# Confusion on dewa



## Desert_Fever (Apr 13, 2013)

Folks,

I am moving from US to Dubai in a couple of months. I know this question has probably been asked before so if you have a specific thread that answers this question, feel free to point me to that.

I am new to the world of "Chiller FREE" and "DEWA". I was told last week when I went to check out places that Marina is generally free "air conditioning" and that you pay for the electricity and water consumption built into your DEWA bill. I was told that most villas, on the other hand, you pay for both as part of your DEWA bill.

Ideally, we would like to have a villa due to the size and family friendly nature of villas moving from the US. However, I've read some horror stories on this forum on the amount of their AC/WATER bills and because I am renting I really cannot imagine allocating $1000 US for a monthly AC/WAter bill.

I know a lot of this relative to size of Garden (water sprinklers) and your personal A/C consumption, but what are people paying on average for a 3-4 bedroom villa with a small garden in your respective neighborhoods?

I also wonder whether places in Umm Suqeim (which seem generally older) are less efficient in comparison to the newer places like Jumeirah park etc.

Any indication will help in this decision. i.e. AC Paid 3 Bed in Marina vs 3-4 Bedroom (3000-4000 sq ft) villa in Jumeirah, Meadows etc.

Thanks in advance


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## XDoodlebugger (Jan 24, 2012)

Desert_Fever said:


> Folks,
> 
> I am moving from US to Dubai in a couple of months. I know this question has probably been asked before so if you have a specific thread that answers this question, feel free to point me to that.
> 
> ...


Can't help on the villa but a 2 bedroom in the Marina will run a bit over $200 for DEWA (5% tax on your rent is included in that bill so is actually the majority of it for me).


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## TallyHo (Aug 21, 2011)

No one really understands how DEWA measures usage in Dubai. At one point they were providing you with a bill based on estimated use, not actual use, though that was a few years ago and things may be more efficient now.

About two-three years ago a lot of people in the freehold areas (Ranches, Meadows, Springs) got slammed with enormous dewa bills during the summer months, sometimes even more than 5,000 AED. What made it worse was that neighbours with seemingly identical lifestyle habits were getting minimal dewa bills. These scenarios were never fully explained and there was speculation that DEWA was deliberately inflating bills for the freehold areas as these are lived in by expats. But I haven't heard of horror stories in the last year or so.

People who live in the older areas such as Umm Suqeim and Jumeira tend to have lower dewa bills than the freehold areas. This partly stems from that the water you use for the garden is groundwater and is not metered. As for inefficient AC systems - depends entirely on the villa. Those areas have plenty of new villas while plenty of villas in the freehold areas are already crumbling and suffering from poorly installed AC systems. 

Dewa will also vary depending on the size of your property. A big villa with echoing space, a pool, lavish gardens = big bills. Smaller compound villa, no pool or shared pool, lower bills. 

As for apartments - most apartments will be 'chiller free' meaning that the AC is internal to the building's HVAC system and as such the individual apartment usages can't be measured. The landlords all pay for the AC out of their maintenance fees, which the tenant does not pay. 

But other buildings are in what's called district cooling schemes, which is where a central cooling plant pumps AC into the apartment towers and into the individual apartments. The usage can be measured by unit. These people pay far more for their AC than those in non-district cooling schemes. 

Most of the Marina is chiller free, except for JBR, which is district cooling. The Palm is district cooling. JLT is district cooling. The Greens and Downtown are not, nor is TECOM. 

I live in a 1,450 sqft flat in the Greens. My monthly DEWA is about 700 AED in the summer and 600 in the winter, inclusive of housing tax. I have the AC on around the clock between late May - early October.

My old villa in Jumeira - the DEWA never exceeded 1,000 at the peak of the summer. Half that in the winter. Approximately 2,000 square feet. But no housing tax involved.




Desert_Fever said:


> Folks,
> 
> I am moving from US to Dubai in a couple of months. I know this question has probably been asked before so if you have a specific thread that answers this question, feel free to point me to that.
> 
> ...


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## Desert_Fever (Apr 13, 2013)

Excellent info and thanks for taking the time to write this in detail.


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## vantage (May 10, 2012)

inefficient old villa in Jumeira (single glazed, leaky doors & looks like a concrete bunker from the Maginot Line)
fully detached
3 beds
small garden

'AVERAGE" over 12 months is 24,000 AED.
This includes the 'Housing fee' of 5% rental value

Actual DEWA "average" is therefore 1,375 AED

We are pretty careful with the AC. It is an old Unit. We are probably keeping the temps around 26 degrees in the hot weather. Lower and the bills go through the roof.

The water is not the problem...!


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## AugustChristopher (Jul 24, 2013)

Hi TallyHo,

I have found flats in JLT (Silverene Tower) advertised "central A/C and heating free"..is that possible if JLT is district cooling?

Sorry to bother you guys with that again..Just want to make sure i get it right..Thanks.



TallyHo said:


> ...Most of the Marina is chiller free, except for JBR, which is district cooling. The Palm is district cooling. JLT is district cooling. The Greens and Downtown are not, nor is TECOM.


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