After three months here, I’ve finally got a loose grasp on a major drain on the pocket – power costs.
It’s finally dawned on me – years after everyone else – that running air-conditioning overnight, and during most of the day, is sky-rocketing expenses.
In my defence, it’s set up as a rort, because apartment owners are making a killing by retailing electricity at a profit. So they’re hardly likely to have a word on the ear of power-hogging tenants.
The wholesale rate, which they pay the Government, is 3 baht / unit. They then typically retail it at 5 – 8 baht / unit. At a typical 300 – 500 units / month, that’s anywhere from ฿600 ( baht ) – ฿2500 for whistling dixie.
Being a little slow to catch on, I’ve spent around ฿8,500 per month in the last two apartments. The first, ฿5500 + ฿3000 in power, and the second, ฿5000 + ฿3500 in power. It seemed there was no escape.
But on grilling a fellow NES teacher ( Scott, a quiet but wily Californian ), he pointed out the obvious – it’s the air-conditioning, you marnis.
Experiments have proven this hypothesis – below is an example of the Monkey Brain taking over shows power usage here at the Wiang Walee. Enlightenment happened on July 29.
Power Usage at the Wiang Walee
| Dates | Usage | Av. usage/day | ฿ / month |
| July 17 – July 29 | 400 units | 33 | ฿5000 |
| July 30 – Aug 1 | 50 units | 17 | ฿2500 |
| Aug 1 – Aug 2 | 19 units | 19 | ฿2850 |
| Aug 2 – Aug 3 | 8 units | 8 | ฿1200 |
| Aug 3 – Aug 4 | 14 units | 14 | ฿2100 |
How have I coped with this given the 30+°C heat? I’ve started wearing damp t-shirts and neckerchiefs inside, and I’ve turned the air-conditioning off when I’m out, and during the day.
It’s still too hot to sleep without the air-conditioner. But I’m finding ( from reading, and since confirmed ) that the unit set for about 26° cools enough, and uses way less power.