Thread: Electricity bill

I just got my electricity bill for this month and I had a shock.
For a 3 bedroom apartment, this is way above what I expect.

I know I am not supposed to compare US and Panama, but the bill here is 2 times that of my 2 storey house in US, with central AC on 24/7. In Panama, it is split AC and I only have AC on when we are in the rooms.

But to be fair, the first few weeks, the blinds are not installed yet, that might have jacked up the cooling bills.

I am looking at fans to help wth the cooling. I am changing out all the light bulbs to energy saving ones. Hope that helps too.

For those living in apartments in the city, how is your electricity bill?
(I mention apartments in the city because if you live in more open houses, you may have the cooling effect of breeze.)

Mine is usually around the $120 mark , that's with the A/C on whenever I'm at home.

My friends in PC also complain about the high electric rates. They assumed they would be cheaper in a third world country. They have learned to turn off the air and open the doors on their apt to let the breeze blow through. They live on the 18th floor so the breeze is nice. I think one of the biggest fallacies about Panama is how cheap everything is. That might have been true ten years ago but today it is a misnomer.

So I am not the only one!
I am on a high floor, sometimes the wind howls, sometimes there is none.
I think ceiling fans are the best in simulating natural breeze. But I am renting, so no ceiling fans for now.

Yes, fleeted, I have to agree. PC is definitely NOT cheap. I am not talking luxury goods (those are exhorbitantly expensive). I am talking daily stuff (rice, toll road, etc), considering how much the average local person makes.

My buddy and his family live in Punta Pacifica and have balconey doors on either side of the apt. Yest their are hot humid days with no wind that require A/C. Another friend who lives in El Cangrejo always has to use A/C because he gets no breeze because the buildings around him block the wind and leave the are a hot and stagnant. His colombian girlfriend is grateful for the afternoon showers to break the heat.

I am in Cangrejo, 21st floor, and get a nice breeze almost all the time.Small 3-bedroom apartment with blinds on the windows that get the sun. I have Gas water heater, drier and stove, gas which is included in rent. Will make a big difference if you have electric appliances. Like anywhere, your largest single electricity consumer (besides AC) is your fridge.

I don't run the AC in the apartment living room as I get a nice breeze, except for perhaps 4-5 hours per day in my office and every night in the one bedroom for 6-8 hours.

I am not here all the time, perhaps 80%, but I have tracked my electricity costs every month and low of $25 and high of $45. Doing a $/kwhr after all the rebates and that stuff it is always exactly 13 cents per KWhr, whihc is pretty comparable to fully burdened rate in N. America when you average locations (US you will see from 8 cents to 25 cents depending on your region).

Two big keys are (1) make sure your drier is vented outside and (2) BIG change in comfort after I vented my gas stove exhaust fan direct outside. If not its gets real hot in y0ur kitchen.

My average consumption over past 14 months is 245 KWhrs with a high of 345 and low of 65. But always 13 cents per khhr. I don't have the data on what I consumed in Canada but check you last bills for comparison.

not sure about all his comparisons. He is on the 2nd floor of a 5 story building that is surronded by larger ones. Whenever I visit the A/C has been on. There are allot of variable with energy usage, size, insulation, appliances, personal comfort level, gas vs electric, size of hot water tank, age of building etc... I think people have read so much hype from the realtors promoting Panama that they are shocked when they get slammed with a cost of living as high or higher than where they came from. Panama city IMO is 2nd world with first world pricing. When you get out of the city I think cost of living can diminish depending on lifestyle.

No doubt elec. is high (relatively speaking) in Panama.

If I ever build a house here - I'm going off the grid for sure. Solar - wind and if possible hydro. Maybe I can even sell some "luz" to my neighbors. I swear -- I'll charge less than Fenosa!

on my bill it is listed just over 15 cents a kwh , and i believe if you use under 500 kwh a month you get the discount , but to me the big surprise will come when they run out of the 20 yr tax free deal and are hit with up to 2% property tax , 20 g a year on a million dollar place , that is a big rate . but you also need to remember the A/C might work harder here because it is so humid

I don't plan on using A/C in Panama just scantily clad chicas with hand held Palm froms LOL.

If the chica's get tired I can refer to this chart to see if I am getting a good electricity rate. Notice how the latest for Panama was 2007 at .165 and the U.S .116 . Chart goes back several years for most countries. Panama is missing data from some years. I wonder if the people in charge of issuing liscence plates also are in charge of updating data LOL.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/international/elecprih.html

For a 560mt apartment with no A/C it's about $21 per month steady with a fair bit of electronic use. A 90mt place with A/C about 1/2 the time was about $150, with nothing about $50 this was central A/C slightly older model. Also had a couple of fans going 24/7. I'm putting 4 A/C units into a place right now, guessing that bill could be brutal if they were all used regularly.

I think in apartments, orientation is very important. I viewed a few flats that face west - oh the afternoon heat in a glassed up room can kill.
Blinds can make a big difference. Esp the black out ones.

My gas oven heats up the kitchen considerably - bad insulation - I will use less of that.

I have taken care of the dryer exhaust. Thanks for the tip.

One question - what kind of fan is good and efficient - I can only use fans that require no installation. Where to buy them. Any recommendations? Thanks.

Note that there are big differences in air conditioners - some are twice as efficient as others.

I've found that in a well designed building - single floor, large overhangs, light colored concrete walls, tinted windows on east and west ends, roof insulation and ceiling fan, it is fine to not use AC. It helps to open the windows at night and close them during the day.

Originally Posted by fleeted

I don't plan on using A/C in Panama just scantily clad chicas with hand held Palm froms LOL.

LOL! Be sure and tell us how that works out for you.....my guess is that the chicas will cost more than the electricity.

In Miami I pay 13.2 cents/kWh vs 16.1 for Panama.

Originally Posted by becky7474

LOL! Be sure and tell us how that works out for you.....my guess is that the chicas will cost more than the electricity.

Regardless of circumstances chicas are always an expensive proposition. I will try and get a good deal on the Palm froms and balance out the expense LOL.

Regarding fans, big and slow beats small and fast.

Originally Posted by jonr

Regarding fans, big and slow beats small and fast.

...I'm confused. Are you talking about fans or chicas--because I've always preferred the small & fast ones (chicas, that is!)

Mine was $600. I think I got SCREWED!!!

Originally Posted by panamatrader

Mine was $600. I think I got SCREWED!!!

Oh my goodness! You have a mansion?
Mine is over $200, and the kwh rate is 0.159 as stated on the bill. That made me jump, I can't imagine $600!

It doesn't matter what it says on the bill you need to divide $ by kWh consumption. Different countries, different ways to bill. Then of course you have to take into account that the system is often tiered in which case the calculation needs to be analyzed further. In many US states you have an allowance at a certain price, then it doubles. To complete a fair comparison you need to setup the different brackets in a spreadsheet and figure out where you would be on an average, adjusted by M2 cooled, average outside temperature and many other factors.

Originally Posted by Liont

Oh my goodness! You have a mansion?
Mine is over $200, and the kwh rate is 0.159 as stated on the bill. That made me jump, I can't imagine $600!

I've looked at it again. Total $/number of units consumed works out to be around 0.161, not much deviation. Too bad, I've thrown away my bills from US, or else I can do some comparison... not that comparing with US would do any good!

2br, 100mts2 apartment: 25-30$ per month and we use AC all night long, every single day.

Rate = 0.1596 $/KWh

I don't get what's going on (and 3 of my friends have said the same thing). My electric bill has gone up by 40% in the last 3 months and as far as I know -- we're not using any extra power. Weirdness.

check the consumption of your devices, you should be able to estimate +/- what they cost per month. Perhaps you're getting screwed.

Is there a meter which you could read off?
I bought a humongous fan from Pricemart, so no aircon during the day for now. It is very powerful but noisy, so I place it in the balcony and it blows air into the apartment.

My gut tells me -- I'm getting screwed. I guess it's time to do some math.

Originally Posted by Gwilson

check the consumption of your devices, you should be able to estimate +/- what they cost per month. Perhaps you're getting screwed.

Originally Posted by No-Non-Sense-Matt

My gut tells me -- I'm getting screwed. I guess it's time to do some math.

or check and see if the neighbours have tapped into our meter ,

Didn't even think of that one.