Electricity charges

[MissP]

These threads may help you.

viewtopic.php?t=24570&highlight=air+con
viewtopic.php?t=22115&highlight=air+con
viewtopic.php?t=24395&highlight=air+con

Happy reading!

Amazing - thank you!!!! 😄😄😄

[kevsboredagain]

Ours works with coins, when we had them put in about 4 years ago they were pretty ancient but the newer ones are much better, not sure where to get them though

OMG Last used one of them when I was a student. If I rented a place and had to feed the meter, I would certainly be cheesed off and never come back.

[kevsboredagain]

In your experience, is it usually enough to just explain nicely how pricey it can be and ask them to use sparingly? We have ceiling fans in all rooms, so I would suggest they are often enough unless the weather is really hot.

Nope definitely not. Some people really don't care as long as they are not paying (directly) for it. People also don't like to pay for extras, so adding into your price creates the least bad feeling but will create the most wastage.

There are indeed devices which will turn off AC when not used and I use a couple in one property.

Electricity may have gone up lots but many people have been hiking up rental prices much faster than inflation at the same time.

[annedab]

Apologies for the thread creep, but Kev's post reminds me that we once went on a girlie day trip to France. As it was an early crossing we booked a b&b for the night before, big family room as there were 5 of us - we planned our evening meticulously so that we didn't miss the final episode of Between the Lines. The TV had to be fed with pound coins

[roxytoo]

Ours works with coins, when we had them put in about 4 years ago they were pretty ancient but the newer ones are much better, not sure where to get them though

OMG Last used one of them when I was a student. If I rented a place and had to feed the meter, I would certainly be cheesed off and never come back.

Well as I said with only 2 weeks to book for the whole of this year it hasn't impacted on bookings!

[kevsboredagain]

Ours works with coins, when we had them put in about 4 years ago they were pretty ancient but the newer ones are much better, not sure where to get them though

OMG Last used one of them when I was a student. If I rented a place and had to feed the meter, I would certainly be cheesed off and never come back.

Well as I said with only 2 weeks to book for the whole of this year it hasn't impacted on bookings!

Do you tell people about it before they arrive?

[Hells Bells]

Is the coin meter just for the aircon?

[roxytoo]

of course I do, its on the advert and written in red in 2 places on the contract. We are actually booked until April 2017 bar those 2 weeks

[roxytoo]

Helen, yes just the air con

[kevsboredagain]

of course I do, its on the advert and written in red in 2 places on the contract. We are actually booked until April 2017 bar those 2 weeks

I must be alone in my opinion then. I wouldn't book somewhere that did that.

[Bunny]

I've not got coin meters, but I have stayed in a holiday cottage that had one. I can honestly say it didn't bother me in the least and didn't stop me booking - nothing is free at the end of the day, so I wasn't bothered whether it was built into the rent or collected by the meter. It wasn't much hardship having to feed the meter. Some people might prefer to only pay for what they actually use if they are frugal, rather than paying for an average allowance. Roxytoo, I'm really not surprised that it doesn't affect your bookings. If it works for you, then I wouldn't go with the general flow. If you weren't getting bookings I might think differently.

[CSE]

Wonder what the law is on reselling electric in Spain?
As I understand it it is illegal on several fronts.
The extra meter is not installed to regulations; the price of electricity in Spain is governed by several factors written down in statue law.

Whether you are caught or not obviously depends on a lot. A jealous neighbour denounces you. Something like a fire; a customer not happy could do it too.
But, hay, I am one of those who thinks why complicate your life even more than what it is already?

[costa-brava]

I have had one of the new smart meters for a few months but they still were reading the meter. I got a letter yesterday to say that the smart connection is now operative and the readings and consumption etc are now sent down the line to HQ..
This is going to affect holiday rentals a lot. If our guests exceed the contracted maximum the power will shut off. It's not super difficult to reconnect but there is a set procedure to reset the meter.
It is particularly important for absentee owners. It will affect things this summer.

[roxytoo]

Yes the smart meters have opened up a can of worms already on the costa blanca , I had to move a family last week and refund everything as the house was only contracted to 3.3kw which was the original contract, smart meter put in (they are being put in everywhere and owners not being told or advised) and it trips now just with a kettle and water heater! We also have to upgrade ours.....

our coin meter is set to the tariff of Iberdola

[CSE]

Good point CB. Had our new meter installed back last October. Got no idea how they get a signal back to "base". No new cables at all.

of course I do, its on the advert and written in red in 2 places on the contract. We are actually booked until April 2017 bar those 2 weeks

But you have to admit it is not totally clear in the adverts, I found it 6 paragraphs down in the description.
https://www.rentivo.com/property/48671