Posted by
mum2004
18 yrs ago
Does your helper have AC in her room ?
So far our helper doesn't have it but she told me she was very hot, even with the fan and the window opened - which I understand.
If your helper has AC, can she use it all the time ? I'm scared the electric bill could go very high if she leaves it on all the time and I'm not sure she would respect to put it only at night time for example as we're both working and away from the house during the day...
So I would appreciate to know what you're doing and what is usually done in HKG.
Thank you
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mrsl
18 yrs ago
Ours does not have AC in her room (the only room in the house without it). She has turned down a fan in favour of leaving the kitchen door open and letting the cold air from there into her room. Her room is adjacent to the kitchen. We know not to use the kitchen when the main kitchen door is closed. Gotta admit, the bills are enormous as she has she has it on full blast all summer.
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Our helper has A/C (this was the hardest thing to negotiate successfully in our lease - the landlord just couldn't see the point of it!).
We don't police her use of it as we are lucky enough to have our electricity bills included in our package.
However, having recently seen the Al Gore film on global warming, I've become very conscious about our electricity consumption and am constantly turning off lights and appliances which i think are not is use (sometimes I'm wrong and there is an indignant yelp from someone suddenly reading in the dark!).
We don't use our A/C during the day even in summer - if it hot we might turn it on to cool the room down and then turn it off and i think she does the same with her own as she turns our A/cs off in the morning when she cleans. I must ask her. I know that she prefers to iron in her room and has the A/C on while ironing which is fair enough as it gets hot.
Maybe I'll have the "global warming" chat to her just to make sure that she turns the A/c off when she's not in her room (as we do).
MrsL, before we had the A/c installed we had a portable cooler (cold air did come out)in the helper's room. It's not as good as a/c but better than a fan which just circulates warm air. Could this be a compromise for your helper? Using the kitchen a/c to cool the helper's room seems to be an inefficient way to cool. The cost for buying and running a portable cooler could be less than your helper's current method.
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OK123
18 yrs ago
Ones i asked my DH to turn off her fan and the stereo when she is not in the room, her response was "Doesn't your husband's company pays for the bill?". After few reminders, she still didn't turn it off.
I understand everyone is different, but my advise dont get it.
By the way, no one is paying for our bills, have no idea where did she get it from.
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mrsl
18 yrs ago
mborderform, thank you for that. May I ask where you got the cooler from? I agree about the wasted electricity. The rest of us (even my 2 year old is getting into the habit) all minimise our use of electricity, but our helper does not get it. She thinks that it is just about money and seems to believe that we are swimming in the stuff (could not be further from the truth). Every time I walk into a room, she has left lights fan and AC on.
The same with recycling (I am constantly removing recyclables from the rubbish, despite having placed them in a separate box to start with) and water - try to explain that the dress that my daughter wore for 5 minutes because she was playing dress up does not need to be washed. Have said repeatedly that unless something is in the washing basket, it is not to be washed, but to no effect.
I have given her Al Gore's DVD, as he makes a much stranger point than I, but still no change. So maybe the portable cooler will make the point....
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crj
18 yrs ago
Our last flat, the room was very airy (large with windows on two sides) and the helper had her own portable cooler.
Our current flat, the room is not so airy, and we installed an A/C. She uses it at night, and on Sundays if her sister comes over they sometimes have it on.
I think it does depend upon the room. Saying that, in our last flat we had the A/C on a lot less than our current flat in general as it was more airy and had a great through breeze.
I also think you are totally in your right to set expectations- ie, only on at night and on Sundays, and off when she is out of the room/house.
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mrsl
18 yrs ago
HK1, did you install one in the wall (which our landlord had said no to), or buy a plug-in one? If so, where did you get it? And just one more question; does it expel hot air out the back? Thanks
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Like Cara, our helpers have a proper bedroom with an a/c, which I think they only use in the night. I dont know when they use it to be honest, but during the day if I go into the room, its never on.
Our electricity bills are phenomenal. I'm scratching my head thinking how to cut down! arrrrrgh
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In Spore, I use the PVC blockout curtains for all the bedrooms and it does reduce the heat tremendously.
The PVC side facing the window is grey in color & is reflective, thus heat is reflected outwards. The other side (beige etc)face the bedroom. It can be used by itself or behind the curtains.
It should be avail in HK curtain shops. I remembered it was less than SGD10 per mtr.
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Hi all, thanks for your input. I guess I may get her one as it's really getting warm now...
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Mrsl, we were given the cooler by friends leaving HK but I have seen them at PnS (part of a promotion, I think) and also at Fortress. They do expel hot air from the back though (we positioned the cooler in the doorway to the helper's bathroom so the hot didn't just circulate in the room). Good luck!
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Just FYI, we have provided our helper with a/c in her room for night use. The way I look at it is, a bad nights sleep will impede my DH's ability to carry out her daily chores properly, a good night sleep means a happy/healthy helper.
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3579
18 yrs ago
We provide an AC for our maid. She only uses it at night. Agree with maree123.
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3579
18 yrs ago
We provide an AC for our maid. She only uses it at night. Agree with maree123.
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we have a schedule for the aircons, when it is
cool enough maybe after 3 hours- everyone should use electric fans afterwards.But if you do not have electric fans,then it will be a problem. Electricity bill during summer for a big house like ours is around $2,500 to $3,000.
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