sparks Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 There are mechanical and electronic meters ... that's all. No solar meters. Most new meters will be electronic, 220 will be electronic and solar upgrades should include electronic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowyco Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 There are mechanical and electronic meters ... that's all. No solar meters. Most new meters will be electronic, 220 will be electronic and solar upgrades should include electronic This is incorrect. It takes a special different digital meter from CFE to credit solar-generated power against the household's electricity usage. Ordinary CFE digital meters do not handle solar system additions well. If you install a solar system and connect it to an existing CFE digital meter, the system does not work right under some common circumstances. A friend did this, installing ten 100W panels on his roof, (1 kW), and connected it to his household electricity system with a grid-tied inverter. When the sun was shining AND the home was using more electricity than the solar panels generated, then the CFE meter worked fine. He then went on a 3 week trip, expecting his solar system to slowly whittle down that 2-month's bill. When the bill came, he owed $3,000 pesos. His previous months bills had been in the $70 - $700 peso range. This proves that CFE's policy on changing to new meter designed specifically for solar systems: It takes a special digital meter to handle solar panels pushing current backwards (upstream) onto the CFE grid. Technology can be confusing - and counter intuitive - so, check with an expert before following internet advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gringal Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 Who did your solar? E2 Sun Energias. Bettina, the local rep, has a table at the Tuesday Market every week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bennie2 Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 snowyo, can i still ave my electric debited from lloyds? or have they stopped that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Saltos Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 The bill you can print from the CFE website now has the barcode and is suitable for payment. I've paid at Walmart and BancoMultiva, neither charges a service fee. The old meters work fine with solar, they simply run backwards when the system is producing excess power. The new digital meter is simply easier to read. I have two digital meters; one for my house which has solar, one for my casita which does not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bennie2 Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 what if someone doesnt have a printer/ computer skills/ computer, old & cant see? are you saying the 2 alternatives are to use online or trip to electric comp? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudgirl Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 Good info SNOWYCO however when you choose a date for your meter reading and you have the opportunity to travel and not be around for your card scan and return home a month later late at night to discover no electric then it is a couple of days, based on CFE connection schedule, to have power restored. I don't even trust the bank as they recently overlooked paying our bill when we were out of the country and the above mentioned scenario is what took place..Soooo now we pay an estimated 5-6 months in advance at CFE and monitor our bi-monthly charges to determine our balance every other month to insure that we have a sufficient credit balance and add more as necessary. Best part so far it requires essentially NO human CFE interaction as we only use the payment machine outside and it prints a receipt showing our deposit..Hopefully this method will continue.. This NEW and "Improved" meter reading and payment system is a sad joke.Truly Unbelievable that any group of sane people could conjure up such lunacy without being an absolute monopoly.. Be aware that the receipt that spits out of the CFE payment machines is printed with the notorious disappearing ink. If you want proof of payment, photocopy the receipt immediately, as the receipt will be virtually blank within a month, even if kept in a drawer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo1 Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 I just got an alert from one of my Mexican friends about the new CFE card; the very small print says that the first bill you pay is for the electricity used AS WELL AS one month's estimate in advance. The amount each month also includes life and assistance insurance with the first two months being free. If you don't cancel this insurance within the first two months, you are stuck paying for it forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Saltos Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 what if someone doesnt have a printer/ computer skills/ computer, old & cant see? are you saying the 2 alternatives are to use online or trip to electric comp? No, you can pay your CFE bill at any bank, Walmart, and OXXO, Soriana, and many other places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo1 Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 No, you can pay your CFE bill at any bank, Walmart, and OXXO, Soriana, and many other places. You can only pay at these other places if you have a bill with a bar code. If not, you HAVE to go to the CFE office. With the new electronic card, you MUST pay at the CFE office. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giltner68 Posted February 28, 2014 Report Share Posted February 28, 2014 Hmm, life and assistance insurance? - might be worth it - or NOT. But with the card, that makes sense to only pay at CFE, you go into a bank and hand them the card and they're going to hand it back with a puzzled look. Maybe eventually card readers in other places will be linked, but no hoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowyco Posted March 1, 2014 Report Share Posted March 1, 2014 To opt out we need the letter explaining our reasons, the SMART card and a voter ID card?(IFE) I have been voting here for over 4 years and have never had a voter's card. What is that and how does one get one? I am going to guess that if you don't have an IFE card, then you are not a Mexican citizen. Only Mexican citizen adults are allowed to get one. The El Horizonte article described the procedures for Mexicans, which means using their best form of government ID. I would expect that you would submit your best form of government issued ID: your passport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lcscats Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 Hmmm than why does my regular service (non solar) digital meter say bidirectional on it? Interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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