Not enough electricity

WileE

WileE

Active Member
Has anyone else had difficulty getting an adequate electric power feed to run the A/C, water heaters, etc. that farangs generally install? Ours is inadequate, and the folks at the PEA weren't much help.
 
If you're some ways away have them come out tell them what you want. You may not like the cost. OR install a solar panel and other components. We have SF member that or experts.
 
WileE said:
Has anyone else had difficulty getting an adequate electric power feed to run the A/C, water heaters, etc. that farangs generally install? Ours is inadequate, and the folks at the PEA weren't much help.
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PEA are about as usefull as an air con on a bycycle-- sounds like too much load on the transformer to feed everyone.
If @Rice picks up, he can give you the good oil.
 
WileE said:
Has anyone else had difficulty getting an adequate electric power feed to run the A/C, water heaters, etc. that farangs generally install? Ours is inadequate, and the folks at the PEA weren't much help.
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What does your PEA invoice show as KW usage on a monthly basis ?

Are you on 240V ? How many breakers are operational in your service panel ?

WileE, is your residence located in the 'boonies'?
Are there any other homes or fixtures in the village pulling from your power feed ?
 
Yorky said:
Thailand supply is 220V. But it shouldn't make any difference.

However, the amperage will.
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If he in on single phase @220 vac, depending on the amount of users on his line, it will make a huge difference.
We are on 3 phase @380 vac and 2 people in our villiage are still having brown outs and PEAs answer
was for them for them to pay for another transformer-- :) :) . These wallies tried to get the rest of the villiage to share
the cost FFS, didn't happen.
 
FERRET said:
If he in on single phase @220 vac, depending on the amount of users on his line, it will make a huge difference.
We are on 3 phase @380 vac and 2 people in our villiage are still having brown outs and PEAs answer
was for them for them to pay for another transformer-- :) :) . These wallies tried to get the rest of the villiage to share
the cost FFS, didn't happen.
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Are you saying that there could be a huge difference between 220V and 240V dependent on the number of users?

I was only pointing out to @Coffee that the normal electricity supply here in Thailand is 220V not 240V.
 
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Coffee said:
What does your PEA invoice show as KW usage on a monthly basis ?

Are you on 240V ? How many breakers are operational in your service panel ?

WileE, is your residence located in the 'boonies'?
Are there any other homes or fixtures in the village pulling from your power feed ?
Click to expand...
Thanks to all who responded.

To answer Coffee's questions, most of the bills indicate between 200 and 300 kWh, but that usage varies considerably. The power is 220V single phase, which I believe is normal for residential service. The house is on the outskirts of town, not quite city but not quite boonies either. I expect that other users may pull down the voltage sometimes, but we get a visible drop just turning on our own AC.
 
WileE said:
Thanks to all who responded.

To answer Coffee's questions, most of the bills indicate between 200 and 300 kWh, but that usage varies considerably. The power is 220V single phase, which I believe is normal for residential service. The house is on the outskirts of town, not quite city but not quite boonies either. I expect that other users may pull down the voltage sometimes, but we get a visible drop just turning on our own AC.
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Maybe you would kindly introduce yourself in the relevant forum section, then you will get more discussions, I'm sure.
 
Yorky said:
Are you saying that there could be a huge difference between 220V and 240V dependent on the number of users?

I was only pointing out to @Coffee that the normal electricity supply here in Thailand is 220V not 240V.
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No mate, the voltage has jack shit to do with it- there are too many paddy rats milking the
available, ( amperage) from the HV.
 
All the abuse to PEA. I found the chief design engineer a great man. We are friends till this day. I went in with my design proposal.
he said. Oh my! That is how I would do it. I know exactly where you are. because there is only one spot in Sikhor this would be the solution. That's how I got 3 phase. 150 Amps to my little bungalow in the rice fields. Have not built the proper house yet. Well anyway @WileE what you have to do is start noting what is exactly near you in the way of infrastructure. Example, What cables run to your house. Where is the nearest pole transformer. PEA really do get a lot of useless inquiries that lead them no where.
If you are serious they require a deposit holding even to come out and audit. Are you saying you are in Muang Surin? How are the neighbors power?

Did I mention I am an electronics engineer with a back ground in Electrical engineering. It was a core subject after all.
 
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gotlost said:
Contact Bandersnatch he is the expert on this sub
Rice said:
All the abuse to PEA. I found the chief design engineer a great man. We are friends till this day. I went in with my design proposal.
he said. Oh my! That is how I would do it. I know exactly where you are. because there is only one spot in Sikhor this would be the solution. That's how I got 3 phase. 150 Amps to my little bungalow in the rice fields. Have not built the proper house yet. Well anyway @WileE what you have to do is start noting what is exactly near you in the way of infrastructure. Example, What cables run to your house. Where is the nearest pole transformer. PEA really do get a lot of useless inquiries that lead them no where.
If you are serious they require a deposit holding even to come out and audit. Are you saying you are in Muang Surin? How are the neighbors power?

Did I mention I am an electronics engineer with a back ground in Electrical engineering. It was a core subject after all.
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Ha Ha got the intended pun.
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The Good old PEA, love the long runs on overhead Aluminum supply cables......with a lower conductivity
 
We were in a similar situation a few years ago. Not enough power.

When measuring the voltage, we were down to 160V occasionally (which is much worse than higher voltage, due to raised Amps). The reason for this would be that we are the last house on the loop from the transformer and the electricity the transformer can "produce" is not enough for the amount used.

We ended up getting 3 phase system which solved the problem. And I needed anyway.
A bigger transformer would probably have solved the issue, as would a second transformer. But I didn't think it was my job to pay for something that is obviously a PEA problem/fault.
 
Pat said:
We were in a similar situation a few years ago. Not enough power.

When measuring the voltage, we were down to 160V occasionally (which is much worse than higher voltage, due to raised Amps). The reason for this would be that we are the last house on the loop from the transformer and the electricity the transformer can "produce" is not enough for the amount used.

We ended up getting 3 phase system which solved the problem. And I needed anyway.
A bigger transformer would probably have solved the issue, as would a second transformer. But I didn't think it was my job to pay for something that is obviously a PEA problem/fault.
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Pat, as I posted, there are 2 houses right at the end of our village that were suffering low voltage/ brownouts even though we have 3 phase power.
There are 2 more developments in an adjacent soi which, when occupied, could really depleat the mains capacity.
Of course, dear old PEA will come to the rescue and install larger transformers--right Goldilocks ?.
 
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