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Getting out of DAC


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The big users of electricity are any sort of pump, the fridge and freezer and anything that heats by electricity.

Do you have a pool pump that runs many hours a day?

A pressurized water system for the house and irrigation?

An old model fridge or freezer?

I have a Kill-a-Watt device that measures usage, voltage etc. by device (eg. the fridge). PM me if you want to stop by and pick it up.

SunFan 

 

 

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I assume that the CFE bill is in the landlord‘s name, and that the previous tenants were heavy users of electricity.  As such, their consumption put the house in the dreaded DAC rate structure, where it will remain until reduced power consumption is maintained for some long period of time; maybe a year.  That can only be changed by a change in the “ownership“ of the account.  Your landlord would have to agree to such a change, but might hesitate, since the quick departure of a tenant would create problems with getting it returned to his name.  So, you might just have to be frugal with the kilowatts and have patience.

Good luck.

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5 hours ago, SunFan said:

The big users of electricity are any sort of pump, the fridge and freezer and anything that heats by electricity.

Do you have a pool pump that runs many hours a day?

A pressurized water system for the house and irrigation?

An old model fridge or freezer?

I have a Kill-a-Watt device that measures usage, voltage etc. by device (eg. the fridge). PM me if you want to stop by and pick it up.

SunFan 

 

 

Checked all that. Cut the pool pump down to 1 hour a day and have an older fridge, but other than that we're stumped. We've even stopped using the dishwasher. Three conservation minded adults are still recording over 14 kilowatts per day! Way too high.

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50 minutes ago, ManxMan said:

Checked all that. Cut the pool pump down to 1 hour a day and have an older fridge, but other than that we're stumped. We've even stopped using the dishwasher. Three conservation minded adults are still recording over 14 kilowatts per day! Way too high.

Go with your original plan - a good electrician to check everything.    You can start if you like by making sure everything is turned off or unplugged, and then go and check the CFE meter for 1 to 2 hours to see if any change.    If so, time to start checking wiring and to make sure your house is the only one connected to your meter....yes it happens.

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We just got our bill in the new format.  We’ve averaged around$1000 ps per billing period for the 12 years that we had our home. This periods bill was over $2300 and kicked us into DAC. I have no clue what happened as we haven’t had any extraordinary power consumption.

Is their a way to disput your bill with CFE? 

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7 hours ago, ManxMan said:

Checked all that. Cut the pool pump down to 1 hour a day and have an older fridge, but other than that we're stumped. We've even stopped using the dishwasher. Three conservation minded adults are still recording over 14 kilowatts per day! Way too high.

To isolate what is sucking all that electricity, turn off your main breaker. Not the one at the street by the meter, but the one on the electrical panel in your house. Check the meter. If it's spinning, someone is sucking off your electric. If it doesn't move, turn your breaker back on and turn off EVERYTHING that runs on electricity. That means you have to unplug the electronics, electric toothbrush, everything that has a little red light even when the device is turned off, unplug the fridge, etc. Then have one person stand at the meter and watch it as you systematically, one by one, turn each thing on again. If they see the meter suddenly starting to spin rapidly, they shout- "that's it!" 

You could also do this with each individual circuit breaker, as one circuit may be the problem, as opposed to an appliance.

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there are actually three types of solar systems available that I know of.

Tank/tubes for house hot water - cuts way down on gas consumption

mats/tubes for pool heating - eliminates gas consumption

plastic/electric grids for household electric - can eliminate CFE bills

I find all three hugely effective here

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1 hour ago, HarryB said:

there are actually three types of solar systems available that I know of.

Tank/tubes for house hot water - cuts way down on gas consumption

mats/tubes for pool heating - eliminates gas consumption

plastic/electric grids for household electric - can eliminate CFE bills

I find all three hugely effective here

I will be getting an 18 tube system. Seems larger since it’s only my wife and myself plus occ. visitors but the house is very large. The idea of electric panels intrigued me but our bills are very small so that will have to wait. I have changed all my lighting systems to the new bulbs

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15 hours ago, Paco Loco said:

We just got our bill in the new format.  We’ve averaged around$1000 ps per billing period for the 12 years that we had our home. This periods bill was over $2300 and kicked us into DAC. I have no clue what happened as we haven’t had any extraordinary power consumption.

Is their a way to disput your bill with CFE? 

At the bill amounts you mention, you have likely been right on the edge of DAC for all this time.    Any small increase in consumption would have easily pushed you into it, thus doubling your bill.

Check the kWh of consumption, DAC = averaging 500 or more per 2 month bill at the lakeside tarifa schedule.

Also:

1 - has your CFE meter been changed from a dial type to digital?    If so, the same amount of use on a slightly slow mechanical dial meter could register higher on a digital meter.  

2 - options assuming no CFE meter issue are to reduce consumption or you can add 2 to 4 solar PV panels and have bills of 200 pesos per 2 month bill going forward.

 

  

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10 minutes ago, Jreboll said:

I will be getting an 18 tube system. Seems larger since it’s only my wife and myself plus occ. visitors but the house is very large. The idea of electric panels intrigued me but our bills are very small so that will have to wait. I have changed all my lighting systems to the new bulbs

Hot water system sizing is more about the # of users and how much hot water is used, than the size of the house.     We have 2 pp h/h with 30 tube, 340 liter systems using a bathtub regularly and a lot of hot water laundry.      Some are happy with half of that to support just showering and other basics.    Extra capacity is great to have as the tanks are well insulated and so the larger ones especially can last through a couple of days without sun , cutting down on the need to go to a gas backup.

Here's the really neat thing:  unlike any other kind of appliance, car, etc a larger solar hot water system doesn't cost more to operate than a smaller one, just a bit more upfront.   In fact, just the opposite - it saves you more $$ by having more capacity and thus using the gas backup from little to none of the time.

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Something to keep in mind about those, though, the bigger ones are seriously heavy when full of water.  Make sure your roof can support it without too much stress.

Are you still selling those tankless hot water units? 

Also have you found an instant hot water unit available locally that can operate consistently with lower pressure and flow?  These supposedly do:  http://excelonlinestore.com/gas-heaters/tankless-whole-house

I'm planning on bringing one of these down on my next trip up north because I'm fed up wit spending $40-50 per month on the grossly expensive  propane here to heat some water and run a stove.  We just don't have a decent location for those bulky solar hot water units, unfortunately.

As regards the OP I would definitely shut down everything in the house and see if the electric meter still turns.  Have a friend who discovered wires connected to their electric meter buried in the wall.  They were supplying the house next door.  Something is clearly off to be getting such big electric bills.  And you can't keep you pool clean running the filter only one hour per day.

 

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The largest 30 tube system works out to about 900 pounds total, which is really not much at all for these masonry roofs....like having 5 people standing on it and actually less weight / ft 2.    Most of these roofs are built well enough to put another level on top of....always good to check of course.

Kruger and Bosch tankless units both work really well as backups with solar hot water as the primary.     Kruger updated their line for solar a year or two ago (to handle hot input and to switch automatically when needed so as to have seamless operation), and Bosch has so many models it is hard to keep track of, >> they do have models in their line that are designed for low pressure / tinaco style water supplies, in addition to working with pressurized water systems.

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I have been keeping track of my CFE use since I moved into this house 18 months ago. It is always around 5.5 kwh a day. Tinaco only, no pool, no watering system, fridge, propane stove, washer, dryer drum, tv is on for 2 hrs a night and laptop is on all day...etc.

This is a heads up if you are using an electric heater and the reason why I'm putting in 5 solar panels just so I can use the heater about 60 days a year and reduce the rest of my CFE use to nothing.

That ONE heater in the bedroom uses 8.5 kwh a DAY and it has a thermostat. I made a note of when I started using it and waited patiently for the CFE bill to arrive to assess the damage. Solar is going in tomorrow. Those portable propane tanks  for the portable propane heater are just gettin' too heavy to shlepp around.

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On 1/17/2018 at 8:50 PM, mudgirl said:

In case anyone doesn't know, small appliances which heat up very hot very quickly, are huge energy sucks. Think hair dryers, irons, toasters, and toaster ovens. If you are concerned about your high CFE bills, that's one way to try to cut it back. I.e. start making your grilled cheesers in a pan on the stovetop, rather than using a toaster oven.

Also, I can't believe how many people think that leaving everything plugged in and on, only uses "a tiny bit of electricity". If you have an electric toothbrush that just stays plugged in even when it is fully charged, and your TV, DVD player, and other electronics "on", meaning the little red lights are on, rather than shutting down completely when not in use, and leave your computer on overnight, and cell phone and laptop chargers plugged in when not needed, all that stuff adds up. Not an enormous amount, but could be enough to put you over the line into the dreaded DAC.

Really, the appliances that heat up are using more electricity than those that don't?    That means my hotplate consumes more than my phone charger?    Live and learn eh?  

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2 hours ago, Jreboll said:

Size of the house does matter. One of our showers is about 40 ft from the heaters so at the end of a shower a lot of hot water remains in the piping. 

 

Yes, in that regard that is correct, a 40 foot length of 1/2 inch pipe holds about 1/2 gallon or 2 liters, a 1 inch pipe, about 1.2 gallons or 6 liters, and 3/4 in between.    

How big a factor this is depends on how many times a day it is being used; also, if there is an automatic backup in place, then that water in the pipe coming from the solar doesn't get wasted, and you get the 1st hot water quickly.     The system then switches over to solar after that first 15 to 30 seconds, the idea being to have fast and seamless hot water, 24/7, with still the minimum amount of gas use.

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16 hours ago, mudgirl said:

Check the meter. If it's spinning,

Haven't seen one of those in years.  I.e., check to see if the lil red light is blinking.

Another task would be to discover if a neighbor has spliced into your line.  VERY VERY common here, and it's easier to do than you might think.  

I lived in an apartment complex of 12 units.  We split the CFE bills equally.  Why?  Cause that whole building was spliced into a house a block up the street.  He'd take the bill to the owner, with a small commision, and the owner would divide it by 12. . 

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