

At the end of the day it is all about balancing the system for comfort and efficiency.

Actually, it' not even as simple as that

The AC Brian has is an inverter - so the only time it cycles off is when 3,200 BTU is too much for the job

I would bow to any knowledge on them, not familiar with inverter units.

[Naam]

Interesting to see the leccy bills being bandied about, and pleased to see I'm in the 4-5000 Baht range depending on visitors in a three bedroomed villa. But 18-20K sounds excessive!

I have four ACs but only run one at a time depending on the room occupied. Plus side, is I've lived in Africa most of my life, so 27 Deg C is comfortable!

But a 12,000 unit uses round 4 kW, the equivalent of a four bar electric fire at full blast. I'm a stickler for keeping windows and doors closed. If the bill hits 5000 Baht I make economies.

only a pre-World War II built 12k btu/h unit will use 4kw actual consumption is approximately 1.1-1.2kWh.

This is a valid mistake, and something I was not aware of.

I went and checked the data plate on my 13K unit. The rated current was shown 5A and the output as 3.5Kw. This is obviously inconsistent, at 5A the input power would be about 1200w.

I did a bit of google and it would appear that modern day cooling devices have a higher output power than input power, but not going there.

Electricity bills are based on input power and, as in my case, that is not shown it is not unreasonable for someone to be misled by the output power.

the "output" means cooling capacity 3.5kW not power consumption. the confusion is based on the fact that nowadays capacities are converted into kilowatt (e.g. kw instead of horsepower when combustion engines are concerned).

it is also evidence that a number of companies cheat (13,000 btu/h are actually 12,000 btu/h) evidence as specified hereafter:

13 000 Btu = 3.807 376 083 3 kilowatt/hour

12 000 Btu = 3.514 501 kilowatt/hour

the cheating goes also on as far as different variables ambient/indoor temperatures and humidity are used and last not least the biggest cheating is done by stating "SEER efficiency" based on variables drawn out of thin air.

Edited June 4, 2015 by Naam

[Tywais]

I posted this in another high electric cost topic thinking it was this one so will do it once more.

My electric history below since moving into a new place. When I got my bill for May this year I was a bit shocked at the sudden jump and thought something was wrong. After putting the chart together I noticed May of last year was nearly identical with only a couple hundred baht difference.

[carlyai]

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.

And, if you live near Pattaya I know a good electrician (well he's really not), he's a security system installer, but is an electrician when he's not the other.

He's done a lot of work on our place in Pattaya and he's one of the good ones.

Send me a message and I'll dig up his number.