Korean Job Discussion Forums

[crazy_bagman]

I don't know about others but I was wondering what others pay in Utility cost.

I pay over 100,000 won a month on apartment fee, that includes security and electricity.

And then during the cold months over another 100,000 won for gas bill.

Not only that but last month I had a small space heater on all day and all night becuase the harsh cold, and I got an electricity bill of over 500,000 won!!!!

I felt like I'm getting screwed, but all my korean co-teachers said that electricity usage is on a sliding scale.

So for the past 2 months I'm paying 1.2 million won in Utility fees, WHAT THE HELL!?!

[hugekebab]

[Lolimahro]

I live with my hubby and child in a oneroom in Mokdong. We get two utility bills per month - not sure which is which. One is less than 10,000 won per month no matter what time of year. The other is about 150,000 when using the airconditioner, 170,000+ when using the heater (last month it was 230,000...ug.).

We've started to just wear extra layers around because even when we have the heater on full-blast all day, it's really not that much warmer.

Putting plastic on your windows might help, though, if you haven't already.

[bassexpander]

You can raise the temperature in your home by a degree or two if you just add enough humidity. Be sure to air this out daily, though, or you'll get mold. A humid house feels much warmer and warms more quickly.

[Ron64]

Electricity is tricky because up to certain amount it's cheep, and beyond that it's really expensive. Besides, it can take over a month until you get your bill. For example, on Jan 23rd I got the utility bill that includes electricity consumed from Nov 17th till Dec 17th.

Do not use electricity for heating !
It is possible to get gas heater. If you have Namban(the under floor heating) is can be expensive, but not too bad it you are careful to set the thermostat to a reasonable temperature (like one-two degree higher)

As for electricity bill up to 300KWH/mounth it is cheep. Anything beyond 500KWH is super expensive.
check the table: http://cyber.kepco.co.kr/cyber/updata/down/elec_home_low.pdf
You can see in the big table on the bottom right
300KWH - 39,960 won
500KWH - 115,550 won
600KWH - 194,830 won
700KWH - 268,040 won
900kWH - 414,460 won
For a single person 300kWH is a lot, I used this much for a family when we lived in a smaller apartment, but if you use electricity for heating or aircon, it is very easy to use too much. Once i had two computers that worked 24/7, after 2 months I got a huge electricity bill only because of that. It took me some time to figure out when and how the electricity bill is calculated.

If you use a small 1000W heater for 1 hour per day for all month it will add 30KWH. If your electricity consumption was already over 500KWH it's about 25,000 won extra. If you leave 1500W heater running every night (8h) it can be up to 280,000 won extra!

I hope I calculated accurately, and that this information is useful.

[Cerberus]

didn't I just read that Korea's winter electicity demand has skyrocketed because it's now cheaper to heat your house with electricity than with gas?

oh yeah.. good news (sarcasm) - the govt has announced plans to ratchet up winter electricity prices.

actually in my case, utilities aren't bad but it's a tiny shoebox place.

I pay 25K a month mgmt fee to landlord.

electricity usually around 10-15K won.. skyrockets to 100K or a little more in summertime as I must run the very weak and inefficient yet electricity guzzling 'air conditioner' (doesn't produce much cold air at all)

gas costs around 10K, runs up to 50K plus in wintertime but I keep my place much cooler than a lot of people. Warm toasty places drive me nuts and sap me of all energy.

also, I get the ______ out of Korea every August and January and turn everything off.