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Surprising Electricity Bill Increase


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18 minutes ago, rickudon said:

fridges are nearly to hot to touch

yes ,  I can remember years ago in australia, we had a Kelvinator fridge .... and the sides were really hot and making the whole kitchen hot.

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I might as well chime in here...I have lived in Pattaya for 2.5 years and last month's electric bill was easily a third higher than any other electric bill I have received...to the point where I was thinking when I saw the figure "something is up with this".

 

I had the air con serviced in January so I dont think it is a issue with the equipment and I was even gone for five of the days of Songkran

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13 minutes ago, Tie Dye Samurai said:

I might as well chime in here...I have lived in Pattaya for 2.5 years and last month's electric bill was easily a third higher than any other electric bill I have received...to the point where I was thinking when I saw the figure "something is up with this".

 

Got mine today, 2,500bht when the highest it's been before is 1,500bht.

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20 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Got mine today, 2,500bht when the highest it's been before is 1,500bht.

But did your actual KWH usage increase proportionally since many people pay different amounts per KWH. 

 

But yea, Apr, May, and Jun bills/KWH usage have always the highest for me here in Bangkok over the last decade....as these are the hottest & humid months....makes A/Cs work hard!

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MAybe out of left field, but do you think there could be anything to overall usage inflating rates? 

 

Maybe like a car, going from 0-10mph is not so bad. Making the leap from a maximum 120 to 130 mph for example could require a lot more power. 

 

When everyone in bkk had their air on full blast that must put a strain and i wonder if the rates could therefore be higher. It would make sense with what people are reporting anyway. 

 

In other words, maybe on a normal month it costs them x to make a kilowatts/hr. On a high usage month maybe it costs them x(1.05) to make a kilowatt/hr. To make up the difference maybe they actually deliver a smaller amount of power but charge for 1kwh. 

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12 minutes ago, utalkin2me said:

MAybe out of left field, but do you think there could be anything to overall usage inflating rates? 

 

Maybe like a car, going from 0-10mph is not so bad. Making the leap from a maximum 120 to 130 mph for example could require a lot more power. 

 

When everyone in bkk had their air on full blast that must put a strain and i wonder if the rates could therefore be higher. It would make sense with what people are reporting anyway. 

 

In other words, maybe on a normal month it costs them x to make a kilowatts/hr. On a high usage month maybe it costs them x(1.05) to make a kilowatt/hr. To make up the difference maybe they actually deliver a smaller amount of power but charge for 1kwh. 

Base rates rarely change.  And the Fuel Tariff is actually negative right now due to lower fuel cost to generate electricity.   You can go the MEA or PEA online electricity calculators to see all associated costs....but these calculators are for those who are not being charged "extra" by a landlord....that is, you are only paying the actual MEA/PEA bill like the account is in your name; not the MEA/PEA bill "plus" landlord profit markup.

 

http://www.mea.or.th/en/aboutelectric/116/280/form/11

 

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I have every bill, water, electric, village tax, internet etc etc from the whole 5 years that we have been here, the unit cost per kwh from Jan last year till today has increased, in Jan 2018 it was 3.65 baht per unit before VAT, today it is 3.97, so a slight increase, my electric bill this month was 573 units, the most we have ever used. But that only accounts for an increase on my bill of about 183 baht.

 

Therefore our consumption has increased, looks like the A/C cleaners will be in on Wednesday to clean the only unit we use, in the bedroom.

 

So yes a slight increase in the unit cost compared to nearly 18 months ago but a huge increase in consumption compared to previous months/years. But it has been very hot the last few months & I cannot be hot in bed.

 

 

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Here are the MEA (electric company for Bangkok) "basic" rates when using more than 150KWH per month.   By basic rates I mean before the Fuel Tariff adjustment which can increase or lower cost (right now it's lowering cost per KWH), meter fee, 7% VAT, etc.   While these basic rates have remained the same for years it does show higher usage during the month moves "part" of your KWH cost into a higher rate.

 

http://www.mea.or.th/en/profile/109/111

 

image.png.b35de25039119a2b368c40b1415591c0.png

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to the OP

 

although this shouldn't matter but what voltage is your mains - it should be 220vac

 

Condo buildings can vary the voltage, I saw an increase in my bill by about 1000baht and my mains increased to 235vac, like I said - on paper this shouldn't matter but it is a grey area

 

I have a power usage monitor and it confirms the usage increase but it is calibrated for 220vac

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5 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Got mine today, 2,500bht when the highest it's been before is 1,500bht.

same

 

just reading here - have they done something to the supply that is skewing mechanical meters - voltage or frequency or both, my supply voltage increased recently to 230-235vac 

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4 hours ago, utalkin2me said:

MAybe out of left field, but do you think there could be anything to overall usage inflating rates? 

 

Maybe like a car, going from 0-10mph is not so bad. Making the leap from a maximum 120 to 130 mph for example could require a lot more power. 

 

When everyone in bkk had their air on full blast that must put a strain and i wonder if the rates could therefore be higher. It would make sense with what people are reporting anyway. 

 

In other words, maybe on a normal month it costs them x to make a kilowatts/hr. On a high usage month maybe it costs them x(1.05) to make a kilowatt/hr. To make up the difference maybe they actually deliver a smaller amount of power but charge for 1kwh. 

power (watts) voltage and current are all directly related - typically the meter measures watts per hour but it is unclear how an increase in supply voltage could affect a meter designed/calibrated for 220vac - I am not clear on this - on paper it shouldn't matter but ………….. ?

 

all I know is that my supply voltage increased these last 3 months from 220vac to over 230vac, right when my bills jumped by 35%

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230v is normal for us here in Bangkok and always has been.  Better to be high than low.  The increase in usage IMHO is directly related to the extremely high temperatures we have had this year, both day and night, continuing long past the normal rainy season start. 

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3 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

230v is normal for us here in Bangkok and always has been.  Better to be high than low.  The increase in usage IMHO is directly related to the extremely high temperatures we have had this year, both day and night, continuing long past the normal rainy season start. 

Yeap...right around 230V here in Bangkok...always has been for the last decade I've lived here....I have a voltage meter on my circuit breaker box....reading 229V right now.

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8 minutes ago, smedly said:

all I know is that my supply voltage increased these last 3 months from 220vac to over 230vac, right when my bills jumped by 35%

That's what happens every year at this time for Apr, May, and Jun because it gets hotter.....more humid.  People get use to their electric bills for Nov thru Mar when it was cooler....little rain....less humid.....A/Cs did not work nearly as hard as they do in Apr, May, and Jun.   

 

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Very informative thread.

 

Visiting my soon to be ex-gf, she refuses to get the ac cleaned. I have asked her multiple times to call someone and I WILL PAY.  I do not speak thai.  She refuses but complains about the bill being 2500 last month whereas others pay 800. 

 

This thread has me worried.....we had an argument recently about the higher price. I was thinking she is trying to triple charge me without showing the bill....but she could be right since she NEVER CLEANS her ac for YEARS.

 

I cleaned the filter for her and the water was black/gray coming off.....one ac filter had 30 dead ants in it for god knows how many years.

 

Anyone else have experiences with arrogant thai gfs who never listen?

 

So what do we conclude?  Are we all being scammed into paying much more on the bill by the company?  Easy to artificially raise the amount used. 

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9 hours ago, DingDongLing said:

Very informative thread.

 

Visiting my soon to be ex-gf, she refuses to get the ac cleaned. I have asked her multiple times to call someone and I WILL PAY.  I do not speak thai.  She refuses but complains about the bill being 2500 last month whereas others pay 800. 

 

This thread has me worried.....we had an argument recently about the higher price. I was thinking she is trying to triple charge me without showing the bill....but she could be right since she NEVER CLEANS her ac for YEARS.

 

I cleaned the filter for her and the water was black/gray coming off.....one ac filter had 30 dead ants in it for god knows how many years.

 

Anyone else have experiences with arrogant thai gfs who never listen?

 

So what do we conclude?  Are we all being scammed into paying much more on the bill by the company?  Easy to artificially raise the amount used. 

Based on several of my Thai neighbors and Thai family members, they never have their A/C cleaned until it's "obvious" something is wrong...like it's cooling poorly....high electric bill....gosh, my A/C must be dirty.   

 

They are of the mindset of "Use Until It Breaks....Stops Working."   The concept of Preventive Maintenance is totally foreign to them.

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We  put a new air con in our bedroom at the start of summer.A Mitusbishi, Mr Slim, Converter model.Our bill has reduced on average about 500 baht per month.The previous air com was also a Mr Slim but not with the converter technology.The salesman for once was right and its whisper quiet.

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Due to the toxic smoke in Chiang Mai we bought a roll of 3m filter cloth from Lazada,put inside inside the air cons.Within 2 weeks all filter cloths were  black and needed replacing.We do our own servicing ,dead easy apart from if you need a gas top up obviously

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How to clean the cage fan---pressurized water.   It does not have to be from a high pressure sprayer....it can just be from your house water pump as long as you have a spray nozzle to focus the water onto the fan.  That's how I've been cleaning my A/C cage fans for a decade now.  I have a pressure wand like the one below and another similar one with a 90 degree curve on the end...I hooked them to my lawn water hose....have a water catchment bag under/around the A/C....and I then spray clean the A/C fins and cage fine....been doing this for a decade now.   I also use the A/C foam cleaner that comes in a can...spray that on the fins and cage fan....let it set for about 15 minutes....then spray wash it.

 

Edit: second image below is my spray wands....hook them to my water hose to spray clean the inside A/C unit fins and fan.

 

image.png.76b7e518dd9ef3d3fb4dec997558349f.png

 

 

image.png.73b9bd518a41faf22a93f4a9089938f9.png

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I recently bought a bigger hand pumped sprayer 5 liters 185 baht from Homepro and used it to good effect on the (outside) compressor unit of my aircon...its much more controllable and makes less mess /floods than when I use the pressure washer...also (almost) impossible to damage the fins with too high pressure...I've yet to use it to tackle the dreaded hamster wheel..but think it will do ok.

P_20190528_125604.jpeg

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I would question how good of a job an insecticide tank sprayer like above could do, especially on the outside unit/compressor where higher pressure is need to truly do a good cleaning.   Would a tank spray accomplish "some" cleaning at low pressure--sure....but doubtful it getting all the dirt/grim in the "outside" unit fins.  

 

Above setup is very low pressure.  Heck, I even tried such a setup years back when cleaning my "inside" unit cage fan and fins....but decided it was way too low of a pressure to clean it good and fast....especially the cage fan....more pressure is needed...at least the pressure of your home water supply/pump.   

 

For the outside/compressor I use a regular water hose spray head so I get plenty of water "volume" and pressure pushing the dirt out of the fins.   And for the inside unit I once again use the home water supply pressure but with the two pressure wands I pictured above since they do a great job of focusing the water spray/getting the dirt out for the "inside" unit without creating a flood.  But for the outside unit, I never use them as more pressure and water volume is needed.

 

 

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13 minutes ago, Pib said:

Above setup is very low pressure.  Heck, I even tried such a setup years back when cleaning my "inside" unit cage fan and fins....but decided it was way too low of a pressure to clean it good and fast....especially the cage fan....more pressure is needed...at least the pressure of your home water supply/pump. 

The sprayer did  an OK job the pressure didn't seem too low..certainly higher than my water pressure as we have no water pump and just about 5 meters of height from a storage tank on the roof ( 7 PSI)

 

I mixed in lots of dishwasher detergent..yes it was slow, didn't time it but well over an hour, many re-fills..but its as clean as I ever saw the "professionals" (cowboys) get it..also didn't get muck all over my walls and kitchen cabinets ( though there was some flooding ???? partially due to me melting )

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