Surprising Electricity Bill Increase

[norbra]

Just a thought, Have you cross checked your invoice details against your meter KWH readings?

[Proud Father]

Same here, our bill jumped by over 1/3 from April to May. We never had even close to this rate even when we had extended family stay with us for a month, my neighbors had the same issues.    

[BritManToo]

41 minutes ago, Henricus said:

It`s not only the filters you need to clean everything inside 

Why?

All the dirt going in is supposed to be caught by the filters ....... that's what they're for.

[Road Warrior]

think you have a problem !!  must be a/c or meter !!!  am  retired electrician

[bkk6060]

9 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Why?

All the dirt going in is supposed to be caught by the filters ....... that's what they're for.

So you do not clean yours or you only have a fan?

They get so clogged with dirt it greatly affects the efficiency of the unit.

I get mine done every 6 months. You would be surprised all the gunk they remove.

[BritManToo]

5 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

So you do not clean yours or you only have a fan?

They get so clogged with dirt it greatly affects the efficiency of the unit.

I get mine done every 6 months. You would be surprised all the gunk they remove.

When I pull the front off the interior of my air-con its completely clean inside apart from the filters, and maybe a cobweb. I pull my filters every 1-2 months, when the air coming out doesn't appear as cold as it should be.

There's no mould or damp or dirt inside.

[Pib]

Partial quote of OP

Quote

 

Nothing has changed in my condo: the A/C unit is still the same, I use it (and everything else) pretty much the same as before.  What I find particularly troubling is that the usage on my bill has skyrocketed from an average of 580 units over the previous 6 months to 892 units as of the May bill.  So, it's not that the rates have changed, but the usage has increased around 50%.

 

I'm well aware that we're into the hot season now, and that my AC unit is probably working harder now than it was in December, but this has been true every summer for the past 12 years, and the bills have never been this high.

 

 

I got my KWH usage enter it a spreadsheet going back 10 years.   My billing month runs from the 13th to the 13th...i.e., 13 Feb - 13 Mar.  I live in a two story house, have one A/C that runs 24/7 and another that runs about 12 hours overnight.  I clean the these A/Cs (inside and outside units) twice a year. 

 

Looking at the average for those 10 years, the billing months of Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, and Mar are significantly lower than the remaining 6 months due to weather conditions (i.e., it gets hot and humid).  During the hot & humidity months my electric usage goes up around 30-35%.     And in Apr 2013 when I hadn't completely adhered to my cleaning schedule of the one unit that runs 24/7 (i.e., had not cleaned the outside unit for approx 15 months) my electric usage shot way up.   After I cleaned that outside unit--and boy did plenty of black gunk come out when washing it down--my electric usage immediately dropped to normal usage range.   I have an ampmeter on my main circuit box and took amperage readings before and after cleaning with the one dirty A/C running....immediately after the cleaning it's amp usage droppred almost 50%.  Summary: I had one A/C outside that was just too dirty....cooling fins clogged....outside unit compressor was working overtime trying to cool things....made my electric bill shoot up. 

 

We are now in the hot season....A/Cs must work much harder to keep things cool....and a dirty A/C...either the inside or outside unit...can cause electric usage to jump significantly.

[wgdanson]

1 hour ago, English Engineer said:

As  an aside well worth considering installing a solar system if you live in a house. I have a large house with swimming pool and use air con most of the day. Our bill for the month was 300B.

And the cost of the solar system please?

[snowgard]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

why does my air-con need yearly maintenance (beyond air filter cleaning) and my fridge and freezer not? Compressor and gas is the same, is it not?

Did you ever look where you can refill the cooling gas in a fridge or freezer? You don't want find something. They have a closed system!!! 

[Jeffrey346]

2 hours ago, shaurene said:

I have 3 A/C in my house in Khon Kaen and I get them cleaned on average 2 times a year. 1,000 baht each, well worth it.

Your over paying.. I live in KK and pay B450 per unit. I have it done 3 times a year or when necessary..

[snowgard]

36 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Why?

All the dirt going in is supposed to be caught by the filters ....... that's what they're for.

Take a look at youtube and you will be surprised that the most dirt isn't in the filter.
 

 

[Pib]

46 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Why?

All the dirt going in is supposed to be caught by the filters ....... that's what they're for.

Standard filters only catch larger dust particles.   They do now stop really fine particles and grimy stuff in the air.  Sounds like you live a "very" clean environment and maybe don't use your A/C that much.   

 

I have a wife who is constantly cleaning the house (a clean freak)....we do not smoke....and the kitchen is locate away from the cooled area of the home.  But if don't clean the inside A/C units every 6 to 9 months the cage fan gets grimy...dust/grim builds up on the fan which significantly reduces air flow and cooling efficiency (but increases power usage) of the A/C.

[TGIR]

Let's start this subject over (just kidding).   Look at your USEAGE on the bill as well as the price per kw.  Our usage was substantially higher than previous periods, and the highest of the past twelve months.  I didn't bother to look at the rate per kw or however they measure, the useage total gave me the confirmation as to why our bill went up, which it did, but not extraordinarily.   

 

[Nurseynutcase]

I live in Phuket and for the past two months my electricity usage has shot up from an average of 600 units/month to 800.  Both a/c units professionally cleaned every 6 months and no extra usage on any electrical items.  House cool so no fans needed, only use a/c for sleeping.

Weird

[bkk6060]

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

When I pull the front off the interior of my air-con its completely clean inside apart from the filters, and maybe a cobweb. I pull my filters every 1-2 months, when the air coming out doesn't appear as cold as it should be.

There's no mould or damp or dirt inside.

Ok.

 

I pay 500 b per unit and it takes the guy over an hour to pull it apart for cleaning.  The filter portion is only a small part of his job.

 

But, if you are taking it apart for cleaning sounds like you are doing it right.

 

For the OP, people I know have been reporting the similar type of increases over the past few months.

Never good if that is the case ,but just comparing it to my home country electric is so much less here probably 1/4 of what I would pay back home.

[joskeshake]

In Nong Prue same with electric bill, around 1500 baht more then usual,but I blame it on the heat and use more aircon. Ok if you speak clean aircon, but it was never used before in 2 years, so ?

[Baerboxer]

Noticed an big increase in our just received bill this month.

 

Will wait and see what next months looks like.

[steve73]

It's been much hotter, and more humid, these last few months, and this makes a huge extra demand on your A/C.

 

If the ambient temp is say 30 C and you're used to cooling it to say 27C, then if the temperature rises by just 3 degrees to 33C, the unit has to work twice as hard to cool to the same 27C.. It's actually much worse than this since air at 33C contains much more water vapor, and it uses a lot of energy to condense it.   So just 3C hotter ambient, and your A/C will use more than 2x as much power. 

 

Fridges/freezers usage will increase a little but since they're usually at 0/-15, then there's much less change between 30-33C ambient...unless of course you chose to sit in-front of an open fridge door.

 

I don't use A/C where I now live, as there's always a cooling sea-breeze, and my electricity consumption hardly changes throughout the year.

[kevin612]

Mine 3600, ???? 

[lagavulin1]

22 hours ago, dabhand said:

A number of recent topics on this subject. Here's one:

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1101993-electric-bill-oddities/

 

Am also in Pattaya and the unit consumption has been increasing for me as well.

Feb - 1286

Mar - 1487

Apr - 1638

May - 1975

 

So, really glad that the weather has just turned. I have kept records for the last 6 years and yes, this is not out of the ordinary at this time of year.

 

Don't forget the fridge is the second highest user. That surely worked harder too. Everytime you open the door you flood it with air at 35C or whatever. How are your door seals? 

[oobar]

9 hours ago, BritManToo said:

They've drilled through the wall into the back of one of your sockets.

One of the most common methods of piggybacking in Thailand but still kind of rare.

[ifmu]

if i understood your post correctly then your bill went up 

BUT

what is your cost for each kilowatt ... did your per kw go up also ?

[RocketDog]

On 5/24/2019 at 8:50 AM, BritManToo said:

I pull the filters out myself and clean them, costs 5 minutes of my time.

For cleaning to achieve any efficiency gains either evaporater radiator (inside) or the condenser radiator (outside) wouid have been very dirty /clogged. This wouid be visually evident. If not visually dirty, don't bother to clean it.

 

Unless your inside or outside air is very dirty, cleaning more than twice a year seems excessive and indicative of a dirty environment. A garden hose with power head on the outside condenser is adequate if done regularly.

 

There's really nothing in the outside unit that can be harmed by getting temporarily wet. As long as you cut the power and let the unit dry well for several hours before restarting it there is no risk to just flooding the unit. Every couple of years I take the cover off the unit and clean the condenser with a brush and water spray.

Unless the inside air is also dirty or greasy just removing and rinsing the filters once or twice a year is fine too. Sudden drops in efficiency (abnormally high energy usage) usage) are usually due to low refrigerant levels, slow radiator fans, or clogged radiators.

 

Does the compressor run? Are both fans running normal speed? Is one of the refrigerant lines on the condenser unit cold and frosty and the other one hot? Does the condenser unit fan blow hot air and the evaporator unit blow cold air? If all these things are correct then it's just a damn hot day causing your energy usage to rise.

 

Even if the unit is in top performance hot days will incease usage and billable energy. Duh!

 

Increased energy is measured correctly by the kWh reading, not the bill amount.

 

AC units are fundamentally pretty simple devices with limited, and usually obvious, failure modes. Hence the large number of 'professionals' available here. It's just not rocket surgery.

 

And yes, before anyone asks, I am a rocket surgeon but on TV I play a down and out expat in Thailand.

[funlovinkid]

On 5/24/2019 at 9:55 AM, norbra said:

Just a thought, Have you cross checked your invoice details against your meter KWH readings?

 

Thanks for the thought, I appreciate it.  Yeah, it matches.

[funlovinkid]

22 hours ago, lagavulin1 said:

Don't forget the fridge is the second highest user. That surely worked harder too. Everytime you open the door you flood it with air at 35C or whatever. How are your door seals? 

Thanks for the feedback.  My fridge is newish, a decent brand as well, and the door/freezer seals look perfect.  But I did happen to have it jammed in among a lot of other stuff, with insufficient clearance on the sides and back, so I rearranged some stuff to give it a lot more clearance for cooling purposes.  That, and I'm scheduled for an exterior AC compressor clean, so we'll see if the bill drops next month.

[funlovinkid]

6 hours ago, ifmu said:

if i understood your post correctly then your bill went up 

BUT

what is your cost for each kilowatt ... did your per kw go up also ?

Not to my knowledge - if you read the original post, it's the usage that has increased by roughly 50%, from 580 units on average, to 892 units in the most recent bill.

[funlovinkid]

5 hours ago, RocketDog said:

AC units are fundamentally pretty simple devices with limited, and usually obvious, failure modes. Hence the large number of 'professionals' available here. It's just not rocket surgery.

 

And yes, before anyone asks, I am a rocket surgeon but on TV I play a down and out expat in Thailand.

I think you're referring to rocket science, not rocket surgery, which doesn't make any sense.  Brain surgeon?

[funlovinkid]

On 5/24/2019 at 10:03 AM, BritManToo said:

Why?

All the dirt going in is supposed to be caught by the filters ....... that's what they're for.

Not sure if this is true for all refrigerators, but mine is a closed system, which means that there are no external cooling fins which can collect dirt - unlike the external compressor/condenser unit for an AC system.  The fridge apparently is designed to use the surface area of the sides and back of the refrigerator box to transfer heat into the room, rather than utilizing cooling fins.

 

And, as far as the internal/evaporator AC unit that you refer to above, yes, the removable filters are designed to trap the larger particles, but anything smaller (like fine dust particles) will accumulate inside the metal cooling fins, which need to be cleaned periodically.  During the smoky season (Feb-June), I typically cover my internal AC filters with disposable 3M Filtrete filter material to capture the finer stuff so that it doesn't contaminate the metal fins in the evaporator unit.

[RocketDog]

I think you're referring to rocket science, not rocket surgery, which doesn't make any sense.  Brain surgeon?

Rocket science is old school. Now brain surgery and rocket science are conflated as Rocket Surgery.

Please spend whatever time is necessary for you to keep up with such important matters. [emoji854]

Sent from my SM-G930V using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[rickudon]

Fridge/freezers can use a fair bit of power. We have 2 in the Kitchen and during the day you do not notice them generating a lot of heat, we have windows open so reasonable airflow. Windows shut in mid-evening, when i go for a shower some hours later the heat in the kitchen really hits you, often the fridges are nearly to hot to touch. I have fanned the fridges in really hot weather in the late evening to cool them down. It wouldn't surprise me to find out that those 2 fridge/freezers use more power than our bedroom air-conditioner.