Ok, after crunching numbers I think we have come up with a "livable" solution, although it still doesn't put us comfortably in the safe zone of usage. Essentially, we need to keep our usage under 200 kW/h per month, which roughly comes out to 6.67 kW/h per day to keep within the constraints of the 1B tariff. That is pretty daunting! I decided to take a gamble and go purchase an energy-efficient tower fan, in hopes of that combined with out ceiling fan and the slight breeze would keep the bedroom cool enough during the day that I don't drip sweat onto the keyboard as I work. At night, we can use the AC to sleep comfortably. We picked up a 40" tower fan with a 40 watt rating. The basic plan is to use AC for 6-8 hours at night, and use the tower fan the remainder of the day. From my best calculations, that will put us at around 7-8 kW/h per day. So, while we still have to pay some "excess" kW/h I believe that keeps us within the range to prevent the disqualification of the subsidies during the summer months. And after spending over an hour in here this afternoon, the room stays a lot cooler with the tower fan. Of course, not as cool as the AC, but that was overkill anyway. Also, I think I found [part of?] our power bleed -- after following your advice, V, one of the ceiling fans in the living room seemed to be drawing considerable power (for a fan) when off. I disconnected the hot wire to the fan and that stayed the power consumption with everything else off. I am doubtful that alone could be responsible for the inconsistencies in the math/actual usage, but it definitely won't hurt It's funny, because in the US we routinely had $200 - $250 USD electricity bills in the Winter, but it was so common, I never really thought about it. A little government incentive though, and I'm all over keeping us within the tariff range! Thanks again for all the help.
Good work, to find that short. Now, to test tonight to see if your neighbors may have found a way to save on their electricity. Here's a website which reproduces a Playa elec bill tariff DAC for July to Sept, 2007, in which the consumption was a total of 2318 KWH for the bimester. It'll catch anyone's attention who isn't already aware of what can happen. http://movetoplaya.com/2007/09/15/electric-bills-in-playa-del-carmen/ I'm with you, as long as I can manage to keep the consumption in line I'm all for a system that encourages even those who could pay more to be aware of their usage, and conserve. The document at- http://www.cenerqroo.gob.mx/doctos/tarifas.pdf -page 6, has a table (perhaps a little out of date, since it's for '08) which shows exactly what happens to the rates at different levels of consumption, for the different classes of domestic consumers, including DAC, and makes it clear why the bills can get out of hand so easily.
Just a thought... used to happen to us when we lived in Okinawa when I was growing up... if the power companies run a little light on their voltage.. like running at 105 instead of 110-120 your appliances soak up the juice much faster than they normally would. They still run fine, just use more electricity than normal. We ended up getting power transformers for our larger appliances to balance the power between the plug and the appliance to reduce usage. Don't know if that is happening there, could even be that at night when everyone is home the lines just can't keep up. But might be worth the check to see the power level coming in. Jamie
About losing the subsidy, and being reclassified DAC, it looks as if that occurs automatically once the 12 month running average consumption exceeds the allowable maximum for each tariff class. It also appears that the tariff class, and the amount of the subsidy you get, is set based on a region's average temp. Benito Juarez Municipality, where I live, is a couple of degrees warmer in the summer, on average, than Playa del Carmen, and in a different tariff class, 1C (rather than 1B). Therefore, it gets a more generous allowance for electricity before DAC kicks in. The difference is significant- 1700 KWH verses 400 KWH allowed per bimester, as Coby has called my attention to. It's not hard for us to stay under 1,700 but staying under 400 would be a challenge. We do all the obvious things, like dressing lightly, indoors; using the a/c at the warmest comfortable settings and lowest fan speeds; opening up the apt whenever the temp is tolerable with fans, only; and, turning off the fans when we're out of a room (as fans cool people, not rooms). We avoid setting the refrigerator, and freezer, to cooler settings than is necessary to preserve the food, as CFE advises that refrigerators are the big, silent consumers of electricity in the average home. One other thing we've done is to get a coffee carafe, so we can turn off the coffee maker as soon as the coffee is brewed. Sounds obsessive, I know, but I'm sure the net reduction in consumption as a result of these small measures is not insignificant. ___________________ Coby, I thought of one other thing worth checking- for resistance at the plugs. It's also easy to check. Run an appliance that uses a lot of current, like a hairdryer, for about 30 seconds in each electrical outlet in the apt. Each time, pull the plug and immediately feel the prongs to see if they are warmer than they should be. If they are, it may mean there's too much resistance at the plug. This can be cured, often, by turning off all the current to the apt; then, removing the outlet covers and disconnecting the leads. The contacts, and lead wires can then be cleaned, using emory paper, and reconnected.
If the people who lived there, before you, ran their usage into the upper bracket, you are going to be paying that rate, no matter what. Always something to check before renting around here.
Well, we were too naive to have requested such information However, we lucked out big time. The previous 3 bills worth of electricty were left in a kitchen cabinet -- not a single month was over 100 kW/h. So yeah, we caught a big break. At V: I ran the "neighbor test" twice -- nothing out the normal, though. At Jamie: I'm convinced this is our problem. After becoming obssesive about the whole situation (thanks for the warning V!), I did a test this weekend on the fridge and the AC we use in the bedroom. I shut off everything in the house except for the appliance tested, and we ran it for an hour (Laura was about ready to kill me ). The result was that the fridge was using less energy than I calculated (about 24 kW/h per month vs 30 kW/h per month) and that the AC in our bedroom was using much, much more. It's 500 watt and we run it on settings: Low Cool, Speed 3 (out of 10). I estimated it to use 360 kW/h per month, but based on the readings the other night, it is much, much closer to 600 kW/h per month!!!! Ouch So the moral of the story is: I really, really wish we had tariff 1C. I'm sure that it may be hotter in BJM than in Solidaridad -- but 1300 kW/h a bimester worth of electricity more?? The end result is that we will try to use our AC as little as possible until it is cool enough to forgo it completely; and pray that we can stay close enough to the limit that our average won't bust it until that time. I think, we will be ok, but only time will tell now. Thanks to everyone, so much, far all of the information here! For the most part, every aspect of our lives is simpler and cheaper here; electricity is the only exception and I'm really glad I made the original post. Otherwise, I wouldn't have figured out how expensive electricity could be until our next bill!!! So, thanks again.
Coby - We have to pay for cooling here, but not for heating...so that makes a difference too. Your electric bill might be higher here than back in the US but there is no heating bill at all. I think I used to pay around $1400 USD a year to heat my house in Colorado so that a big bill that I'm not paying here.
Coby, you wouldn't have been the first to have had that kind of shock around here, just when they thought they had their costs under control. One lady, new to Cancun, was afraid her dog would be hot during the day while she was at work, so she left her a/c on 24 hours a day; and, because the dog had fur, she thought 22 degrees celcius would be about right for him. Both she, and the landlord, got a shock when it came time to settle up!
Hey Coby, For the expensive calls to the parents in Jalisco, you should get them a Magic Jack. Many of my Canadian friends in Cancun use MJ almost as a local phone and call each other virtually for free. I bring some from the states regularly and have a few available for 700 pesos each if you need one quick. I make a few bucks for the service provided. You can send me a Private Message if you want. Vonage is another option for you. Calls to Mexico land lines are now free with the Vonage service, so with a Vonage line here, you can reach land lines without long distance fees.
RG: Yes, thank god! Surprisingly, we've been using very little AC for the last week and it doesn't bother me at all anymore (Laura thinks she is melting...) I'll be glad when it starts to get cooler at night, though. Bring on the Quintana Roo winter! Where we lived in Missouri, we had about 6 months worth of low electricty bills (the spring and fall) but then yes, the summer was expensive and the winter was outrageous. TJ: Thanks for the offer! Unfortunately, Laura's folks don't have internet access, so a magic jack is a no go for them. Vonage, on the other hand, could work. I'll check into that. And if I do need another magic jack down here (which is possible), I'll let you know.
