Kalkan Turkey Forum - EnjoyKalkan.com
The Owners Lounge => General Discussion => Topic started by: Em on July 13, 2010, 01:11:25 PM
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Anyone noticed a big change in the cost of electric? or is it just me? :o
Also has anyone got any suggestions as to how to keep the bills down, we have a couple of indoor lights on sensors, the outside and pool lights are on timers, even got a hose to water the garden flowers on a timer!!! however the water bill is another story
We ask the guests in the welcome pack to turn things off, air con units etc when they go out, but sometimes people forget...
Has anyone used/bought a key card type of system here?, like they have in hotels...the key card is welded !!! to the villa key, so guests have to take it out of its connector as they leave the villa therefore all electric is switched off apart from the fridge which would not be put into the electric loop... when guest return, they put card back in connector..... ?????
Em
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Yes Em, electricity has gone up, twice I think since last summer.
Some friends of mine had a problem where while they were in England over the winter, builders were hooking up to their supply board! I gather that this is quite a regular thing, even if you padlock the meter cupboard.
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I have been looking at old electricity bills, while the cost has gone up its not by much. Leaving air con on or pool lights or using electric water heaters has a much greater impact on bills. Fitting timers for pumps and pool lights and fitting modern air con would reduce costs. The same can be said for modern solar panels.
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What next? Will we ( us poor, unsuspecting, looking forward to our holiday villa renters have to pay for flushing the loo?) I am not holding my breath over this suggested wheeze (or do I mean wee's!), but surely increased cost's can be built into future price structuring? After all, it is Kalkan, not Costa Cor Blimey!
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Em, we've stayed in property that has the system you are talking about - so its doable. I'd suggest that the washing machine is also included with the fridge on the seperate loop because I'd be pretty fed up if I'd put a load in then went out for the day and came back to see it hadn't even started (considering how long even the quick washes are..) If you PM me I'll send you details of the places we've stayed so you can contact the owners directly.
Personally, I don't have a problem with it....except the connector is often too large for my stupidly small bag :) We always switch off air con/lights etc when we go out, but its a useful device if you've forgotten.
Its about saving energy as much as anything else.. ::)
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I'd be interested too in details of the key card things.
While we could factor in excess use of electric in next years prices that is hardly fair on those clients who do turn the leccy off.
On the other hand I had one person in June last year who ran up a £200 bill for us. I don't think any new clients would like to have that factored in!
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We were talking to someone who lives in Fethiye and who has had solar hot water fitted and it only costs about 1200t - l think - it may have been £1200! I know that wont help with air con costs but it will make a big difference when electricity isn't needed to heat the water for showers etc.
Comnpared with the rest of Europe, solar doesn't seem to be very popular in Kalkan, but I'm sure it will be in the future - we would definately get it if we rented out, or if we lived there.
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Back to my previous post re building extra cost's into rentals, I own a rental property here in the UK - yes, I agree we will get some tenants who take the p..s, that goes without saying, BUT if you cut corners to start with, you have no room to manoeuvre!
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http://www.enjoykalkan.com/forum/index.php/topic,880.msg7608.html#msg7608 (http://www.enjoykalkan.com/forum/index.php/topic,880.msg7608.html#msg7608)
Em, see this link for when the card keys was last discussed
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Take out energy saving light bulbs. They are very, very expensive in Turkey and it will help reduce the waste of electricity.
I think Maryjane the objection isn't to people using electricity it is blatent waste of electricity that is the problem. Example of this are leaving the aircon on 24/7 with all the windows open and leaving all the lights on when they go out for the night. Personally we have been very lucky and our guests have been very respectful of our apartment and of wasting the world resources but I know that isn't true for everyone.
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Thanks all for the constructive ideas' most of which we do..
Wendy I agree with you in that I didn't want to put the cost of the villa up making the many pay for the few! the few who forget to turn things off.
Example: we have a lovely bunch of guests at the mo' but one couple in the group keep leaving their bedroom air-con on. As most of us know when you get back into the villa and put the air-con on it only takes all of a few mins for the room to cool down. So this is partly why my husband and I had been discussing how to solve this dilemma.!? Well he had a small brain wave last night.... after they had gone out, and left the bedroom aircon on again, he decided to try something....Please don't all shout at me for this as I don't want him to do it again ........ no we didn't break in !!!! but he switched the electric off at the mains. When he switched it back on, the air-con did not come back on...he said the reason it worked was something to do with the air-cons being remote controll.
Anyway confession over, I am off to have a look at them ore leagal information in the link from JoanH
Have Fun all
Em
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Nice one Em! I know there is a thread on here somewhere concerning the fitting of timer switches that cut in/out/on/off up to four times a day. I am considering trying those but want to find out a bit more first.
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We have an energy save key attached to the door keys which shuts off everything except the fridge and cable tv when it is removed so if guests forget to turn off air con units and lights before they go out they will go off within a few seconds when the key is removed. However, we found that some of the air con units which were older models came back on automatically when the key was inserted again so we had to get new cut out switches fitted inside the units to resolve this. We also have the pool and garden lights on a timer as some guests were leaving these on all day and night during their stay (and we have forgotten to turn them off ourselves a few times!). The cost of electricity and water has gone up a lot in the last couple of years and it's worth trying anything that may keep these costs down so if anyone else has any tips on saving energy or water please spread the word! ;)
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Take out energy saving light bulbs. They are very, very expensive in Turkey and it will help reduce the waste of electricity.
Don't try putting energy saving light bulbs in your hand baggage. I didn't know it at the time when they confiscated mine at Bournemouth last year but, they are a banned item. They have Mercury in them. (Which can be used in timing devices and fuses.) I'm not sure about them in hold bags though, assume the same applies really.
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- Hi Kalkanbelle - where did you get your key card system from? Who fitted it? How much was it? Seems one of the better ideas I've seen here.
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Wendy, see the link on this thread that I posted for Em
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Our caretaker arranged it for us but I think it was Benli that did it. The cost was around £90 but it might vary according to what you want to be included in the cut out circuit and how much wiring has to be done. Pool and garden light timers were also fitted by Benli.
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We have been given a quote of 300 lira to have the key card system fitted to the rental villa. Which we thought was a good price considering the kit needed and work involved.
Will let you know how we get on with it once it is installed, our daughter is having a holiday for next 10 days here with us, so will be good to test it out on her ......
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Should pay for itself and also be "Green".
Keep us updated, EM
Joan
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I went on the Fethiye Times site to see if there was any more news about new visa regs (there wasn't) and found an interesting article on electricity bills. Apparently, there are different tariffs for different times of day and after 10.00 pm the cost is the cheapest. However, their authority is Mugla, does anyone know whether this applies to Antalya too?
If this is the case, then I shall be doing clothes and dishwashing late into the night. Also, I've just started turning off my immersion heater when not is use. Do you think it will make a difference?
My bill has soared this year, last one for 3 weeks 3 to 24 June for me alone and with v little use of a/c and no pool, was 214tl!
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We have noticed quite a reduction since using the low temp wash cycle on the dish washer and washing machine without any detriment to cleaning.
I believe that the meter has to be set to the three tariff reading otherwise it's just the single rate. You would need to check usage as the early evening tariff is quite high.
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I agree; using 30 degree setting and washing in the night helps. I definitely have the three tarrifs, thought everyone had?
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I went into the local Tedas/ electric office in Kalkan with my Turkish managing agent, we asked them to look at my electricity bill to see if I was on the best tarrif for my use and guests use, it turned out that I was.
However I think its a good idea to ask what tarrif you are on, as we each have different usage.. You would hope, being on the right tarrif could make a difference to your bills.
I think if you live here, it would make a difference using washing machine after 10pm, switching the water heater off etc,
Quick Update: the electritians fitted the key card yesterday, it took them about an hour and a half, they did not make a mess or have to channel out any walls. They used a redundant light switch (very handy!) situated by our front door. We left the washing machine, dishwasher, fridge, cooker and outside lights out of the loop. Most of our outside lights are on timers and some are on security sensors.
Now we need to find someone to weld the key card to the key ring.... was thinking of popping into just silver.
Em x
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Anyone noticed a big change in the cost of electric? or is it just me? :o
Also has anyone got any suggestions as to how to keep the bills down, we have a couple of indoor lights on sensors, the outside and pool lights are on timers, even got a hose to water the garden flowers on a timer!!! however the water bill is another story
We ask the guests in the welcome pack to turn things off, air con units etc when they go out, but sometimes people forget...
Has anyone used/bought a key card type of system here?, like they have in hotels...the key card is welded !!! to the villa key, so guests have to take it out of its connector as they leave the villa therefore all electric is switched off apart from the fridge which would not be put into the electric loop... when guest return, they put card back in connector..... ?????
Em
Hi I have that key card system myself and works fine although you must be careful who wires it up as they nearly set the villa on fire the first time it was installed , also the key and card must be on a ring that is welded . It is situated just inside the front door and all electrics go off except living room lights , fridge and wash m/c plus pool motor
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For all of you thinking about installing these type of gadgets if they are the same as they use in the hotels in spain,a slot on the wall that you slide the key fob in,there is a way of getting around them so the ac doesnt go off,unless they have some sort of chip on the fob its easy to keep the electric on,with a piece of card board,so I would check before you splash out you hard earned cash. :o
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Thanks everyone for your advice on how to be economical with electricity.
I have established there are three rates as follows:
06.00 - 17.00 day rate
17.00 - 22.00 peak rate
22.00 - 06.00 off peak rate
and also, that it is cheaper to turn off the immersion heater when not in use. I was amazed to find the water was still hot after 24 hours of the immersion being turned off, although I am a single user.
I'm going to need the money saved to go towards the cost of paying for annual residency, even though I'm only here for six month of the year at most!
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Heres some suggestions for saving electricity.
1) Water Heating. Always fit a timeclock and only heat the water in the off-peak period. The best type of time clock is the ones we have in the UK, such as a Horstmann Quartz. This is programmable and also has a manual boost switch in case you run out of hot water. Make sure that the size of the hot water cylinder is correct to the size of the property and the potential demand. If you can, fit solar water heating but always have electric back up for those cloudy winter days.
2) Try and do your washing in the off-peak period.
3) Lights. Do not switch flourescents or low energy type lights on/off for short periods. Either leave them on or leave them off. Its the initial start up that consumes the most electricity, the actual running is minimal.
4) Swimming Pools. Turn the underwater lights off and leave them off, light polution, or at least put them on a timed circuit. Make sure that your circulating pump is on a timeclock and that it is adjusted correctly, and has a battery back up for those nasty Kalkan power outages.
5) Air Conditioning. If you are in the fortunate position to be having a villa built, or are early in its construction then make sure that the A/C Units are on a seperate electrical circuit.
Then either put in a card control unit at the front door, or fit a heavy duty timeclock that only allows the circuit to be energised at certain preset times.
Try and make sure that the external condenser unit is sited in the shade and not in direct sunlight. Make sure that the output of the unit is correctly sized for the room and the thermal conductivity of the walls.
A/C should best be run at about 10*C less than the outside temperature. At night for sleeping, it should be run at about 5/6*C less as the external temperature will fall throughout the night and your body temperature will also fall. There is no point in continually running it at say 16*C as you will freeze. Also, when you first start up run the unit on fast fan speed and a low temperature setting to quickly cool the room and then reduce the fan speed and turn the temperature up a few degrees. You need to 'work the unit' to suit your needs.
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Electricity costs rose more or less in line with inflation last year - 9.5% from June '09 to June '10. Triple tariff meters are available in Kalkan - I have one, but I believe they are not universally supplied - you may have to buy one. Current rates per kWh in TL:
peak 0.282936
normal 0.165452
cheap 0.080958