Potencia question

[Dr1Gonzo]

Wondering if anyone has any experience on their contracted potencia vs what Endesa say was the maximum demand?
I currently have a contracted potencia of 15.1 which I think is easy too high. When I'm there during the holidays the P6 (all Saturday Sunday) says my maximum demand is 6kwh.
So I'm thinking I could probably reduce potencia to 8 and I'd be fine but does this seem too low?
I think when everything is on I have
1 AC, 1 pool pump, hob, oven, microwave, TV, lights laptops, etc.
I would have thought the oven and hob use almost 5kwh by themselves so I'm not sure I really believe the max demand 6kwh on the monthly bill

[olive]

You can certainly go lower than that.

We have many of those items but no electric cooking but we do have electric boiler for our main water heating. Our potencia is limited to 5.5 due to the twisted bell wire overhead distribution. You adopt a lifestyle. Doing washing? Put dishwasher on after it has finished. You need to factor in kettles as well. They are hefty users albeit for short time.

Lets see what other users with middling potencias have to say.

[Free at Last]

I live in an all electric property with a potencia of 5.75 kw. No pool pump but electric oven, induction hob, microwave, washing machine, dishwasher, electric water heater, 1 AC which is used for heating in the evenings in winter, TV, 2 laptops, and the usual small appliances. Generally it's enough but it has tripped a few times if we've switched the kettle or hairdryer on when the oven and hob have been in use. We always put the washing machine on in the mornings and run the dishwasher in the evening.

[markwilding]

We have 4.4 which my wife tells me is pretty normal. We have central heating but all the other typical appliances. It has tripped a couple of times over the 20 years we have lived here but the last time we were cooking, had the kettle on while ironing and other things all at the same time. It should also be remembered that only one phase trips, not all the electric.

[Dr1Gonzo]

Also one other thing I never understood is that to reset a trip you turn the main trip switch off and on but shouldn't it be something at the meter outside that is tripping?

[Enrique]

Hi Dr1Gonzo,

Your meter is smarter than the average Smart Meter........your Smart Meter controls the contracted Potencia, this enables the Energy Company to change the Contracted Potencia on-line.

We have a less than Smart Meter as the Contracted Potencia is controlled in the the house with a 15Amp breaker, so to change our Potencia the Company would have the send an engineer out to change the internal breaker.
,,,,
A good Posts by 'Free at Last'....&... olive......one adjusts life style to suit the Potencia. We have the usual white goods, plus electric water heaters and oil filled radaitors.............on timers , running on 3.3Kw Potencia with only the very occasional tripping.

Bit confued with Mark's Post............"It should also be remembered that only one phase trips, not all the electric." 4.4kw 3 phase ?

[olive]

We have 3 phase 5.5 kw. When it trips it all goes.

We did once have a Power outage which turned out to be a fuse on the i/c supply on the pole. That only affected one of the phases.

[markwilding]

Bit confued with Mark's Post............"It should also be remembered that only one phase trips, not all the electric." 4.4kw 3 phase ?

Not everything goes out, just the plugs in the kitchen and the cooker. We still have lights downstairs and electricity upstairs.

[spanish_lad]

sounds like a more modern fuse box - with several banks of breakers, the icp on the overloaded bank would trip i imagine? not the main supply coming into the fuse box.

[El Cid]

If the ICP trips, you lose all 3 phases. With a Smart meter, the ICP is in the meter. If you exceed the potencia it all goes off. You just flip the main fuse block in the indoor unit to reset it.

Sid

[spanish_lad]

sorry, i meant the differencial that controls that "bank" of breakers. if they have for example, 3 sets of 4 breakers, with 3 differencials and one main icp, it sounds like the phases are split over the 3 banks, and one is tripping but leaving the others on?

i dont think it really "should" work like that..

but i suppose theres no point guessing really, spanish houses are wired in the strangest ways, if its not all new and up to spec.

[spanish_lad]

Bit confued with Mark's Post............"It should also be remembered that only one phase trips, not all the electric." 4.4kw 3 phase ?

Not everything goes out, just the plugs in the kitchen and the cooker. We still have lights downstairs and electricity upstairs.

if definatly sounds like Mark has more than one differencial - or the breaker itself is tripping because too many circuits are connected to one breaker?

[spanish_lad]

Wondering if anyone has any experience on their contracted potencia vs what Endesa say was the maximum demand?
I currently have a contracted potencia of 15.1 which I think is easy too high. When I'm there during the holidays the P6 (all Saturday Sunday) says my maximum demand is 6kwh.
So I'm thinking I could probably reduce potencia to 8 and I'd be fine but does this seem too low?
I think when everything is on I have
1 AC, 1 pool pump, hob, oven, microwave, TV, lights laptops, etc.
I would have thought the oven and hob use almost 5kwh by themselves so I'm not sure I really believe the max demand 6kwh on the monthly bill

15kw seems very high to be fair, i mean.. you dont have under floor heating or any "big" things.. 9.9kw would be more than sufficient. Even if you have all the things you mentioned plugged in at once, your 6kw peak seems about right. Ac can be 1500w, a cooker 2kw, pool pump another 1.5kw ..

[dxf]

Hola,

I have 3.3 trip and mine never trips. I have only the well pump, kettle , washing machine that use oodles of power. All the rest are lights

Davexf