# Staying Warm During Winter In Mexico City



## ChrisNYC212

Greetings,

I would like to come down to DF to spend a month Oct/Nov. The daytime temps look great but the nights seem quite cold. I've read that most hotels do not provide central heating. Do any of them loan you a space heater or are they easily found at a store and for how much ?

I go to Lima,Peru during the winters and I usually buy a space heater then sneak it back into the hotel/apt. Would this work in DF ? Is there ever a time when they sell out or are hard to find ?

Thank you so much for your responses.


Cheers


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## Guest

Ask your hotel if they have "bed warmers" available for guests on the cold nights. 

Seriously, the hotels I have stayed in on trips to MX City have all had A/C and heating units in the rooms controlled by their own thermostat. They all did. Most were 3-4 stars - Holiday Inns, Ramada, Fiesta Americana, Sheraton and Camino Real chains.


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## ChrisNYC212

GringoCArlos said:


> Ask your hotel if they have "bed warmers" available for guests on the cold nights.
> 
> Seriously, the hotels I have stayed in on trips to MX City have all had A/C and heating units in the rooms controlled by their own thermostat. They all did. Most were 3-4 stars - Holiday Inns, Ramada, Fiesta Americana, Sheraton and Camino Real chains.


 Thanks but I don't stay in hotels like that. I usually stay in local hotels. I would love to spend a month at the sheraton but no can do.

Did you see any heaters for sale in DF ?


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## Guest

The big box stores like Soriana, Wal-Mart, Comercial Mexicana, Coppel, Elektra, etc sell these in a wide price range (I think a space heater is called a "calefactor" here, and not "calentador" which would refer to a hot water heater). I paid about 800 pesos for a small 1500 watt heater last winter. A small hotel might try to hit you up for an electricity surcharge for the privilege if they know about it...


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## ChrisNYC212

GringoCArlos said:


> The big box stores like Soriana, Wal-Mart, Comercial Mexicana, Coppel, Elektra, etc sell these in a wide price range (I think a space heater is called a "calefactor" here, and not "calentador" which would refer to a hot water heater). I paid about 800 pesos for a small 1500 watt heater last winter. A small hotel might try to hit you up for an electricity surcharge for the privilege if they know about it...


 Great. Thank you for responding and for correcting my vocabulary. I am curious to know if the 1500 watts heater would be enough to heat up an entire bedroom ? I especially need the room warm when I step out of the shower.

I agree that hiding it from the hotel would be the best option.

Thanks Again

Cheers


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## Guest

I live in a brick house. With an outside temp of 0ºC and the thermostat on the heater set about 40% up from the bottom, it kept three rooms warm but not too warm for sleeping, and didn't run all of the time. Set on high, it will make one room toasty in 1/2 hour.


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## conorkilleen

ChrisNYC212 said:


> Greetings,
> 
> I would like to come down to DF to spend a month Oct/Nov. The daytime temps look great but the nights seem quite cold. I've read that most hotels do not provide central heating. Do any of them loan you a space heater or are they easily found at a store and for how much ?
> 
> I go to Lima,Peru during the winters and I usually buy a space heater then sneak it back into the hotel/apt. Would this work in DF ? Is there ever a time when they sell out or are hard to find ?
> 
> Thank you so much for your responses.
> 
> 
> Cheers



Find yourself a beautiful Mexican woman (assuming you are male) to cuddle with at night. I've had one for about 4 years that has been keeping me warm at night. However, they tend to be much more expensive than a space heater if you plan on keeping them around for a while!! Don't tell my wife I said that!

seriously though, be careful of running a space heater in the hotel/motel. If they get curious to why your room is running more that 10-15 kwh per day then they may forcefully investigate. Any electrical device that produces heat specifically for that purpose, depending on how long you run it, will be sure to produce high electric bills if you are not careful.

you may want to look at an electric blankets (popular here) for bed time and relaxing on the couch and for the bathroom maybe look into getting a heat lamp for just shower time.

Good luck! I am moving to Mexico City in a few months and I am looking forward to getting out of the Monterrey heat. Its finally started to get cooler at night...almost cold sometimes...but we are LOVING it!


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## RVGRINGO

For those who aren't familiar with how electricity is billed in Mexico, I'll give this warning: Don't use electric heating devices without the knowledge of your landlord or hotel. They may evict you in the middle of the night; not so gently, either.
Electricity up to a very small amount, by our standards, is subsidized. Then, there is an intermediate range, where the price per KwH doubles. Then, there is an higher range, where it doubles again. Beyond that, there is DAC, a high consumption rate, where all subsidies and lower rates are lost, and additional fees are added. It takes a year to get out of that rate, so your landlord/hotel may have a very angry reaction if you are discovered. I would!
So, it isn't nice to 'cheat' your host, is it? Want heat? Go to a five star hotel. Most others will provide extra blankets, if asked.


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## tepetapan

RVGRINGO said:


> For those who aren't familiar with how electricity is billed in Mexico, I'll give this warning: Don't use electric heating devices without the knowledge of your landlord or hotel. They may evict you in the middle of the night; not so gently, either.
> Electricity up to a very small amount, by our standards, is subsidized. Then, there is an intermediate range, where the price per KwH doubles. Then, there is an higher range, where it doubles again. Beyond that, there is DAC, a high consumption rate, where all subsidies and lower rates are lost.....


 Commercial electric, at least in my area, are not subsidized at any point. Where as a homeowner may see they are paying (at the low end) 6/10 the cost of production for electric, guess who is covering the other 4/10s. Commercial, which is what hotels are listed under. Every other month I receive 2 commercial electric bills for our business and they are never cheap or subsidized.


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## ChrisNYC212

RVGRINGO said:


> For those who aren't familiar with how electricity is billed in Mexico, I'll give this warning: Don't use electric heating devices without the knowledge of your landlord or hotel. They may evict you in the middle of the night; not so gently, either.
> Electricity up to a very small amount, by our standards, is subsidized. Then, there is an intermediate range, where the price per KwH doubles. Then, there is an higher range, where it doubles again. Beyond that, there is DAC, a high consumption rate, where all subsidies and lower rates are lost, and additional fees are added. It takes a year to get out of that rate, so your landlord/hotel may have a very angry reaction if you are discovered. I would!
> So, it isn't nice to 'cheat' your host, is it? Want heat? Go to a five star hotel. Most others will provide extra blankets, if asked.


 This is intense. I used a heater twice in Lima,Peru at the same place and no complaints. However I am sure everywhere is different. What you say makes sense. 

I don't know if I could sleep or shower in those temps without getting sick. I am an experienced traveler and I know that once I get sick it's all over for me. That's why I do so much research on sleeping arrangements.

Thanks again for the lesson.


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## Mexicodrifter

I know you said that you get sick easily but Oct/Nov weather in D.F. is not very cold. The temp drops maybe 10 to15 degrees at night in the city, more outside but ifthe dayis 27c/80f then 23c/65fis stilll nice. If you are now living in a very hot climate then you will feel the difference dramaticly. The only place I evver used an electric heater was in Patzquaro, but it is very high in the mountain. 
Usually for me, a couple of wool blanckets works well and I shower in the afternoons when the temp is up.
Good luck


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## ChrisNYC212

Mexicodrifter said:


> I know you said that you get sick easily but Oct/Nov weather in D.F. is not very cold. The temp drops maybe 10 to15 degrees at night in the city, more outside but ifthe dayis 27c/80f then 23c/65fis stilll nice. If you are now living in a very hot climate then you will feel the difference dramaticly. The only place I evver used an electric heater was in Patzquaro, but it is very high in the mountain.
> Usually for me, a couple of wool blanckets works well and I shower in the afternoons when the temp is up.
> Good luck


 I just looked online and it said Oct lows can be 52 degrees and Nov down to 48 degrees. Is this correct ? The day temps look great.

If these temps reflect the actual readings then "yes" I would like just a little heat. It would be different if I was home with all my bedding. 

This is coming from somebody who wears a winter hat and scarf on the airplane when they crank up the AC ! It runs in the family.


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## RVGRINGO

Those temperatures are outside, not in your room. Masonry holds the day's heat quite well.


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## Mexicodrifter

RVGRINGO is right, and the temp reported is usually from the airport which is much cooler. My house is running in the high 60s at night right now and I live away from the city about 25 klm. Unless we have an unusual fall it will be nice in the evenings, just a sweater or light coat. A couple of wool blankets and your good to snuggle in the bed. The hard part will be the early mornings if you insist on showering then. I like afternoons but if your schedule is busy.....
We will never know how much you suffer from the cold. Come prepared to be cool and things will be good, I hope.

Davie


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## AlanMexicali

*DAC Rates*



RVGRINGO said:


> Those temperatures are outside, not in your room. Masonry holds the day's heat quite well.


I was chatting with my neighbor in Mexicali and I mentioned the CFE DAC rate and why my AC in Mexicali was cheap as I have heard that in some places using AC is very expensive because of the maximum DAC rate system. He said for 6 months in the summer ALL people get the lowest DAC not dependent on consumption criteria because of the extreme constant heat. [humanitarian thing to do]. This explains why I could not wrap my head around the luz being expensive in Mexico. The per kilowatt hr, rate in Calif. is one of the highest. People with a house just across the border might pay $450.00 US per month for a house my size and better insulated and I pay around $1200.00 - $1,400.00 pesos per month in mid summer. Very Interesting.


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## jasavak

*Space Heater*



ChrisNYC212 said:


> Great. Thank you for responding and for correcting my vocabulary. I am curious to know if the 1500 watts heater would be enough to heat up an entire bedroom ? I especially need the room warm when I step out of the shower.
> 
> I agree that hiding it from the hotel would be the best option.
> 
> Thanks Again
> 
> Cheers



In Mexico a calefacción is the word used for a commercial heater installed in your hotel room. Ask for un calenton electrico if you want a small electric space heater .


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## jasavak

*Kilowatt hours*



AlanMexicali said:


> I was chatting with my neighbor in Mexicali and I mentioned the CFE DAC rate and why my AC in Mexicali was cheap as I have heard that in some places using AC is very expensive because of the maximum DAC rate system. He said for 6 months in the summer ALL people get the lowest DAC not dependent on consumption criteria because of the extreme constant heat. [humanitarian thing to do]. This explains why I could not wrap my head around the luz being expensive in Mexico. The per kilowatt hr, rate in Calif. is one of the highest. People with a house just across the border might pay $450.00 US per month for a house my size and better insulated and I pay around $1200.00 - $1,400.00 pesos per month in mid summer. Very Interesting.



The price for Kilowatt hour has three tiers in California just like most of Mexico . The major problem is not only the price per kwh , but the crazy taxes . My brother in Colorado has the same problem . The price per kwh was only 5.5 cents , but the after tax price was more than 11 cents . In California the after tax price was 24 cents per kw on my friends bill . In Texas , we pay 10 cents per kwh flat rate . The tax portion is less that 1 % of the bill . If you have other people living in your home in Mexico , you can request an extra meter installed under another name if you declare two families in your dwelling. This will double your lower baseline rates and could cut your bill way down .


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