for my laundry, i'm using a single phase but a whole new wiring set....even though my 1hp panasonic inverter, 1 dry cleaning machine, 1 normal washer, 1 dryer and 2 sets of iron are switched on from 8am-9pm, my electricity bill is only around RM350.....at 0.408 sen per unit

Wow, that's cheap..

Well, I have one 1.5 HP air con which is only turn on at night around 10:00PM till 6:00AM, 1 refrigerator, 1 water heater (24 hours), 1 PC and 1 washing machine which is used 3 times a week, a TV and that's it.

My monthly electricity bill is around RM200.. which is think is too expensive..

It depends, newer & more efficient fridge & air-cond can cut yr bill by over 50% and so does adding capacitor onto your DB. Cost more upfront but in the long run much cheaper

Sorry but can you please explain to me the "adding more capacitor part"? I'm very bad with electrics... I was told that the the plug or capacitor (not sure what is it called, the one that plug into the DB one) that was used by the developer in the DB are really cheap ones. So I was told by electricians to change them but I'm not sure whether it helps to reduce electricity bill if I change them to better ones...so whenever the capacitor burns out,I'll just changed it to something else which the electricians brought to my house and change it, not even sure whether quality of it..


Oh ya, I heard that the new air-cons and fridge, the one that can save bill, is really expensive to maintain as they require different chemical to maintain/service them.. btw, do we need to service our fridge if the fridge is not having any problem and it's cool enough? I have not done anything to my fridge for the past...err..7 years...

Any recommendation?...trying to cut down my electricity bill..

---

Added on December 24, 2008, 12:38 pmI just noticed this:

http://www.tnb.com.my/cms/jscript/uploads/...n.%20cutout.pdf

Kadar Promosi adalah seperti jadual berikut:

Service Kabel Bawah Tanah:

60A - Kadar Biasa: RM1250, Promosi: RM400
100A - Kadar Biasa: RM2250, Promosi: RM 900

Looks like what my electrician told me it's true, we still have pay the cable from the distribution point to our house even though it's ready...

This post has been edited by Sitting Duck: Dec 24 2008, 12:38 PM

Not sure how to explain it proper but you are right about the stock DB installed by the developer as being the cheapest normally, which may be just able to pass ratings under normal usage. But there are no capacitors there, which are normally used at all highrise or big buildings to regulate and enchance usage efficiency. If you are a heavy user, then its recommended to install such but may set you back anything from RM2K onwards depending on component type.

I believe you are referring to the different type of gas or coolant used in fridge/air conds as other than the extra invertor added on, which do not require servicing normally, they are really no different from the older models. However, they are of course more expensive somewhat than the regular type. And no aquarium pump if you really want to save power as they are the worst culprits and nothing so far can help much in that respect

Sorry, mind to explain the "aquarium pump" part. I do have a fish tank and have 2 small pumps running. I thought it should eat that much of electricity, considering the device is so small.

Will update if I need to pay more once the connection is complete in next 1-2 weeks. The contractor will be changing my DB this weekend. After that I'll need to go and pay TNB deposit. My general contractor already told me that the developer is using cheap cable with single layer insulator instead of double insulator. Something I need to pay attention to when comparing quotations for my house renovation later.

Actually in terms of % consumptions, they are awful inefficient for their size. Further they run 24 hrs non-stop, right? Try tapping them from say a neighbour for a month immediately after your readings been taken and see how much your bill drop by next month

This post has been edited by tgeoklin: Dec 26 2008, 01:49 PM

My aquarium filter rated at 18W and cost me about rm4 per month in electricity. Those pumps for pond would cost much higher.

That's very expensive. I got 1HP air cond turn on from 8pm to 3am. 1 430liter fridge. 2 water heater
only turn on when take bath. 1 PC. 1 9kg washing machine. 34" CRT TV.

RM40 per month of electricity.

The problem is your 24 hour water heater. Please turn it off. Your electricity will drop to RM50 only
I believe.

what is the maximum wattage for three phase wiring?

Opps, what i mean by water heater is water boiler... those that boil the water and keep it warm for drinking... my bad for not explaining properly... and I have 2 small water pump running for my aquarium.. 1 water heater that is only turn on when taking bath..that's all.. that's why some times we don't know why our house is consuming so much electricity..

Here is my update thus far. The electrical contractor has replaced my ELCB and Main MCB with 3-phase version (EPS brand instead of Doepke), rewire for 3-phase and in fact removed 2 of my spare MCB to fit into the original box. They did not change the DB box. They also installed 2 additional cutout fuse at the meter panel. All that for rm850, I think it is a rip-off!! Call up the contractor again asking about the 2 missing MCB and missing Main MCB switch. The Main MCB is there but I could not locate the switch. I think it is hidden under the DB faceplate. She said she will ask another electrician to look into it.

I also asked her why the ELCB only shows 63A? She said she applied for 63A and not 100A. I told her if I just need 63A I would not change to 3-phase as it make no difference. Again she said she will check with TNB if still can change to 100A. Called up TNB again asking about diff between 1-phase 63A and 3-phase 63A and was told that 3-phase is better, more stable etc. Not the answer that I want. I think there is no difference as both provides same current. Anyone have different opinion on this?

Now back to waiting again.

well, agree it wont provide much benefit. it might be better as in better for you machinaries but if it still doesnt meet your energy requirement then it is useless.

Actually that's the thing that make ur house consuming high electricity. Can you
try switch that off for 1 month?

I can't switch off the water boiler.. my children need to drink milk....btw, any one can teach me how to calculate the energy consumption for a water boiler or other electrical appliances?

Use gas to heat the water lor. No need to heat 24 hours.

Calculating for something that not consuming constant current such as the thermo-pot is quite tricky as it boil the water once in a while and keep the water hot most of the time. Generally rule of thumb for calculating electrical consumption as below.

kWH = W/0.85/1000*H*D*R

where
W = appliance wattage eg. 150Watt
0.85 = typical power factor
1000 = convert to kiloWatt (kW)
H = Hours of operating
D = Days in a month eg. 30 days
R = TNB rate rm0.30/kWH (1st 500 units) & rm0.39/kWH subsequent unit

So if you turn on TV rated at 75W for 4 hours daily for a month, you need to pay

75/0.85/1000*4*30*0.30 = rm3.18

Power factor can vary depending on what is connected to the circuit etc., and there is a device in the market that will improve your power factor, hence lower your electrical consumption.

---

Added on January 2, 2009, 6:45 pmHere is another update on my 3-phase. Finally able to talk to an electrician from the electrical contractor. He told me my main switch is flush with the MCB body, hence I cannot see it. Will check it out when I visit my new house the next time. As for the 63A, he said it is 63A per phase, hence total is 63A x 3 phase = 190A and that is plenty for me. Not sure if he is bluffing. Anyone here know better?

He also said I would not able to apply for 100A as the TNB fuse setting and underground cable rating is just 63A per phase. If I insist on 100A, TNB need to pull new cable and I have to pay $$$$ for it. They are the housing project electrical contractor, so I tend to believe this. I think I'll let the matter rest for now.

---

Added on January 6, 2009, 4:13 pmHow was your 3-phase connection coming along? Mine already confirmed need to pay rm1250 contribution to TNB Stupid thing is they don't allow me to pay my deposit together with the contribution. I'll have to make another trip to TNB later.

This post has been edited by kimyee73: Jan 6 2009, 04:13 PM

Wow !! Did u do anything to ur meter ?

So which means we still need to pay $$$ to TNB for the wiring from the TNB power distribution point to our house , regardless whether it's already ready or not..

I paid RM 1800 for the 3 phase wiring from the meter outside the house into the DB inside the home. It's done now and so far there isn't any problem.. (touch wood)..

And thanks for showing me the calculation..some day i really need to sit down and calculate what's the consuming so much electricity...

---

Added on January 12, 2009, 7:51 pmI just remembered this, I was told me someone (cannot remember who, a friend, electrcian, TNB, newspaper??) that which one fridge and some basic electronics in the house (tv, lights,etc), the minimum would be around RM40~/month, without air-con that is... so with 1HP air-con that is on about 7 hours a day, can the electricity bill still be at RM40/month??



This post has been edited by Sitting Duck: Jan 12 2009, 07:51 PM