Electricity cost expectations

[Harleysrock]

AIR COND. THIS TIME OF YEAR?

You're kiddng right? I guess it's cause I just moved here but for some people WINTER HERE IS REALLY HOT!!! Am i the only person who sweats non stop???!!!!
I can't wait to install an A/C unit!!!!
Luckily we pay only 630 pessos a month for Electricity, if not I would being going around in the dark ;-)

 

[MJSantoDomingo]

Harley - we still use the ACs, just not as much as during the hot months - it is mild now - but during the summer, there can be nights when it is so hot that you just can't sleep - and those are the nights you are very thankful when you have AC. I could not be here without AC. It just needs to be used when needed.

 

[Mauricio]

We pay about 5000 pesos per month and summer and half of that in winter. Three bedrooms with airco, only using two, and not the whole night, in summer about 6 hours, in winter about 3 hours. And another 2-3 hours in the day when the smallest one sleeps. They are inverter airco s with helps a lot SEER 21, 12000 BTU, 15m2 each. The other room has a 18000 btu conventional airco, but that one is hardly used.

Solar heater, gas dryer, electrical water pump, electrical washer (used a lot). One Tv and a few computers. All lightbulb s are low consume or LED and I do bother everyone to switch of lights.

One or two months the bill came 8000 pesos, until I found out the new maid would leave the ironing machine on the whole day, just switching the temperature to the lowest level. If the red light would turn off, for her the ironing machine was off. Since I told her to not do that anymore it went back to normal levels. We live in a 230m2 house, I was afraid the bill would come higher than 10k, but it went actually down a lot compared to what I paid in the apartment I used to live in.

 

[NotLurking]

Mauricio, the 12k BTU with SEER of 21 is just excellent! This unit uses ~572 Wh or 0.572 kWh. In the summer you have and average usage of ~8 per day. For the summer months your usage is 240 hours at 0.572 kWh = 137.28 kWh. At a rate of RD$10.86 you're only spending RD$1490.86 on AC for the month! Very good! In the winter you're down to about 5 hours per day of use and 150 for the month for a total cost of RD$931.79 per month. In both cases I account for the 2-3 hour baby nap time use.

NotLurking

 

[MJSantoDomingo]

What brand/model - and how much are the 12k BTU with SEER 21? And where did you get them? Or - are they available almost anywhere? Because maybe one step for me is to get some more efficient ACs! (And to watch the hours they are used is another step.) Can you get them with built in/programmable timers??

 

[LTSteve]

It seems to me that you are spending an exorbitant amount on your electricity costs. What else other things besides A/C are you running continuously. Is your hot water and oven gas or electric? Hot water can drive up a bill if it is constantly being heated and the temperature is set way to high. You should be paying at the most half of what your bill is now. I would start to suspect that another apartment or two is running off your electric service. I would definitely have that checked out.

LTSTeve

 

[NotLurking]

I can tell you high SEER AC are not cheap & most should be programmable. Here is a sampling:
M12YH-MW12Y3H-MR12Y3H - 12,000 Btu/h 21 Seer Friedrich Single-Zone Mini Split Heat Pump System
12000 BTU 21 SEER Mitsubishi Ductless Air Conditioner MSYGE12NA - MUYGE12NA - Eco Air and Water

And SEER 20
Amazon.com: Klimaire 12,000 Btu 20 SEER, Energy Star, Ductless Mini Split Inverter Air Conditioner & Heat Pump, 220 volt, Ion Generator Air Purifying System, Active Carbon Filter, Evaporator Self Cleaning Function, Follow me Comfort Function on Remot

NotLurking

 

[NV_]

Ok - I have complained about how much the electricity bill is each month - and I want to know if I am right.
We have a three bedroom in SD. AC in each bedroom used only at night when sleeping - though try to not to during the cooler months of the year. Yes - sometimes the kids watch some TV after school - and everyone watches some TV at night. Sometimes the kids forget and leave a light on in a room, but not too often. But the electric bill has been around 16,000 pesos a month for a long time - sometimes a little higher, sometimes a little less. But that is roughly $400USD a month for electricity. I looked through other topics that talked about electricity costs - and it seems that I may be on the high side. So - I would like to know what other people are paying for a similar 3 or 4 bedroom place in SD or any other city area for comparison. If others are paying dramatically less in a similar situation, then I will have to find the problem.

That sounds about right for 3 AC units. AC, water heater, water pumps, electric cooking applianes are where your 16k a month is getting used. Dont waste your time complaing to edesur.... its just that, a waste of time. If you complain enough, they might send someone out to "check" your meter and then say its fine. Complain some more and they might change the meter out and then you have a crap shoot on your hands whether the new meter will charge you the same or more..... it will never charge less... thats not how they work here...

I usually pay around 9-10k a month with 1 ac unit, nights only. For some reason, the last few months have come in at around 6500.... going to shut up now before I jinx it and end up with another high bill... lol

 

[MJSantoDomingo]

The hot water heater is electric - on a switch on the wall - and turned on 20 minutes before showers and off after.
It better not be getting turned on at any other time! But yes, I will look into this.
All lamps are CFLs. The washing machine is a large American style washing machine. No dryer (just clotheslines).
And I will look around for any "odd" wires tapping into the feed.

 

[MJSantoDomingo]

NV_ thanks. The only "electric cooking" is a microwave, which is not used very often.
But yes - I completely understand about it not being worth the effort to complain to edesur. I do not want them to "find" a way to charge the gringo more

 

[Mauricio]

I bought them at Pochy Leromazzo for 37500 each. Brand: CIAC, ch43ax012-h3h1c (appears to be Seer 20, not 21!), supposed to be the low cost brand of Carrier. I probably could have saved 30,000 pesos in total buying conventional, but estimated I would earn that back in 1 to 2 years. They have a timer that switches them off automatically at the time I want.

One of the things I like most is that they cool the rooms perfectly without blowing a breeze and without making noise.

 

[MJSantoDomingo]

I can tell you high SEER AC are not cheap & most should be programmable. Here is a sampling:
M12YH-MW12Y3H-MR12Y3H - 12,000 Btu/h 21 Seer Friedrich Single-Zone Mini Split Heat Pump System
12000 BTU 21 SEER Mitsubishi Ductless Air Conditioner MSYGE12NA - MUYGE12NA - Eco Air and Water

And SEER 20
Amazon.com: Klimaire 12,000 Btu 20 SEER, Energy Star, Ductless Mini Split Inverter Air Conditioner & Heat Pump, 220 volt, Ion Generator Air Purifying System, Active Carbon Filter, Evaporator Self Cleaning Function, Follow me Comfort Function on Remot

NotLurking

The SEER 21 units are showing a website price of $1500-1600 USD - does that mean that they are somewhere around 80,000 pesos if bought somewhere in Santo Domingo? Or even more than that??

 

[NotLurking]

appears to be Seer 20, not 21!

The difference in power usage from SEER 21 to 20 is negligible 571.43 Wh or 0.572 kWh for SEER 21 vs 600 Wh or 0.6 kWh for SEER 20, a difference of about 28 Wh.

NotLurking

 

[MJSantoDomingo]

I bought them at Pochy Leromazzo for 37500 each. Brand: CIAC, ch43ax012-h3h1c (appears to be Seer 20, not 21!), supposed to be the low cost brand of Carrier. I probably could have saved 30,000 pesos in total buying conventional, but estimated I would earn that back in 1 to 2 years. They have a timer that switches them off automatically at the time I want.

One of the things I like most is that they cool the rooms perfectly without blowing a breeze and without making noise.

OK - good - that price is a lot more reasonable. Yes, more expensive than the "normal" split AC units - but I agree, it should be worth the savings over time. I like that they have a timer! And cooling without blowing a breeze could be nice for a change.

 

[NotLurking]

The SEER 21 units are showing a website price of $1500-1600 USD - does that mean that they are somewhere around 80,000 pesos if bought somewhere in Santo Domingo? Or even more than that??

I think that in DR it would cost about RD$60 - 70k. These web prices include import tax and profit markup. These units will come here direct from china at slightly cheaper duty or perhaps none at all plus profit markup.

NotLurking

 

[NotLurking]

I forgot to mention that appliances destine for DR are usually cheaper because the have to meet less stringent standard than the US and the quality of items bought here usually reflect that.

NotLurking