My new house.....

[jacko 8,822]

Received my first electric bill for the house in the Soi Siam Country Club area. I can't figure out the math, I can only read the numbers. My Thai GF can't figure it either. It is straight from the utility.

 

Seems straight forward in parts, bear with me.... .

 

Meter today minus meter previous = 727 units consumed...OK

 

A mystery charge of 1979.94 baht with a 'per' number of 0.0000

A second charge of 621.15 baht, per unit number of 0.8544, that works out correct for 727 units.

 

A 7% tax on these to give my bill of 2783.17 baht for the month...ouch.

 

This mystery charge of 1979.94 baht...is this 2.73/unit.....?

 

I snuck a look at the neighbours bill, his 490 units seemed to be 2.600/unit for the mystery charge at 1274.15 baht, and a matching 0.8544/unit for the secondary......differs.

 

I thought perhaps a fixed monthly charge plus a per unit component constituted mystery charge, so did a y=ax+b calculation, but this didn't seem to work as I got a negative fixed charge.

 

Can't get sense over phone, don't want to traipse to the office in Banglamung....too analy retentive to just pay up and shut up...anybody looked into this?

Edited June 21, 2006 by jacko

[mbrucie 0]

If you multiply a unit by 0.00 the answer is Zero. Basic Math...No Booleen algebra here.

 

Brucie

[jacko 8,822]

If you multiply a unit by 0.00 the answer is Zero. Basic Math...No Booleen algebra here.

 

Brucie

And thank you Mr 'Nothing Better to do trying to bump up his posts tally specialising in the bleeding obvious'.

 

You are in the wrong forum, someone here is asking for advice and information.

[Gary 4,119]

Received my first electric bill for the house in the Soi Siam Country Club area. I can't figure out the math, I can only read the numbers. My Thai GF can't figure it either. It is straight from the utility.

 

Seems straight forward in parts, bear with me....   .

 

Meter today minus meter previous = 727 units consumed...OK

 

A mystery charge of 1979.94 baht with a 'per' number of 0.0000

A second charge of 621.15 baht, per unit number of 0.8544, that works out correct for 727 units.

 

A 7% tax on these to give my bill of 2783.17 baht for the month...ouch.

 

This mystery charge of 1979.94 baht...is this  2.73/unit.....?

 

I snuck a look at the neighbours bill, his 490 units seemed to be 2.600/unit for the mystery charge at 1274.15 baht, and a matching 0.8544/unit for the secondary......differs.

 

I thought perhaps a fixed monthly charge plus a per unit component constituted mystery charge, so did a y=ax+b calculation, but this didn't seem to work as I got a negative fixed charge.

 

Can't get sense over phone, don't want to traipse to the office in Banglamung....too analy retentive to just pay up and shut up...anybody looked into this?

 

 

It appears that you have used 727 KWH. That's a lot of electricity. The easiest way is to divide the total bill by the KWH used. 2783.17 divided by 727 equals about 3.83 per KWH. When I was renting the landlord charged 5 baht per KWH so you are getting a direct rate.

 

The mystery charge is probably the fuel surcharge and the VAT is just normal. The electric rate here is cheaper than most of the industrialized countries.

Edited June 21, 2006 by Gary

[Eneukman 1]

Thanks, Gary - I've been wondering what all these figures on my electric bill meant. I can understand the 7% VAT but the others were pretty meaningless.

 

Alan

[Gary 4,119]

One thing I forgot to add is that the Thai government also has a sliding rate. Unlike the US where the cost per unit decreases for higher useage, here the cost increases. The more you use the higher per unit cost.

[jacko 8,822]

One thing I forgot to add is that the Thai government also has a sliding rate. Unlike the US where the cost per unit decreases for higher useage, here the cost increases. The more you use the higher per unit cost.

Yeah I know I have used a fair bit of power. I have a large living room and it gets hot in there in the evening when my tilac wheels out the spicy food!

 

I know the rate is fair compared to the west, and of course I can divide total bill by consumption to get an idiots approximation.

 

The 'sliding rate' is probably the reason I cannot figure it out or get a linear correlation. I was just looking to manipulate my consumption to get the best out of the way it is charged, or wondered whether there were various packages, depending on expected usage, like you get on the mobile phones.

 

I tried for a few days not to use AC...but June is not the month for it, and I have too much insulation on my midriff!

 

Thanks for the feedback.

Edited June 22, 2006 by jacko

[Gary 4,119]

Yeah I know I have used a fair bit of power. I have a large living room and it gets hot in there in the evening when my tilac wheels out the spicy food!

 

I know the rate is fair compared to the west, and of course I can divide total bill by consumption to get an idiots approximation.

 

The 'sliding rate' is probably the reason I cannot figure it out or get a linear correlation. I was just looking to manipulate my consumption to get the best out of the way it is charged, or wondered whether there were various packages, depending on expected usage, like you get on the mobile phones.

 

I tried for a few days not to use AC...but June is not the month for it, and I have too much insulation on my midriff!

 

Thanks for the feedback.

I don't want to hurt your feelings but I happened to take a look at my last bill. I used 264 units at 628.31 plus the fuel adjustment rate of 200.22 plus VAT at 58 baht for a total of 886.53. The only air con we use is in the bedroom but we run a very large refrigerator and also a smaller one. The hot water shower at least four time a day is the other major user. When the shower is on the electric water pump must also run.

[Eneukman 1]

One thing I forgot to add is that the Thai government also has a sliding rate. Unlike the US where the cost per unit decreases for higher useage, here the cost increases. The more you use the higher per unit cost.

Sounds like a novel way of trying to persuade you to lower your consumption.

 

Alan

[jacko 8,822]

Sounds like a novel way of trying to persuade you to lower your consumption.

 

Alan

 

I don't want to hurt your feelings but I happened to take a look at my last bill. I used 264 units at 628.31 plus the fuel adjustment rate of 200.22 plus VAT at 58 baht for a total of 886.53. The only air con we use is in the bedroom but we run a very large refrigerator and also a smaller one. The hot water shower at least four time a day is the other major user. When the shower is on the electric water pump must also run.

 

 

Or a clever way to hit the falang, who else uses aircon!

 

My feelings aren't hurt, I only wonder whether something was going on before I moved in! In reality I have all of the consumption you mentioned, plus a few more hot showers, AC in bedroom all night long, and AC in large lounge all evening. Plus a Tilac who leaves lights on everywhere and the fridge door open...sod the money but my beer gets warm....

[dbric36 0]

I am confused about what the big deal is. I would think that if I lived there I would run the AC 24/7 as I do here at home inthe summer. If I couldn't afford that I couldn't afford to like there.

[Gary 4,119]

I am confused about what the big deal is. I would think that if I lived there I would run the AC 24/7 as I do here at home inthe summer. If I couldn't afford that I couldn't afford to like there.

It's not a matter of whether you can afford it. I'm interested in conserving energy and I hope I live to see the day we can tell OPEC to eat their fucking oil. I don't drive a gas guzzler SUV. I drive a fuel efficient diesel pick up truck that gets 14/15 kilometers to a liter of fuel. I also have a four wheel drive pick up that is quite useful up here in the boonies. It gets about 11 kilometers per liter so it sits in my garage the vast majority of the time. My name will be on the order list for the first made in Thailand diesel car that is available. If I still lived in Jomtien, I wouldn't own a car or truck. I would pay a higher price for bio diesel if it were available here. I have a 500 liter water tank on a small tower to warm in the sun to save a little electricity.

[jacko 8,822]

I am confused about what the big deal is. I would think that if I lived there I would run the AC 24/7 as I do here at home inthe summer. If I couldn't afford that I couldn't afford to like there.

What an idiotic statement........

 

If one conserves expediture, one can afford to live 'there'.

If one is a spendthrift, perhaps not.

Perhaps you are fortunate to be very rich......and it is irrelevant to you, but not everyone is. Also as someone mentioned conservation is a good idea.

 

Besides that is nothing to do with what the thread is about, is this 24/7 AC blowing on your head?

Edited June 23, 2006 by jacko

[dbric36 0]

I am not rich but I do make enough to not have to worry about my electric bill which here in the states is alot more than in Thailand. I am just saying that if I had to worry about such a small amount it wouldn't be worth living there for me.

[jacko 8,822]

I am not rich but I do make enough to not have to worry about my electric bill which here in the states is alot more than in Thailand. I am just saying that if I had to worry about such a small amount it wouldn't be worth living there for me.

Living in Thailand has very little to do with living in USA. Different items are expensive here relative to the overall cost of living. What you call a small amount, my electric bill, about 3000 baht is 75% of an unskilled workers monthly salary. (for example a hotel room cleaner working 6 days or 48 hours per week in Pattaya....) it might well be a lot more than a rural farm worker gets in a couple of months.

What is a small amount to you is certainly not to a Thai, and also perhaps a consideration to an expatriate living here. One of the keys to living here is to adjust and stop comparing prices to home, but if you are on a limited budget consider prices relative to the locale. I would say the main reason for people to retire here is that their money goes further.

 

Anyhow, the way energy prices are going, you may well be giving due consideration to your energy consumption soon, even if polluting Canada and South America is no consideration.

[Owen` 2]

Data point. A typical window installed air conditioner is 6000 BTUs.

 

There is some SEER efficieny parameter for such things and it somehow translates that BTU number into kilowatts consumed. If we pick a number of 10 for the SEER, I think that translates into 600 watts = 0.6 KW.

 

Run it 24/7 for a month of 31 days and you get 424 KWHrs. You got two units, and you don't run them 24/7. Sounds like 727 is credible.

 

Might want to look into higher SEER units?

[Gary 4,119]

I have a relatively wealthy friend who lives in Jomtien. He runs his air conditioners 24/7 and his bill was averaging 7,000 baht per month. I know it is non of my business but I felt he was wasting a lot of electricity. We were talking over a few beers and I told him that his old air conditioners were not efficient. To his credit he bought a new high efficiency main unit and his bill dropped to 5,000 baht per month. He is now building a new house and has used the new cement blocks that have insulating foam in the center. He obviously doesn't care how much his electric bills are but he is now thinking about conservation. He has also gone so far as to put a wind potentiometer on a pole to determine if a wind generator would be viable.

[jacko 8,822]

Data point. A typical window installed air conditioner is 6000 BTUs.

 

There is some SEER efficieny parameter for such things and it somehow translates that BTU number into kilowatts consumed. If we pick a number of 10 for the SEER, I think that translates into 600 watts = 0.6 KW.

 

Run it 24/7 for a month of 31 days and you get 424 KWHrs. You got two units, and you don't run them 24/7. Sounds like 727 is credible.

 

Might want to look into higher SEER units?

You make some good points although I was originally just trying to figure out how the damned bill was calculated.

 

The AC units are certainly not new and likely inefficient, and Thai houses are not generally built too well, poorly sealing single glazed windows for example. Another point is dark roof tiles baking all day and then ceiling tiles that probably keep the roof cavity hot, making the house pretty warm in the evenings. Even with all the windows open I seem to be several degrees hotter than outside. I need to close up the windows at night so the AC needs to be on!

 

I can live with 3000 baht electric bills, they will reduce in the cooler seasons.

 

If you ever see the lunatic spraying water on his roof at 6pm, you might be passing by my place! Water is cheap and plentiful at the moment.

[kolobos 0]

I have a relatively wealthy friend who lives in Jomtien. He runs his air conditioners 24/7 and his bill was averaging 7,000 baht per month. I know it is non of my business but I felt he was wasting a lot of electricity. We were talking over a few beers and I told him that his old air conditioners were not efficient. To his credit he bought a new high efficiency main unit and his bill dropped to 5,000 baht per month. He is now building a new house and has used the new cement blocks that have insulating foam in the center. He obviously doesn't care how much his electric bills are but he is now thinking about conservation. He has also gone so far as to put a wind potentiometer on a pole to determine if a wind generator would be viable.

A wind generator...surely a solar panel would be a much better and guaranteed alternative?

 

FWIW, My electricity bill is between 1750-2700 per month and I have A/C units throughout the house and a pump on my pool that is constant for 12 hours a day.

 

Have no idea what the 'extra' is on the elec bill...with it being your first, maybe some form of connection or was it the previous occupants unpaid bill?

 

Dont be a procrastinator and get down to the office!!!

Edited June 24, 2006 by kolobos

[Owen` 2]

If you ever see the lunatic spraying water on his roof at 6pm, you might be passing by my place! biggrin.gif Water is cheap and plentiful at the moment.

 

In the western US temps get very high. Unlike LOS, there is very low humidity. Evaporative coolers (which can't work in humid areas) can reduce temps by 25 degs and there is no power consuming compressor to drive electric bills up. No matter. Irrelevant.

 

But there's another thing done in the west US that may have some potential for you.

 

The attic . . . the space between the dark-colored, shingled roof and the interior ceilings does indeed get very hot and spikes to 120+ degs F. One thing that some have done is to install either on the roof itself or near where the roof and walls intersect (soffets) a really small, solar powered fan that blows outward. It slowly, continuously sucks the hot air out of that roof/ceiling gap and blows it outdoors, while the outdoor air replaces it from elsewhere around the circumference. The solar cells can be no more surface area than a piece of notebook paper and the fan is similarly nothing, but it can reduce that temperature by 15 degs and your house will stop being hot at night.

[pentire 1]

Bloody Hell, it seems to me that you gentlemen living in Thailand are spending much more money on keeping cool than many of us are on trying to keep warm in the depths of the UK winter.

Are Thai people billed for their electricity at the same rate as Frank the Farang ?

[torrenova 644]

I questioned that mysterious charge as it didn't seem to be derived from a formula based on the units used. If I have the time, I may go to the office.

[BobbySanuk 0]

Bloody Hell, it seems to me that you gentlemen living in Thailand are spending much more money on keeping cool than many of us are on trying to keep warm in the depths of the UK winter.

Are Thai people billed for their electricity at the same rate as Frank the Farang ?

In most apt. buildings each apartment has their own electric meter. The cost of electric is added to my monthly rent due statement. Cost per KWH is 5 Baht. My building is a mixture of Thais and Falangs. I am positive we all pay at the same rate.

[Gary 4,119]

Thai or farang doesn't matter, all pay the same. Most landlords add on their own little divvy to add to their bottom line. The same with the water.

 

BobbySanuk pays a flat five baht, Jacko is billed direct and at his last usage he paid 3.83 baht. My last usage was less so my rate was 3.36 baht.

 

264 KWH times five equals 1,320 baht. @64 times 3.36 equals 887 baht so the landlord made 433 baht for his pocket if the usage was similar to mine.

[ozboy 31]

Jacko try installing a couple of roof fans,im sure ive seen them over there even if only on some factory/industrial units, they will fit roughly in the space of a roof tile and as hot air rises in the roof space it will escape through the fan space causing the vanes to spin which in turn will pull more hot air out and therefore cooling the roof space which will have an effect inside the house.The air that is pulled out of the roof space will be replaced through gaps under the roof tiles.

oxboy