Power cuts every day.

[GOLDBUGGY]

Unless yours is different, your electricity is metered, so I can't see why you would expect a rebate since you are still paying only for what you are using.

As to Power Cuts, it has been especially bad this past week. One day it was off all night and for 15 hours. Two days before that it was again off all night but for 8 hours. Every day lately it goes off at least one a day for around 15 minutes. Today so far it has been off twice. The 2 long nights were the only times we had storms.

[Paul Laycock]

I'm the same as everyone else, meter. My point being, rebate on standing order. I have had to have my TV repaired, my satellite box repaired and my oven blew it's thermostat. Has anyone complained, received a rebate or help in the cost of replacing these items.

[bankruatsteve]

I'm the same as everyone else, meter. My point being, rebate on standing order. I have had to have my TV repaired, my satellite box repaired and my oven blew it's thermostat. Has anyone complained, received a rebate or help in the cost of replacing these items.

Get a rebate from God if you can - nobody else will do it. Actually, you can usually get things repaired under warantee for damages like this - of course the unit has to be within warantee period - which, in my experience, is always 1 month after the warantee expires.

[Mangostin]

I'm the same as everyone else, meter. My point being, rebate on standing order. I have had to have my TV repaired, my satellite box repaired and my oven blew it's thermostat. Has anyone complained, received a rebate or help in the cost of replacing these items.

We got an online regional's "newspaper", publishing many articles with pictures of multimeters showing very low voltages(brownouts), inside the electrical sockets, as low as 117V , it didn't seem to make a difference, even if there are many readers commenting on these public domain articles.

[Mangostin]

https://www.facebook.com/prachindaily/photos/a.625753340780212.1073741826.625591740796372/1138410999514441/?type=3&theater

[Crossy]

Yup, low voltage is all too common an issue.

[johng]

Yup, low voltage is all too common an issue.

Is there some sort of low cost equipment that can automatically sense low voltage (say anything under 150 volts) and isolate the house until mains voltage returns to a more normal level ?

[johng]

Excellent thanks Arjen

Only thing is a little concerning is that it says the contacts are only rated to 5amps I would have thought a whole house would normally draw a bit more current than 5 amps ?

[Hereinthailand]

A couple of years ago the gov decided people should invest in solar and grid tie it to help with power shortages and sell the excess power back to the grid, I was ready to invest and go for it but lo and behold along comes the ministry of commerce that decided you would be a power producer and needed the correct licensing from them first. That was the end of home based solar power production in thailand. 

[Gary A]

About four years ago power cuts happened nearly every day. My small UPS gave me time to shutdown my computer but not much more. It was used a lot and eventually died. I bought a much bigger one. I gave me about a half hour but it too was overused and it also died. I bought two solar panels, a MPPT charge controller, four 65 AH sealed AGM batteries and an inverter. The electric grid has improved a lot, but for the past three weeks or so it has suffered a setback. Now nearly every day the grid shuts down for a few seconds, a few minutes and quite often for a few hours. I'm happy to say that my small system runs my computer, printer, lights and a fan. The system has been trouble free for three and a half years. My computer room is totally off the grid so no worries about lightning strikes, low voltage or surges. The system may never totally pay for itself but it certainly has paid for itself in convenience. I also have a 2,500 watt generator that will run all the house lights, TV's, refrigerator as well as the household water pump. I have a 10 amp circuit breaker isolated with a double pole double throw switch that even my wife knows how to operate safely. I really don't worry about the grid outages. I'd like to expand the solar system but we have too many trees.

[Crossy]

It's actually amazing how little power is needed to make life livable.

 

As little as 1,000 Watts will run some low-energy lights, the fridge, a couple of fans and (of course) the TV and a PC. Life can be lived pretty well normally.

 

Compare that with no power whatever ...

 

EDIT We are currently consuming 10A @ 203V (2,030 W), no aircon but all the house lights are on (along with a couple of TVs and 3 PCs), big family get-together downstairs so loads of fans running.

 

[Pib]

1 hour ago, Crossy said:

It's actually amazing how little power is needed to make life livable.

 

As little as 1,000 Watts will run some low-energy lights, the fridge, a couple of fans and (of course) the TV and a PC. Life can be lived pretty well normally.

 

Compare that with no power whatever ...

 

EDIT We are currently consuming 10A @ 203V (2,030 W), no aircon but all the house lights are on (along with a couple of TVs and 3 PCs), big family get-together downstairs so loads of fans running.

 

Come on, Crossy!!....let's show some love for those in-laws downstairs....it's hot....let them turn on an air con.  

[Gary A]

The cheap Chinese inverters have a cooling fan. Since the inverter is only a couple of meters from where I sit, it was irritating. I managed to fry my 600 watt inverter by feeding into it from a grid tie inverter. It was my fault and other than that, the system has had no problems. Anyways,  the replacement inverter is a 1,000 watt and the cooling fan rarely runs because of the relatively low load. I used my spare 2,500 watt inverter after I fried the 600 watt unit. That  inverter cooling fan never ran. I also have a spare 40 amp charge controller. Since my 12,000 BTU inverter air conditioner only runs during hot days, I'd like to buy another battery bank and a couple more panels to run that unit. Here upcountry, it cools down to a comfortable temp at night.

[Crossy]

1 minute ago, Arjen said:

We are on 60A first CB (the knife type) We have seldom a higher usage then 20A, and an average usage from around 3.5A, over 24 Hours measured.

 

Yeah, we average about twice that, 7A averaged over a month. We're on a 15/45 meter, 50A incomer, it's never even considered opening.

[Naam]

On 5/20/2016 at 10:39 AM, Arjen said:

On 5/20/2016 at 10:33 AM, johng said:

  On 5/19/2016 at 7:23 PM, Crossy said:

Yup, low voltage is all too common an issue.

Is there some sort of low cost equipment that can automatically sense low voltage (say anything under 150 volts) and isolate the house until mains voltage returns to a more normal level ?

yes. Is called a 'Phase Protector' you can set the voltage at what a contacter opens and closes (NO and NC contacts) and the time the contacter is activated after returning to normal. Around 1.200 Baht. Edited May 20, 2016 by Arjen

what's the maximum amp load the 1,200 Baht gadget can handle?

[Naam]

1 minute ago, Arjen said:

5A

i thought as much as my setup was "slightly" more expensive (3-phase, max 50a per phase).

 

 

 

[Naam]

2 hours ago, Arjen said:

I am afraid I do not understand you.

i am afraid i misunderstood the switching power and that there is an additional relay.

[Naam]

4 hours ago, Arjen said:

1. I can believe from many people, include myself they make such a mistake. But not from you! I also do not see wires connected to the phase protector what can carry 50A?

 

2. My guess is that those big three contacters are controlled by the phase protector? And then, when one phase is lost, should not go all three phase have to go off? (probably not when you do not have equipment running on three phases?)

 

1. being a retired physicist i am still an apprentice far as "sparky science" is concerned. got most of my knowledge from Crossy and assistance from knowledgeable TV-members as well as my assistant.

 

2. correct! i have two 3-phase gadgets which are used manually and monitored when in operation. therefore cutting all phases when one phase fails or has a brownout below the capacity of my stabilisers would be extremely unwise.  

[Crossy]

5 hours ago, Arjen said:

My guess is that those big three contacters are controlled by the phase protector? And then, when one phase is lost, should not go all three phase have to go off? (probably not when you do not have equipment running on three phases?)

 

I believe Naam has (sensibly) got his system effectively configured as three single-phase installations, with no 3-phase equipment. The loss of one phase simply means he loses a 3rd of his power.

[Naam]

2 hours ago, Crossy said:

The loss of one phase simply means he loses a 3rd of his power.

the PEA seems to prove that i tried to shoot pigeons with artillery. no brownouts and no phase loss in my area since nearly eight months. as mentioned already my three stabiliser beauties are bored and plans to install a generator are on the back burner.

[Crossy]

Just now, Naam said:

the PEA seems to prove that i tried to shoot pigeons with artillery. no brownouts and no phase loss in my area since nearly eight months. as mentioned already my three stabiliser beauties are bored and plans to install a generator are on the back burner.

 

Cue three days of all 3 phases at 140V

[Naam]

Just now, Crossy said:

 

Cue three days of all 3 phases at 140V

shall i send my stabilisers by PM or email attachment?