# Connecting rural electricity supply



## captainendeavour (Jan 14, 2016)

I have searched the threads for this topic. The most recent I found dates back to June 2014.

Has anyone had more recent experience of applying for/installation of mains electricity? 

Obviously location and distance from the nearest supply point will make each case unique but a general account of the process, costing and timing would be helpful.

I don't have the exact location of the property yet. We are trying to get a response from the estate agent to book a viewing - 3 days, various comms and a big fat zero. Unbelievable. But it's north of Sagunto, 3kms east of Alfara de Baronia and just south of J7 of the N225


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## Mforster (Mar 27, 2019)

Not sure about costs of connecting mains to a rural location but you might want to consider going off grid. (Solar panels & batteries). Quite an investment but no more bills and fluctuating prices/taxes. It also makes you very aware of what you use.


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

captainendeavour said:


> I have searched the threads for this topic. The most recent I found dates back to June 2014.
> 
> Has anyone had more recent experience of applying for/installation of mains electricity?
> 
> ...


I had one client who connected into an existing electrical supply, which had already installed by another property owner further down 

The costs were upwards of £20k. It took 6 months


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## The Skipper (Nov 26, 2014)

captainendeavour said:


> I have searched the threads for this topic. The most recent I found dates back to June 2014.
> 
> Has anyone had more recent experience of applying for/installation of mains electricity?
> 
> ...


Eleven years ago Iberdrola quoted me a little over €10,000 just to upgrade an existing supply. They said they would need to run a new cable from their transformer, 200 metres away, and replace the wooden posts with concrete ones. I decided to abandon the idea but they sent me a bill for €200 for supplying the quote!


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## captainendeavour (Jan 14, 2016)

Mforster said:


> Not sure about costs of connecting mains to a rural location but you might want to consider going off grid. (Solar panels & batteries). Quite an investment but no more bills and fluctuating prices/taxes. It also makes you very aware of what you use.



I believe that's what is there now. A visit is pending. 

My thoughts on mains supply were principally concerned with running AC. Now that I have experience of year-round climate, the past 3 summers have been made tolerable for me by having somewhere to hide from the heat, esp at night. 

Here in central VLC city we have had weeks of nights at 27C/28C and one where the my digi thermometer recorder 30C+ for 36 hrs. Now the humidity is well up - I recorded 74% RH on the night of the Singapore GP, when there was lots of talk of arduous humidity - at 70% RH.

Others may tolerate the summers here better than me. I have read that one's core temp rises as you age and makes coping with heat more difficult. Thus the peaks of deaths of 'the elderly' recorded during heat waves. I turned 70 last month.

So AC and the means to run it is something I'm prepared to lash out on but mains lekky seems out of the question. Is solar capable of running AC - without having a footie-field-worth of panels?


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## captainendeavour (Jan 14, 2016)

Megsmum said:


> I had one client who connected into an existing electrical supply, which had already installed by another property owner further down
> 
> The costs were upwards of £20k. It took 6 months


Good grief! How come there's any lekky in the campo at all? Or maybe there isn't, outside the urbaniz'z...


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Solar is the way for you.

As for coping with the heat, you first have to modify the way you live. Identify where the heat comes into the building - which windows, which walls, etc. and insulate them; close the windows and persianas before the sun hits them in the morning and re-open them as it cools down in the evening to get the maximum cooling effect. 

Use Moorish aircon, i.e. use the fact that heat rises to draw cooled clean air into the house dragging the warm air out from the upper levels. Try it, it works and costs almost nothing to run.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

baldilocks said:


> Solar is the way for you.
> 
> As for coping with the heat, you first have to modify the way you live. Identify where the heat comes into the building - which windows, which walls, etc. and insulate them; close the windows and persianas before the sun hits them in the morning and re-open them as it cools down in the evening to get the maximum cooling effect.
> 
> Use Moorish aircon, i.e. use the fact that heat rises to draw cooled clean air into the house dragging the warm air out from the upper levels. Try it, it works and costs almost nothing to run.


Also, learn to live with it - acclimatise. 

Too many rush for air conditioning rather than acclimatising themselves. We've been here 14 years and hardly ever use a/c.


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

captainendeavour said:


> I believe that's what is there now. A visit is pending.
> 
> My thoughts on mains supply were principally concerned with running AC. Now that I have experience of year-round climate, the past 3 summers have been made tolerable for me by having somewhere to hide from the heat, esp at night.
> 
> ...



We have solar totally off grid. We have temps summer of 35 at night. The problem is, if you want to live in the Campo then there are sacrifices to be made, mains electricity , mains water etc etc 

We have sufficient power to live pretty much as we did in the U.K. we don’t have air con but we do have stand alone fans. You learn to adapt. House is shut down by 10am. Windows wide open at night. Also there’s more to solar than the panels. Batteries and the inverter are key components in a good system. Yes, you can run air conditionings on solar, But you need a really good system with plenty of juice. For us, it’s just not worth the investment 

The leccy was down a lane and the Campo. The original purchaser spent a small fortune getting it from the energy company to his newly built house. My clients bought the house and paid him and the electricity company to get it from the original lines to his house. All houses about 5km from mains


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## captainendeavour (Jan 14, 2016)

baldilocks said:


> Solar is the way for you.
> 
> As for coping with the heat, you first have to modify the way you live. Identify where the heat comes into the building - which windows, which walls, etc. and insulate them; close the windows and persianas before the sun hits them in the morning and re-open them as it cools down in the evening to get the maximum cooling effect.
> 
> Use Moorish aircon, i.e. use the fact that heat rises to draw cooled clean air into the house dragging the warm air out from the upper levels. Try it, it works and costs almost nothing to run.


It already has solar. How extensive a system I don't know. Single story, no 'upper levels'.

I know about hot climates. I lived in Singapore for 3 years in the days before AC. I've worked in Egypt, Kenya, California, New Mexico, Italy and, the big daddy of ridiculous heat, Peshawar, Pakistan. It's on the edge of a desert.

9 months of nothing less than 40C. & 7 months of 42-44C. Record during my stay, 45.6C. No AC except in my darkroom and the video editing suite. 

I do all the above already here in my flat in VLC city. Of course, I live in the middle of a huge storage radiator called ... Valencia city. Nowt I can do about that without moving.


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## captainendeavour (Jan 14, 2016)

Mforster said:


> Not sure about costs of connecting mains to a rural location but you might want to consider going off grid. (Solar panels & batteries). Quite an investment but no more bills and fluctuating prices/taxes. It also makes you very aware of what you use.


I would appreciate a steer to any source of info, online or in person, that anyone has 
that they consider trustworthy and knowledgeable.


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## Nomoss (Nov 25, 2016)

I don't know if anything is available in Spain, but aircon systems using absorption chillers are/were popular in the US.
The systems usually use gas for their main energy requirement, electricity being needed only for the fans and control system.
https://www.airconditioning-systems.com/absorption-air-conditioning.html


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## captainendeavour (Jan 14, 2016)

Nomoss said:


> I don't know if anything is available in Spain, but aircon systems using absorption chillers are/were popular in the US.
> The systems usually use gas for their main energy requirement, electricity being needed only for the fans and control system.
> https://www.airconditioning-systems.com/absorption-air-conditioning.html


Plenty of fridges, inc the one in my camper, can run on gas. Good point. Thanks.


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## Mforster (Mar 27, 2019)

If it already has solar panels/batteries then you may just have to add a couple of panels/batteries to make it suitable to run an a/c. We've just had a new system installed (more than necessary in hindsight), we got 5 quotes, all of which listed things such as airco, dishwasher, washing machine, fridge, freezer, pump for our water / borehole, etc etc. So.... it is possible. The batteries now are much more powerful than 4/5 years ago. However, we have opted not to have airco but to close the house during the day (windows/shutters/doors) and open windows at night and a stand alone fan in the bedroom. (same method as Megsmum does!) Temp difference has been up to 10 degrees Celsius difference at the height of the day. 35 degrees outside and 25 degrees inside.


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## Mforster (Mar 27, 2019)

captainendeavour said:


> I would appreciate a steer to any source of info, online or in person, that anyone has
> that they consider trustworthy and knowledgeable.


https://autosolar.es/blog/instalaciones-fotovoltaicas

This is the website I received from the previous owners of our house. We didn't use them so I don't know if any good or not. You can check the prices/systems etc.

We went "local" word of mouth seems to work very well where we live in Extremadura.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Mforster said:


> https://autosolar.es/blog/instalaciones-fotovoltaicas
> 
> This is the website I received from the previous owners of our house. We didn't use them so I don't know if any good or not. You can check the prices/systems etc.
> 
> *We went "local" word of mouth seems to work very well where we live in Extremadura.*


It is the best way, wherever you live - many of the locals will have been their all their lives and will be a mine of information if you choose to tap into it. However always get several recommends to avoid "my brother's friend" (who just happens to be useless!)


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## captainendeavour (Jan 14, 2016)

Mforster said:


> https://autosolar.es/blog/instalaciones-fotovoltaicas
> 
> This is the website I received from the previous owners of our house. We didn't use them so I don't know if any good or not. You can check the prices/systems etc.
> 
> We went "local" word of mouth seems to work very well where we live in Extremadura.


Yes, I've saved this co to faves. Have come across a co locally - the customer reviews all mention 1st class c/s and advice, even when there's a prob like sold-out model/late supplier delivery etc.

The 100W panels on my camper were £0.90/W. I've seen €0.47/W here. As one would expect, things are looking up in the solar world after the stupid PP 'sun tax' was binned.


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

captainendeavour said:


> I would appreciate a steer to any source of info, online or in person, that anyone has
> that they consider trustworthy and knowledgeable.





captainendeavour said:


> Plenty of fridges, inc the one in my camper, can run on gas. Good point. Thanks.


The best source is the locals. 

I have a fridge freezer and a separate freezer in our house. 

Living in the Campo is all about adapting to a different way of life


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## captainendeavour (Jan 14, 2016)

Megsmum said:


> The best source is the locals.
> 
> I have a fridge freezer and a separate freezer in our house.
> 
> Living in the Campo is all about adapting to a different way of life


I think the solar thing is in hand, now, with all your kind advice and my delvings.

The thing that has cropped next is water - non potable. How does that work?

Due to the droughts an' all I asked a Valenciano friend what they would do when the water ran out

"Go to the supermarket". I thought he was joking but it appears to have some truth in it.


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

captainendeavour said:


> I think the solar thing is in hand, now, with all your kind advice and my delvings.
> 
> The thing that has cropped next is water - non potable. How does that work?
> 
> ...


If the waters non potable your friend is correct. What type of well... that’s really something for locals to advise on, they’ll know the options in your area really restrictions etc. We have a borehole, tested annually.


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## captainendeavour (Jan 14, 2016)

Megsmum said:


> If the waters non potable your friend is correct. What type of well... that’s really something for locals to advise on, they’ll know the options in your area really restrictions etc. We have a borehole, tested annually.


The water comes from a constant source up above on the hillside. It gravity-feeds the house and 2-3 others. Each house has a tank for emergency supply in case the source fails to deliver.

I'll bow out of this conversation now because I have seen the place and it's a big fat_* No Thanks *_ on account of it being 60 metres from the N225, a useful m/way standard short cut between the A23 and the A7. There was a steady flow of HGVs and cars the hour or so we were there. The house was on the north side. The agent's 'approximately' circle was south of the road and several kms east. 



Others may care to pursue the topic. It's all very useful info for those contemplating the campo.


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## rogersd (6 mo ago)

I have a question, I don't know if someone can help me. I've thought about putting solar panels on the top of the van, because I want to make the back as a kitchen / dining area so I can go on vacation. Is it a good idea?

I have seen that there are people who do it but I am not sure about it, I have thought about buying a Solar kit for motorhomes, do you think I will have enough?


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## olivefarmer (Oct 16, 2012)

rogersd said:


> I have a question, I don't know if someone can help me. I've thought about putting solar panels on the top of the van, because I want to make the back as a kitchen / dining area so I can go on vacation. Is it a good idea?
> 
> I have seen that there are people who do it but I am not sure about it, I have thought about buying a Solar kit for motorhomes, do you think I will have enough?


16 panels each 2 metres by 1 metre = 7.5 kw on a good day. Work your requirement back from that.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

A portable panel won't generate more than 150W at best. Enough for lighting and charging your phone, possibly a very small fridge, but not enough to cook or boil a kettle.


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