What's your electricity bill ?

[Thad E Ginathom]

My wife grew up in this heat: she likes to be cold. I grew up shivering and I like to be hot! But I really cannot stand to live in a fridge. To me, the main purpose of AC is de-humidifying rather than cooling.

By the way: painting a heat reflective coat on your terrace helps a lot!

It is good to turn things off, yes, but I have noticed that the tubes that blow are not the ones we use the most, but the ones that get turned on and off the most --- and our T5 tubes are over Rs100 each. Apparently, it only makes sense to turn a tubelight off if your are not going to turn it on again for at least 15 minutes.

I don't know what the formula is for fans (it is going to take more current to get the thing up to speed from off) but another thing to remember is that a fan on in an unoccupied room serves no purpose at all except to waste electricity.

I read many posts about using CFL. Stop buying them! The are going to poision the earth with mercury after the millions of used ones are dumped in landfills over the next many decades. The children who sift garbage are the ones going to suffer obviously, but the mercury is also going to seep into groundwater and travel miles into you drinking water supply. Not to mention the water life suffering poisioning silently because they cannot talk English. Vested interests are promoting CFL sas a greener alternative.

But what alternative is there? Especially as India has been wedded to the fluorescent tube since ...I don't know when.

Should we go for LED lighting? Is it a practical, affordable alternative yet?

 

[The_Falcon]

@ Thad E Ginathom

+1 For AC as a dehumidifier. I agree..but god knows what the ladies want to crank up(down in this case...lol) the AC...my mom and wife both always lower the temp down to the lowest possible setting when its put on.

You can also put in Industrial Aluminium sheets in your false ceiling...that reflects almost 100% of UV rays.

True CFLs being poison bulbs for the earth. Western countries have a system of disposing these off..while we dont..which is dangerous as pointed out by gobble. Mercury is one of the most poisonous substances for us human beings.

LEDs being affordable - its a comparative term. One man's afford-ability maybe other persons luxury. Even I was planning to use LEDs but they are expensive for me @ 1000 Rs. for a 1 watt bulb. The LED rope lights maybe work out cheaper. When I inquired he said 250-350 Rs/mt. but I dont know how much one ill need..and it will have to be indirect..as LED light is very intense.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Too expensive for me then, too.

I take your point about the difference in waste disposal between here and "developed" countries --- Hmmm... one of their techniques is to ship it to india!

Apart from the buit-in electronics, though, isn't CFL just a fluorescent tube in a small package? Just about every Indian home I have been in in the last ten years is lit by fluorescent tubes, whereas the major source of light in my mother country, until recently, was incandescent lamps. In UK, CFLs are replacing those incandescents, but here they are just more fluorescents, so just more of the same.

I don't know about this --- which is why I am posing the points. Please do correct me!

Yes, I do know how nasty mercury is (well, as a layman, not an expert). I am not at all happy that any of it was ever put in my teeth, for a start!

Ours is a small house with low ceilings, so no false ceiling, but the waterprrof/heat-resistant coating on the terrace has been very successful: I can walk comfortably on it bare-foot, when I am hopping up and down on other surfaces. I read somewhere once, that the best thing Californians could do to help against global warming would be to put a coat of white paint, even ordinary white paint, on their flat roofs.

It also makes your house show up really well on Google Earth

 

[gobble]

Too expensive for me then, too.

I take your point about the difference in waste disposal between here and "developed" countries --- Hmmm... one of their techniques is to ship it to india!

Apart from the buit-in electronics, though, isn't CFL just a fluorescent tube in a small package? Just about every Indian home I have been in in the last ten years is lit by fluorescent tubes, whereas the major source of light in my mother country, until recently, was incandescent lamps. In UK, CFLs are replacing those incandescents, but here they are just more fluorescents, so just more of the same.

I don't know about this --- which is why I am posing the points. Please do correct me!

Yes, I do know how nasty mercury is (well, as a layman, not an expert). I am not at all happy that any of it was ever put in my teeth, for a start!

Ours is a small house with low ceilings, so no false ceiling, but the waterprrof/heat-resistant coating on the terrace has been very successful: I can walk comfortably on it bare-foot, when I am hopping up and down on other surfaces. I read somewhere once, that the best thing Californians could do to help against global warming would be to put a coat of white paint, even ordinary white paint, on their flat roofs.

It also makes your house show up really well on Google Earth

I like the Google Earth benefit. Now we have to worry about how our home will look from outer space!! :lol:

You are right about Mercury in tube lights. I think CFLS contain less than the tubes. But it is possible increased adoption of CFL and elimination of regular bulbs might create an even worse situation.

Regards

 

[Pratters]

What should be the approx bill for a month for a 1.5 tonne AC running 24 hours apart from other minor charges of the household like fridge, lights etc. Main cost would be for AC. I am getting a bill of 6000 in one month and 7000 in the other.

 

[ashishkesarwani]

After reading all the posts till now I seriously envy you guys as my bills are on huge side and during summer season when 8 Tonns of AC run for 12 hours in my house hold, and being on the top floor of an apartment building also adds to the heat so I get a bill around 30-35K bi-monthly. In my bedroom too it sometimes gets close to 38 degrees if the room is closed for the entire day and my entire Penthouse feels like an oven. These days when the day temperatures are close to 45 degrees here so we are not left without an option but to keep ACs on for close to 14-16 hours which adds further to the bills.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Phew!

You either need to keep everybody in fewer rooms, and use less ACs at once, or get that heat-reflecting paint on the terrace above your heads. Or both.

The paint really does make a difference, but don't expect miracles: it doesn't shift your house to a different climate zone!

Heat resistant glass might help too. If that can't be done, how about sun film on the existing windows?

The less heat gets in, the less work those ACs have to do.

I wouldn't like to be in your house in a power cut!

 

[srikarkav]

Phew!The paint really does make a difference, but don't expect miracles: it doesn't shift your house to a different climate zone!

Hahaha Thad, thats a good one.

By the way my bimonthly bill is around 1.8k.Mostly beacuse of the A/C,Geyser,iron box and the HT stuff.

cheers,
sri

 

[avidyarthy]

Dunno why you are sticking to ACs in this 45 deg heat.

Looking at it from a practical point of view, I would suggest that you consider using 'desert coolers' during most of the summers. Here, summers would mean very high temperatures and low humidity .... that is on nowadays up north. Evaporative cooling is far superior in such a context ..... and there would be a shockingly heavy drop in power costs too (for space cooling) ... around 1/3rd your existing bills.

Yes, after the rains you would have no other alternative, since latent heat in air can only be removed by ACs. Desert coolers are effective for removing sensible heat only. But then, in a place like Delhi, close to 3-4 months are with dry heat only. Part July-August-September-part October is the period when you have have to seriously consider only ACs.

After reading all the posts till now I seriously envy you guys as my bills are on huge side and during summer season when 8 Tonns of AC run for 12 hours in my house hold, and being on the top floor of an apartment building also adds to the heat so I get a bill around 30-35K bi-monthly. In my bedroom too it sometimes gets close to 38 degrees if the room is closed for the entire day and my entire Penthouse feels like an oven. These days when the day temperatures are close to 45 degrees here so we are not left without an option but to keep ACs on for close to 14-16 hours which adds further to the bills.

 

[avidyarthy]

At Rs. 5.00 per unit ... thats a fair bill you are getting ... provided you are running the 1.5 TR AC 24X7.

What should be the approx bill for a month for a 1.5 tonne AC running 24 hours apart from other minor charges of the household like fridge, lights etc. Main cost would be for AC. I am getting a bill of 6000 in one month and 7000 in the other.

 

[prakash_ajp]

Nice thread!
We used to pay around 700-800 every two months. Six months back we thought it was too much and took some measures (I have mentioned below) to cut down the power consumption. For the few months the electricity bill is hovering around 350 RS bimonthly.

1. All lamps in the house are CFL and none 'ON' when not needed.
2. All night lamps are 1 watt LED.
3. We stopped using geysers (Yes, cold water shower including my 1.5 old son!)
4. Ours is a duplex house. So, to avoid AC we sleep upstairs during winter and in ground floor during hotter seasons. To help things, we live in a locality where there are plenty of trees around and fresh air and very close to Bangalore.

As of now, the following contribute to the electricity bill:
1. a 250 ltr fridge (24 hours)
2. A chimney (avg 3 hours a day)
3. Microwave oven (10 minutes a day avg)
4. Top loading washing machine (1 hour a day avg)
5. a 300 watt CRT TV (avg 1 hour a day max, but this month might go up due to football and tennis)
5. A home theater set-up with 250w projector, 400w receiver, a DVD player, a powered sub woofer (entire set-up used for about 30 hours a month avg)
6. Two laptops (one used for 10 hours avg and the other 1 hour a day and neither 'ON' when not in use)
7. Mixer (600w, 5 min a day avg)
8. Grinder (4 hours a month avg)
9. CFL + 2 fans used for 5 hours a day avg
10. Last but not least - a power-guzzling 850VA inverter/UPS)

There is a plan to go for grid-connected solar. But that is going to cost us a lot of money and depends on how helpful TEDA is.

 

[ashishkesarwani]

Phew!

You either need to keep everybody in fewer rooms, and use less ACs at once, or get that heat-reflecting paint on the terrace above your heads. Or both.

The paint really does make a difference, but don't expect miracles: it doesn't shift your house to a different climate zone!

Heat resistant glass might help too. If that can't be done, how about sun film on the existing windows?

The less heat gets in, the less work those ACs have to do.

I wouldn't like to be in your house in a power cut!

We are a joint family so your first suggestion is not possible as the ACs are on during the night time only, also this being a rented accomodation I won't be able to do any thing for the betterment against the massive heat. By the way I also have desert coolers installed in all the rooms along with the ACs as we all the know the power situation in Faridabad, Haryana, our society does have a power backup solution but that doesn't work with the power line /Acs when the Genset is running. Come to think of it that if we run the ACs during the day time too then I might have to pay almost double of what I am paying now, so desert coolers really helps in saving some electricity.

 

[gobble]

Dunno why you are sticking to ACs in this 45 deg heat.

Looking at it from a practical point of view, I would suggest that you consider using 'desert coolers' during most of the summers. Here, summers would mean very high temperatures and low humidity .... that is on nowadays up north. Evaporative cooling is far superior in such a context ..... and there would be a shockingly heavy drop in power costs too (for space cooling) ... around 1/3rd your existing bills.

Yes, after the rains you would have no other alternative, since latent heat in air can only be removed by ACs. Desert coolers are effective for removing sensible heat only. But then, in a place like Delhi, close to 3-4 months are with dry heat only. Part July-August-September-part October is the period when you have have to seriously consider only ACs.

Someone mentioned earlier in another thread that desert coolers damage expensive audio gear due to high humidity they create.

Regards

 

[avidyarthy]

It would indeed if you prefer to keep the main room door and all windows closed. The RH would jump beyond 70% that way.

If sufficient easy air exit points are made available within the room, then the RH increase would be minimal ........ Desert coolers work on 100% fresh air mode unlike the ACs which are predominantly 90% re-circulation air.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

No dry heat here... wet heat all year --- although we do not have the extremes of parts of the North, we are never without high humidity. We cannot use any cooling system that increases that humidity.

There used to be traditional, non-powered cooling, for example, a thick matting (coire?) hung across the windows and kept wet. I have only seen that once (it was at an advocate's office -- I'm sure such a place needs every possible precaution against too much hot air!) and I don't know how anyone could have lived with the increased moisture.

Yes... I still prefer Chennai climate to my cold, wet, miserable mother-country weather (and that's just the summers!).

 

[gobble]

No dry heat here... wet heat all year --- although we do not have the extremes of parts of the North, we are never without high humidity. We cannot use any cooling system that increases that humidity.

There used to be traditional, non-powered cooling, for example, a thick matting (coire?) hung across the windows and kept wet. I have only seen that once (it was at an advocate's office -- I'm sure such a place needs every possible precaution against too much hot air!) and I don't know how anyone could have lived with the increased moisture.

Yes... I still prefer Chennai climate to my cold, wet, miserable mother-country weather (and that's just the summers!).

You should run a Sauna or a Turkish bath for a living .. you will really enjoy life then ..

Cheers

 

[Hiten]

There used to be traditional, non-powered cooling, for example, a thick matting (coire?) hung across the windows and kept wet. I have only seen that once and I don't know how anyone could have lived with the increased moisture.

Not Coir, but vetiver (Khus) grass mats. Used for its aromatic quality. Sprinkled water kept temperature down and smell of khus grass had calming effect on people. Kind of aromatherapy. In Ancient times people had different approach to the solution of a problem.
Info on Vetivers Physiological Actions here ...
Vetiver
and interesting article here...
Vetiver-The Oil of Tranquility
Sorry for being off topic.

 

[avidyarthy]

Yes... I still prefer Chennai climate to my cold, wet, miserable mother-country weather (and that's just the summers!).

The heat + dust + sweat + the accumulated muck in ones hair = strong body odour ..... you still love the Chennai hot-humid weather?? Love the stink, eh?

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Not in May!

And I admit to using AC most nights and on many of the summer-month days too, but what I most hate is being cold, and "cold" has come to mean anything below 15C. That would be considered a lovely spring day in UK! Even more, though, I would not like the climate of your city, with its extreme range over the year: I would be spending a huge amount on heating in the Delhi winter!

hitensitapara: Thanks. Fascinating, and not really off-topic at all. By far the greatest use of the cost of electricity, which we are talking about, seems to be climatic. If we did not use ACs or fridges, our bills would be in the hundreds rather than the thousands.

 

[vramak]

The heat + dust + sweat + the accumulated muck in ones hair = strong body odour ..... you still love the Chennai hot-humid weather?? Love the stink, eh?

Shouldn't be a prob if you take a bath everyday.