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Ok, it’s cold right, but I’m cheap, and i haven’t done a full winter here for about 5 years. This one could be the death of me…
Question: can anyone mathematically calculate the cost of using a wall mounted AC (not the big floor standing ones) for one hour, based on the cost per KW hour? I don’t get power bills anymore (my building has a swipe card system) so i’ve been unable to find out how much we pay for our power here in the ‘Du. My students estimates vary so wildly (one said 10 kuai per hour, another said 5 mao!?!?!) as to be renderd unreliable….
Oh yeah, if no mathematicians out there, a rough guess will suffice….
Maybe cheaper to buy those super-thick indoor-outdoor pyjamas?
I’m pretty sure the wall mounted swipe card power system will show your current power usage. If that is the case, you could turn everything off and measure the usage and then ask the power company the price per mW. You can also buy a small device, probably at Computer City, that goes between the outlet and any electrical device that will measure the amount of power used. Same deal there, just reference the price you’re paying per mW and you will have the cost of your heater.
Another suggestion is to make sure that your heater is working efficiently (get it serviced) and keep your place as well insulated as possible so it holds the heat inside.
Hard to calculate exact cost per hour without accounting for everything drawing current at any given time, and appliances like fridges will fluctuate, but…
I’ve recently been wondering this myself seeing as my apartment is a meat locker unless I have some heat running. I have both wall mounted and floor standing heaters/air conditioners, and I also have a remote electric meter reader in my apartment which gives me a live view of consumed current and cost. My floor stander is a hungry mofo, chewing through 20-30 RMB per 6-8 hour period, at anywhere from 23-27°. I’ve left a wall mounted unit on for 24 hours before at 26°, and if memory serves it used around 20 RMB. Again, I’ve only paid passing attention to this, and I’m obviously up to different things in the apartment like cooking, watching TV, using my Mac, etc, so it’s never consistent.
I remember you mentioning 1200 RMB a month recently as someones (??) previous monthly winter electric bill. That’s insanely expensive by any standards. The most I ever spent in a cold Vancouver winter was $70, usually with giant plasma and a whole bunch of audio electrical running 24/7, alongside a huge inbuilt HVAC system, and enough halogen lighting to pave the way for a blind man!
This is also my first full winter in 3 years. My roommate went back to Barcelona so I swiped his plug in heater/radiator which doesn’t crank very well and I only use it for bed now, but I might start dragging it behind me me like one of those prison ball in chains. My windows are so drafty that I almost need to wear a hoodie and a jacket at all times.
I remember seeing the electric bill for last winter and there was a huge wintertime spike. Soon we will probably be at each other’s throats as to who’s using their heaters more when it comes to pay the bills.
Oh, and drinking hot water/ tea all day is crucial.
Ray, haha I almost typed TigerKuma, I’d go with a higher estimate. I remember way back in my student days the exchange kids had that thing refridgerator thing cranked full blast all day everyday and the bill was in like the in the hundreds of USD… But that could have also been the USAC program jacking the prices, like the way they charged me $250 for a room with a “private bath” when in the information package I was like, oh snap a shared apartment toilet in china? i better get me a private one.
@Charlie: is it kilowatt,or megawatt? Never much good with this stuff.
@Brendan: “My apartment is a meat locker” Ha ha. No kidding, in my old place i used to sit in the garden in winter, at night, in front of the barbecue (previous guy left a huge bag of coal). It was warmer than my place. Yeah man, those floor-standing monsters can rip thru the power. A friend stayed for a few weeks a few summers ago, AC on all night = power bill shock! Your big baby rips thru 20-30 rmb per 8 hours? Hmmm, i may need a 4th job…
@Elias: yeah 5 mao per hour sounds kinda low (that means 12 kuai per 24 hours)….I wonder which is the best kind of heater? Those super-bright death ray ones, or the radiator style? Long tough winter ahead…..…or, go to McDonald’s/KFC/Dicos etc. buy a cup of coffee, stay there 9 or 10 hours, enjoy the AC…like university students do. They’re not stupid those kids….
Quote:…or, go to McDonald’s/KFC/Dicos etc. buy a cup of coffee, stay there 9 or 10 hours, enjoy the AC…like university students do. They’re not stupid those kids….I always wonder what the manager of those places is thinking. “I notice there’s like 15 people sleeping in my restaurant who aren’t even customers… Oh well, it will make a good first impression on customers when they walk through the door and see dozens of people sleeping on McDonalds tables, looking slightly less pathetic and uncomfortable than homeless crackheads on alleys outside.”
And since there are no homeless crackheads in Chengdu alleys, McDonalds at 3am is pretty much the saddest place in the city after the Zoo.
McD’s at 3 AM? Im there! Poss the best place to pick up chicks..
Psst…. I have AC/Heater, come, better than this dump 😉
But yea, im blasting my wall heater all the time. Rarely go out to my living room. Hopefully my bill isnt bad, i might have to re-up in two weeks just for insurance…
OK, here’s the latest: one of my students whose kinda knowledgeable about these things estimates that it’s about 2 kuai per hour for a normal wall -mounted AC. He said it varies between models, but that’s about right. So…i reckon in the dead of winter i’m gonna be cranking it for at least 5 hours, that’s about 300 per month. Do-able if i stick to porridge 3 times a day. Ziich, i hear you’re the man with porridge recipes….
@Brendan: was just told by a student that the under-floor heating runs to about 1200 kuai per month in power bills. That’s for a 130 square metre place. Not sure how many hours a day, but again she said “my son walks around without socks in the winter”. Sounds like a bargain….
Oh yeah, finally, one student said that when he was in middle school, in the freezing dorms, they used to jump into bed with their room mates to keep warm……don’t wanna go there….not yet….
Quote:under-floor heating runs to about 1200 kuai per month in power bills. That’s for a 130 square metre place. Not sure how many hours a day, but again she said “my son walks around without socks in the winter”.
That sounds incredible.
In temperatures 5c and above using reverse cycle air conditioning is very efficient. New units have a theoretical 300% efficiency by drawing heat from the atmosphere. In order to keep efficiency high you need to keep the coils on the unit that sits outside clean. When the temperature drops bellow 5c ice will start to form on these coils and efficiency goes down the toilet. Eventually the unit will stop working and have to defrost itself by drawing heat out of the room. This usually takes 10 to 15 minutes and sounds like a coffee peculator!
A wall mounted air con unit should use 1 to 1.5KW/hr. Obviously when the room is up to temperature it will shut off. Electicity is approximately 5 jiao per kw/hr. So these units will cost between 5jiao and 8jiao per hour. A large living room unit will use 2 to 3KW. So will cost between 1 and 1.5kuai/hour.
If you are buying a new air con unit then you should definitely look in to buying inverter (bianpin) units. These have variable rate compressors that can adjust the temperature of the hot/cold air they generate. Make sure you get the right size for the room though. These units actually use more electricity when running at full power due to needing to convert AC to DC. The savings only come when the room reaches the set temperature.
Some additional thoughts…. There will be a sticker on the side of your air con unit which will state the maximum power draw for heating. Newer units will be much more efficient than older ones.
You can use the power meter, usually located directly outside your front door, to calculate how much electricity you are using. In some older apartments they are located in a group at the bottom of the stairs.
I doubt any home unit is going to use more than 3RMB/hour as that would draw more than 25amps. Larger home units are usually on their own circuit with a 20 or 25amp breaker.
Quote:I doubt any home unit is going to use more than 3RMB/hour as that would draw more than 25amps. Larger home units are usually on their own circuit with a 20 or 25amp breaker.amps = 1000 × kilowatts / volts
Residential would typically run anything from 15-30A, though I’ve seen newer apartments here running dual 30A boards. Older places will not have that luxury for sure.
I’m determined to work out my exact consumption now, which shouldn’t be too difficult with the meter reader I have plugged in in my kitchen.
Great thread.
Brendan – I haven’t seen any of the newer buildings. My experience is with apartments 5 or more years old. They will usually have a separate breaker for the living room air con unit that is about 20 or 25 amps. The main breaker will then usually be 25 or 30.
Excluding all too common voltage sags the voltage in China should be 220v….
6kw @ 0.5RMB/KW = 3RMB => 6000/220 = 27AMPS
I don’t use aircon during the day in winter as I am not usually at home, or while I am sleeping. My electricity bills usually go up by 250 to 350RMB/month during winter.
Ben, that’s awesome info you’ve provided (very scientific!). It seems i can stay warm this winter, without resorting to a prison-style diet of porridege…
I’m just curious; if you dont use AC in winter, why does your power bill jump so dramatically?
BTW: saw an awesome “death-ray” heater in Gome today. Impossibly bright, you’d need sunglasses (or welding goggles)just to use it. Also, it might set fire to the sofa if set within 25 feet of it…..scarey stuff.
I remember my first winter bills, 2k a month to keep one of those large standing units blowing warmth into the rooms. I’ve changed it up and now almost never use one, but instead use a little spot heater. I keep it as close as possible and usually by my feet, usually works out to be more than sufficient – even if I keep my sliding doors open for ‘fresher’ air.
Brendan re: death-ray heaters, the super bright orange-light ones are crazy, but the newer models by Midea? have some kind of reverse light where it reflects the heat off of the silvery back plate, cutting down the amount of light it’s emitting by a huge amount. The old ones or some other brands still have the super-bright-neon-orange and they can definitely burn sofas, melt slippers, etc….from personal experience. 😀
Quote:I remember my first winter bills, 2k a month to keep one of those large standing units blowing warmth into the rooms.Uh-ow…
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