All the neighborhood communities pay the electric bill for the energy consumption of the common areas, basically, for the elevator and the lighting of the stairs. In this small article we tell you how to save on the electricity bill of said building.
It must be verified that the contracted power for common services is what we really need. As it is mandatory to have a maintenance contract for the electrical installation for residential buildings of >100 kW (total power of the building: homes, premises, common services, parking, etc.), it is important to know this information to know if it is necessary or not the aforementioned maintenance contract, which ranges between €250-300/year.
Save on electric bills: Why do this check?
In its day, when we bought the apartment, we trusted the powers that the promoter of the works calculated. But what happens now? It turns out that since he did not have to face the subsequent expenses, perhaps he made some upward calculations so as not to have problems in the future, and contracted more power than necessary.
It is for this reason that it is very important to calculate our real power to save on the electricity bill.
Adjusting the electrical power of our home and the common areas of the building to our real needs can represent significant savings throughout an entire year. Let’s not forget that in the invoices we pay a fixed amount for contracted power and a variable amount for consumption.
It is important to know that there is an agreement established between the inspection and control entities (ECA, ICICT, etc.) and the installers, to calculate the power of a residential building, which is what determines the need or not for a maintenance contract.
How they calculate the power of a residential building:
- – Homes: 5.75 kW
- – Commercial premises: 100 W/m2
- – Parking: 25 W/m2
- – Common areas (up to 6-7 floors): 4-8 kW for the elevator and 2-4 kW for lighting
And they always make the forecast of greater power…..