Electricity costs - power rating

We have a rented 3 bed villa with pool in the campo and have experience similar. Our bills seem to be around €80-100 a month and over the winter period we only spent 3 weeks there from October to March. The only thing running is the pool pump that comes on twice a day for an hour. We will be there from the end of March to October so it will be interesting to see what happens when we are there full time. I just think electricity is expensive in the area

Have you looked at Endesa''s Happy Hour tariff? It gives you 2 hours per day free electricity (hours of your choosing but must be consecutive). We also have a 3 bed finca in the campo. When we aren't there we run 2 fridges, a freezer and pool pump on for 2 hours daily and bill is between 40-50€. 

That sounds good I will look into that, thank you

Hi Phil

In the UK we pay for electricity consumed, measured in kWh ie 1 kWh = 1 kW for 1 hour, a typical cost is around £0.15 per kWh, and we do not pay any premium for power capacity.  

In the UK I have a 3 phase 415 Volt power supply, which is good for lifts, powerful air conditioning and fast charging of electric cars, and there is no charge at all for this, apart from the cost of installing the connection.

In Spain, the cost of electricity is the fifth highest in the EU.  The utility companies do like to make a monthly charge for the power capacity that you contract for, even though you use no electricity at all.  Probably this is a scheme to get a good income from the thousands of empty second homes.

There are at least 5 different suppliers of electricity.  Visit their websites and choose a supplier and tariff that works out cheapest for you.  Dr Goggle suggests this website, with which I have no connection:

https://www.expatica.com/es/living/household/utilities-101411/

https://www.expatica.com/es/living/household/energy-costs-108518/ 

When you have found the best solution, you might post a note for everyone, telling us what you found?

By the way, make sure that you have a reliable direct debit set up with a bank account that is flush with funds because, if you miss a payment or two in Spain, the utility companies will simply disconnect your electricity and/or water.  They do not need to apply for and obtain a Court order as in the UK.  When you find out, you will have to pay a reconnection charge and it can take several days to get reconnected, which can be a problem if you are only staying for a week . . . .

Philip

Hello and welcome to Spain.  Your surprise at Endesa costs sounds rather like mine when I bought a house in Sotogrande 3 years ago.  The previous owner had contracted 13.5Kw 3 phase supply as he had a lot of electric radiators, pool pump etc.  The standing monthly charge was typically around 70 euros without using a single spark of electricity!  During our refurbishment we attempted to reduce our contracted supply to 5.75 kW, but Endesa would not do this as we had an installation of more than 20 years and an "old" meter.  We tried to contract supply with EDP who offered a much better tariff, but Endesa would not release our contract!  Remember that the standing charge also attracts Electricity tax, equipment rental and also VAT at 21% on top, so reducing your "potencia contratada" is the key to reducing costs.

For a 64 Sq M home, I am surprised that you needed a 18kW 3Phase supply.  It is worthwhile getting a competent electrician to check it out.  We used Rafalux electricians and they were very good.  If your installation is more than 20 years old, Endesa may require a safety check and new digital meter. Once you have reduced the contracted power supply to the right level, you then need to set up a day & night tariff.  That gives you half price electricity from 11 PM to midday.  Organize your dishwasher, laundry and pool pump to run at night and save a large amount on actual electricity used.  And the lower the contracted power and reduced cost of units means that the 21% VAT is also lower on the final bill!  Good luck.   

Thanks for the response.

With regards to the energy suppliers, it's been a fairly steep and expensive learning curve. Endesa have reduced the power rating slightly to help ease the bills, but they will still be excessive until the supply is reduced from 3 phase to a single phase. I don't know the history of the installation, but the meter looks fairly new, so I'm hoping this won't be an issue.

Once I get to the end of this journey, I will provide a final update to the post so others can hopefully benefit from my experience.

Hi, I too am having a bit of a problem with electric. We have just bought a property that is contracted to only 3.450 kWh and consequently can only use a couple of applying at one time before it all trips off. I've checked my contract online with Endesa and it tells me my property can only go up to a maximum of 6. Something.

Does anyone know if 5.75kwh would be sufficient for 3/4 bed town house? And also how do you know if your property has a current CIE  certificate (I can see they last 20 years). Any advice would be welcome.

Hi Darlojo

There is only 1 reliable way to find out, increase your maximum power capacity to 5.75 kW, and see how you get on. 

If you ask the question, will it still trip out, the answer will definitely be 'yes' if you turn on enough appliances at the same time!

Back in the UK, older houses typically have a 100 Amp mains fuse coming into the house. The maximum power is 220 Volts x 100 Amps = 22,000 Watts = 22 kW. 

Newer houses often have a 60 Amp mains fuse. This will supply a maximum power of 220 Volts x 60 Amps = 13,200 Watts = 13.2 kW. In the UK, heating and hot water is usually by a gas fired boiler and few homes have air conditioning. 

In Spain, if your maximum power is limited to 5.75 kW, then you have to be careful not to operate too many high power appliances at the same time:

• air conditioning - may be up to 6 kW or more (check unit)

• hot water cylinder - up to 3 kW

• electric radiators - up 2 kW each

• hob - up to 6 kW but modern ones limited to 3 kW

• oven - 3 kW

• tumble dryer - 3 kW

• kettle - 2 kW

If you check all your appliances, that you have installed in your home, you will find a data plate on each one which tells you the maximum power of each appliance. 

Air conditioning may well draw full power when it s first switched on, however, once the house has reached the set temperature, then the air conditioning will draw a fraction of its maximum power to keep the temperature at that level. So do not turn on the air conditioning at maximum power, and then immediately put the oven on, all 4 rings on the hob and the kettle!

Electric hobs can draw a lot of power because larger rings can be 1.7 kW to 2.2 kW each and smaller rings 1.4 kW each and there are 4 rings. Some newer hobs can limit the total power to 3 kW so that, if you turn on all 4 rings, they will not all run at maximum power. It may be worth getting a hob like this. Bosch make them and other manufacturers probably too. 

TVs, computers, LED lights and mobile phone chargers use relatively little power so they are not likely to make much impact. 

Make sure all your light bulbs are LED. They are usually in the 4W to 8W power range. You would need 250 LED light bulbs rated at 4W to consume 1 kW. 

You can set your washing machine and tumble dryer to operate at night, manually or with a timer, when the air conditioning is off or on low. 

Consider installing solar heating for your hot water and/or solar photo voltaic (PV) panels to generate electricity. You will generate maximum electrical power on hot sunny days, when you need the power, for air conditioning. 

Good luck!

Philip

Thank you for the advice Phillip.