Electrical advice for an A/C, anyone?

Cantaloulou

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Feb 19, 2008
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I used to live in Santiago and consumed an average of 300Kwh/month (?10Kwh/day). Since I moved to La Romana my average consumption has doubled to almost 600Kwh/month (?20Kwh/day).

After reading many posts here, I started writing down my meter numbers daily. During the day I was using about 1Kwh every 2 hours... Therefore I should have an average of 12Kwh/day not my current 20Kwh/day...

My husband suspected theft so for a few nights we wrote down the meter before going to bed and then again in the morning and low and behold, we averaged 1.35Kwh per hour!!! But after flash inspections at various times in the middle of night, we found nothing suspicious... The ONLY difference in appliances between Santiago and La Romana is one 3.5kilo inversor and an extra fan!

What we suspect now is a faulty installation of our wall A/C (220V/12,000 BTU model)??? Is this a possibility??? Actually it is installed on a 220V line but is it possible to install it on a 110V line? If possible, does it make a difference? Any advice?
 

Cantaloulou

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Feb 19, 2008
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knew that

I am well aware of the price increase. But that does not change the consumption level in Kwh, it changes my bill amount...
 

jrhartley

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Sep 10, 2008
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could it be your batteries....mine were overcharging themselves at an alarming rate at one time.
 

Cantaloulou

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Feb 19, 2008
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don't think so...

I don't think so since the consumption would be pretty much the same all day were it a problem with inversor. As it stands, it peaks at night after we go to sleep and use the A/C...
 
Sep 22, 2009
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220 and 110 come in on the same line. problem is the AMPS that a 12,000 BTU AC pull would leave nothing for the rest of the house.

Watts=Amps x Volts.

Unfortunately, the power comes in DR (aside from nice neighborhood like Piantini and Naco, etc.) low. For example, if you took a Fluke and measured your outlets, you would see 110 may register as 96 sometimes and 120 something at other times. The 220 generally never hits 220, but more like 198-20X.

That is why you need a voltage regulator to work in conjunction with your inverter. The regulator is a tranasformer, much like the inverter, but steps up or steps down the voltages to a safe level for your household equipment. If you have a 3.6K inverter, ity is recommended to adjoin a 5K regulator.

Please see a licensed electrician to verify these data for your repspective situation!!
 

Cantaloulou

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Feb 19, 2008
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So if I understand you well Gringobiz, you are explaining to me that since my house probably does not receive 220V like it probably should, the AC is pulling alot more power? Thus, almost double from my apartment in Santiago where I lived in a sort of gated apt complex which based on you post would have provided better power thus my AC was consuming less in Santiago? I'm not anywhere near knowledgeable in electricity so forgive me if I didn't get it right...

Based on your example, my freezer says on the side that its 115V x 5 amps = 575 watts (which is 0.575 Kwh???).
 

bigbird

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May 1, 2005
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Cantaloulou;796358[B said:
What we suspect now is a faulty installation of our wall A/C (220V/12,000 BTU model)??? [/B]Is this a possibility??? Actually it is installed on a 220V line but is it possible to install it on a 110V line? If possible, does it make a difference? Any advice?
It is possible but the A/C would not work.
 
Feb 7, 2007
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Based on your example, my freezer says on the side that its 115V x 5 amps = 575 watts (which is 0.575 Kwh???).

Your freezer is pulling a lot of juice...

0.575 kW = wattage
0.575 kWh = consumption, when device works for one hour

That is absolutely correct


To the OP: Check how many hours per day you run A/C. To me, your Romana meter reading is correct.

The A/C itself will consume about 0.9 kWh in "smart saver" mode or 1.2 kWh in "full blast" mode, on 12.000 BTU unit (5.5 amps is the rated current). I know because I have one in the office. I have seen about 10 models before buying the one I have, and practically all have the same amps +/- 0.2. The one in my bedroom is 18.000 BTU and consumes 1.4 kWh in "smart saver" mode.
 

wuarhat

I am a out of touch hippie.
Nov 13, 2006
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I used to live in Santiago and consumed an average of 300Kwh/month (?10Kwh/day). Since I moved to La Romana my average consumption has doubled to almost 600Kwh/month (?20Kwh/day).

After reading many posts here, I started writing down my meter numbers daily. During the day I was using about 1Kwh every 2 hours... Therefore I should have an average of 12Kwh/day not my current 20Kwh/day...

My husband suspected theft so for a few nights we wrote down the meter before going to bed and then again in the morning and low and behold, we averaged 1.35Kwh per hour!!! But after flash inspections at various times in the middle of night, we found nothing suspicious... The ONLY difference in appliances between Santiago and La Romana is one 3.5kilo inversor and an extra fan!

What we suspect now is a faulty installation of our wall A/C (220V/12,000 BTU model)??? Is this a possibility??? Actually it is installed on a 220V line but is it possible to install it on a 110V line? If possible, does it make a difference? Any advice?

If you're 240VAC A/C was connected to 120VAC the first problem you noticed would not be the price of the electric bill. I tried to find some power consumption numbers on a 12000BTU unit and after half an hour I found a 6000BTU unit that uses 560 W (LG LP6000ER 6000 BTU Window Air Conditioner - Reviews, Best Prices and Product Information at BizRate). So it’s very reasonable that you’re A/C unit would consume a kilowatt or more and therefore the discrepancy in your measurements (0.5 KW in the day 1.35 KW at night). It’s possible that part of your consumption in Santiago went on someone else’s bill or went unbilled.

If you were to do any further investigation the Kill a Watt can be an invaluable device for troubleshooting consumption problems. However, you would need two of them and to fabricate a special cable for a 240VAC appliance.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000RGF29Q/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00009MDBU&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1HD83APXYAVX055XEDH8
 

Cantaloulou

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Feb 19, 2008
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Wow!!!

Wow, such great information, thanks all! Now, I realize that perhaps I got lucky in Santiago because from info provided here I see that 1.35Kwh is the norm for my 12,000BTU unit. I checked on the appliance itself and found this:

Rated volt: 220V
Cooling current input: 5.5A
Rated power input: 1550W (so 1.55Kwh) which is pretty darn close to the meter usage I have noted!!!

wuarhat: I checked out that Kill A Watt EZ Electricity Usage Monitor and it seems super!!! Seems thought they only ship to the USA. But I'll look into it further...

Gringobiz: any idea on the RD$ price (to a dominican) of that 5K regulator you talked about? Also, does the use of a regulator eliminate the need for expensive power surge bars???

Rubio: Actually, my freezers (I have 3 on a separate meter) don't use more than 8Kw/day for all three!!! I had a 4th one a Farco and just that alone used 10Kw/day, needless to say I got rid of it!!!

Thanks!