# Electric bill in unused home



## keybler (May 15, 2020)

In Madrid I have Cureneria and they bill me for my contracted rate during the portion of the year that I am not at my home. I use it less than 6 months of the year. Does anyone know of ways to reduce this? Thanks!


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

I don't know of any providers who have zero standing charges, but I guess they vary. You could try shopping around.
Or lower the contracted power and hence pay less? Drastic, but if it bothers you...


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## keybler (May 15, 2020)

I think the contracted power can only be changed once per year. I guess shopping around is the way to go.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Yes. I wasn't suggesting that you change the power and the change back.

It would be interesting to see how much you can really save on the standing charges though. I doubt it will be much.


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## keybler (May 15, 2020)

My contracted power is quite a lot so right now I pay over 20 euro a month for an empty place. I had to raise it that high as it would cut out otherwise in the summer when I used the air conditioners. Strange system in Spain! Thank you for your advice.


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

How old are the A/C units? That might be your real problem.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

The standing charge, which is linked to the potencia, is set by the government so there's not much point shopping around.


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## keybler (May 15, 2020)

They are pretty new but there are a bunch of them. I think I may just have to accept the charge, unless there is one company that is more flexible with allowing one to change the contracted capacity more frequently than others. Some do offer summer plans, I will look into those.


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

Do you have to turn them all on at once?

My 12k BTU units draw about 1kw when first turned on but 15 minutes or so later are only drawing I think 250 watts. 

If you can get away turning on one or two at a time you might manage with a lower limit. It's likely your units have a timer .

Also for A/C to save electricity you'd want to run them at night when it's cooler out.


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## keybler (May 15, 2020)

Sometimes during the cooling cycle they all kick in at once which can cause the draw to go up high even if they are not turned on at once. But I could probably get away with a lower contracted limit by managing them more closely. It's just weird to have the power turn off randomly because of a contracted limit. Another thing I could do is get a smart meter where I can monitor the instantaneous draw so that I can set my limit more carefully.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

Alcalaina said:


> The standing charge, which is linked to the potencia, is set by the government so there's not much point shopping around.


I might be wrong, but I think it's the maximum that is regulated by the government, but that doesn't stop companies charging less for competition reasons.
Look at the actual price of ITVs compared with the regulated price.


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

keybler said:


> Sometimes during the cooling cycle they all kick in at once which can cause the draw to go up high even if they are not turned on at once. .


My units have an eco mode to deal with that sort of situation. It stops the unit from going full power. With multiple units you could even just use the mode in the room(s) you aren't using full time.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Overandout said:


> I might be wrong, but I think it's the maximum that is regulated by the government, but that doesn't stop companies charging less for competition reasons.
> Look at the actual price of ITVs compared with the regulated price.


I might be wrong as well, but I`m pretty sure the standing charge is fixed (at least up to 10kW), and the price per unit is flexible.


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## keybler (May 15, 2020)

NickZ said:


> My units have an eco mode to deal with that sort of situation. It stops the unit from going full power. With multiple units you could even just use the mode in the room(s) you aren't using full time.


Good idea on the eco mode, thanks. I haven't read the manuals yet which I like to do with appliances. Once it kicked off in the winter when I happened to be there but that was because the previous owner had an extremely low contracted amount set. So that made me a bit wary of this whole contracted power system. Perhaps I can monitor peak usage for a season, using things like eco mode on certain ACs and set based on that.


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## MataMata (Nov 30, 2008)

I bought one of these, paid for itself in the first few weeks and longer term I've reduced my consumption by 25%

https://www.geotogether.com/consumer/product-category/energy-monitoring/


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## keybler (May 15, 2020)

Is there definitely a limit to how many times you can change your contracted power per year without incurring a fee?


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