BajaNomad

The electric company has penalties for high use?

Gypsy Jan - 2-5-2006 at 06:17 PM

Hi all,

I've been told by a "reliable source" that the CFE (Comision Federal de Electricidad) has penalties for what they deem is excessive electricity use at a location.

This "reliable source" says that he is installing 5 separate meters at a commercial use building under construction.

Could the savvy Baja Nomads please clue me in to this? If this penalty exists, when and under what circumstances does it kick in? Is it strictly for commercial enterprises or does it apply to private home use?

Bruce R Leech - 2-5-2006 at 06:59 PM

it kicks in in stages the more you use the higher the price.

I have 2 meter services here and it helps keep the cost down. but you must try and balance your load on each meter and then together also.

mcgyver - 2-5-2006 at 07:57 PM

The USA has had a similar system for many years. It is called a demand meter. It measures the amount of power you consume at one time and moves a pointer across the dial of the meter, it stays in the highest position of usage, it also records Kilowatt-hours. At the end of your billing cycle the meter reader records this position and returns the pointer to 0, this is the rate you pay for the entire billing cycle for the KWH used. It is actually measuring Amps or starting load, So if you turn on a lot of heavy loads at one time you will pay a much higher rate per KWH than if you spaced them out only putting some on while others are off. I am surprised that CFE does not have them?

Bob and Susan - 2-5-2006 at 08:19 PM

..remember when you could turn the meter upside down and run it backwards?

mcgyver - 2-5-2006 at 08:27 PM

Yep, Remember it well! Now days most meters are remote read and squeal on you at the first sign of tampering, + theft of service is a felony in a lot of places! However a high Gauss magnet will do interesting things to your regular old electric meter, alas the utility companies know all the tricks.

Bruce R Leech - 2-5-2006 at 08:59 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bob and Susan
..remember when you could turn the meter upside down and run it backwards?


that still works on the Mexican meters. but don't get caught.:lol:

vandenberg - 2-6-2006 at 09:17 AM

Lencho

For a normal household it's almost impossible to stay within the subsidized shedule. That's almost like a lightbulb and a fridge, and that's it. The tiered system is nothing new(used all over the world) trying to minimize your usage, but if you have a regular americanised home, you will most likely reach the 3rd tier ,which makes your electicity very expensive, Try $ 800.00 last Aug & Sep, with the air only going from 4 pm. till 7 am. Ouch!!

JZ - 2-8-2006 at 11:23 PM

Before I realized the cost of electric in MX, I ran my AC a good bit. My bill was $1,600 dlrs total for the months of August and September. Ouch!

I should add the house was only used about 1/2 that time!


[Edited on 2-9-2006 by JZ]

bajajudy - 2-9-2006 at 07:45 AM

Our bill runs about $300 per month in Aug and Sept.
Glad someone mentioned the extra meter. We were debating about a separate meter for our new building and that little bit of information made the decision....separate meter for sure.
During those months, I run the a/c in the main house 24/7. And unfortunately our house is bloques. With enough trees around, you can keep your block house shaded which helps a lot.

vandenberg - 2-9-2006 at 08:54 AM

I have a 2 story house with a separate apartment on the first floor, build there for my mother in law years ago. I installed 2 meters, but the electric company refused to hook both of them up. Reason: with 2 meters you would receive the government subsidized summer rate twice. Definitely a no no. Even with the second one in a different name, no dice. One dwelling ,one meter.

Tucker - 2-9-2006 at 10:10 AM

Morgaine, not trying to pre-empt Lencho but my experience in the La Paz area is that ceiling fans are mandantory even if you have A/C. In my 2 story, many windows, I have 3 ceiling fans downstairs and 4 upstairs supplemented by at least 3 stand fans per floor. Moving air is, in my opinion, better than cool air (but cool ain't bad). I'll have to admit that I ran my A/C some last summer, but it's just to damned expensive.

Bruce R Leech - 2-9-2006 at 10:30 AM

insulation is very important. but what is more important is to make sure the son dose not shine in any windows. and to make sure that all door and windows have good seals. these thing will work your system to death. when you stand outside your front door and fele cold air coming out around the bottom of the door you have a problem. hot air rises and cool air falls so seal thing good down low.

with ceiling fans you can raise the thermostat about 5 degrees and still have the same comfort. that is a big savings.

you can tell how good of shape you are in by how often the compressor kicks in on your AC unit. I can run mine for about an hour in the morning and the house will stay cool until about 4 pm then I run it for about an hour more and it will hold until about 10 pm bed time then I run it for half an hour and it is good for the night.

JZ - 2-9-2006 at 10:39 AM

What temp do you set your AC to.

Bruce R Leech - 2-9-2006 at 11:13 AM

82 day 84 night . with a fan to keep air moving it is very comfortable

bajajudy - 2-9-2006 at 01:11 PM

My a/c's are set on 26 day and 27 night. I, too, have ceiling fans that turn constantly in the summer. I did read somewhere that if you leave a fan on in a room for extended periods of time, the heat from the fan itself will make the room hotter....i. e. dont leave the fans on when you are not home. I must say that I doubt these people have ever walked in to a concrete house in the summer in Baja that had not had at least a fan turning.
I also keep all my shades down on the sunny side of the house and am considering putting in some kind of awnings over those windows.
I have minisplits and they work great.

Dave - 2-9-2006 at 01:47 PM

Jan, look at your electric bill. It will tell you what the kw cost is and where the breakage is.

JZ - 2-9-2006 at 02:05 PM

My neighboor is an AC guy and he claims running fans w/the AC is counter productive.

Tucker - 2-9-2006 at 03:17 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by JZ
My neighboor is an AC guy and he claims running fans w/the AC is counter productive.




He doesn't live down here, does he?

JZ - 2-9-2006 at 03:38 PM

Lives in SC on the mainland, as humid or more so than Baja.

bajajudy - 2-9-2006 at 05:23 PM

JZ
Could you get your neighbor to explain that to you? I have always thought that fans and A/C dont mix but have always gotten voted down on turning off the fans.
Also, does he live in South Carolina, you want to talk humid......or where is SC.

Bruce R Leech - 2-9-2006 at 06:36 PM

the heat from the fan motor dose ad to the lode of the AC but being able to set the thermostat 5 degrees higher an still have the same comfort more than offsets the small extra load.

JZ - 2-9-2006 at 07:43 PM

Am in LA now, so you'll have to wait a couple weeks!

JZ - 2-24-2006 at 05:58 PM

Larry: that post is really useful. It explains a lot. What regions does that apply to. Baja or also the mainland.

Pompano - 2-25-2006 at 07:54 AM

zippo...nada...nothing..no utility expense. We are a solar-powered home. Plan for tomorrow's shutdowns.