Adding a single room AC to your house. Reliable unit/pricing?

I have seen a case where they connected to the meter with 4mm and had a 30 amp breaker, so far so good but as soon as the wire went inside the wall it changed to 1.5 mm and they used that to supply the breaker box. I have my suspicions on what happend but it was very dangerous to do such a thing. I've seen the same where 1.5 mm wire gets swapp with .75 mm wire somewhere down the line. The point is if you can't see both ends of the wire, don't trust it and there is still the chace that it is off somehwere in the middle.
Two other things to be aware of, as I learned from experience, is to avoid the unknown cable brands. Sometimes the thickness of the metal cores inside is thinner than what is printed on the outer insulation. Also, some dodgy brands don't use copper but aluminium or an alloy that has a 'copper-look'. Needless to say that the 1,5mm² = 16A rule goes into the bin then. The really bad ones have their metal cores degrade into a white dust over time. I wonder what sort of alloy they used for that.
 
That’s why they have the XVB standard for domestic cabling.
 

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Not a good idea to incread the breaker if you don't know what size wiring was used. The wiring has to be big enough to handle the load or you are creating a fire hazard by just swapping breakers. I have seen some janky wiring here too, so I would be very cautious.
He said change, not increase. 10 A is a pretty standard here.
 
After about 8 months, here‘s an update.

The upstairs breaker does pop sometimes, when using the microwave. Often I’ll turn the AC off, but if the microwave is running for a minute or more, it’s at least a 50% chance it will trip the breaker.

Mostly I keep the temp at 23-24c now. I’ll turn it off late night. My wife likes fresh air, so opens the window, with the AC off at 6 or 7am. She does complain about the electricity bill, which is about 600k a month. I think that’s 200-250k a month than before we got the AC. Seems pretty minor compared to everything else she spends money on.

On Sunday evening, the room was getting quite hot. Luckily we have a thermometer gun, and the room was 29-30 degrees, which is in the uncomfortable range for me.

Our almost 12 year old got drafted to climb the ladder and remove the filters. Seems they were quite dirty, so that needs to go on the list of things to regularly service. It’s cooling fine, now.
Removable filters should be cleaned every 2 weeks.
 
Two other things to be aware of, as I learned from experience, is to avoid the unknown cable brands. Sometimes the thickness of the metal cores inside is thinner than what is printed on the outer insulation. Also, some dodgy brands don't use copper but aluminium or an alloy that has a 'copper-look'. Needless to say that the 1,5mm² = 16A rule goes into the bin then. The really bad ones have their metal cores degrade into a white dust over time. I wonder what sort of alloy they used for that.
There are few cable producers in Indoneisia that are SNI/ISO 900... standard, meaning a good quality cables, with higher pricing.

The problem is that Indonesia does not produce own copper, but impors all. With new Freeport and Aman copper smelters starting now (positive effort of the incumbent government), the supply of high quality copper should be sufficient, and the quality of the cables should increase.
 
If you consider these things like stabilizers, don’t shop at ACE or so. There you get the Krisbow crap or a ‘Japanese’ brand like Matsunaga or Kyowa for very high prices. Then better look in LTC or Glodok where at least they know what they are talking about.

There are many products from Japanese (sounding) companies on the market which obviously are produced here or in China..
Many of these problems are coming from non-existing grounding in buildings and houses. PLN supplies 4 wires and the voltage is not stable. Usually the tukang will use the house ground wire and connect to PLNs zero/null wire.
 
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Many of those ‘electricians’ here don’t even know what an earthing electrode is…and if they do they often can’t tell you how long it should be (and how deep it goes).

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Not to mention the RCBO for wet spaces. It often stops with MCB’s.
 
The weather seems to be getting hotter so I've been looking at a solar system that will run a single AC unit during the day. Batteries are a big part of a solar system's cost, but daytime use means I don't need a big battery
Running AC doesn't come cheap so the 8 million I was quoted should be recovered in saved electricity in less than a year.
 
Not to mention the RCBO for wet spaces. It often stops with MCB’s.
Grounding rod is installed by a specialist here-regular electricians do not do it.

RCCB is obligatory by regulations here, and by Indonesian regulations has to be installed on the whole installation.
 
The weather seems to be getting hotter so I've been looking at a solar system that will run a single AC unit during the day. Batteries are a big part of a solar system's cost, but daytime use means I don't need a big battery
Running AC doesn't come cheap so the 8 million I was quoted should be recovered in saved electricity in less than a year.
What they quoted you for rp. 8m? Too good to be true for off-grid to power the smallest AC for a day. If on-grid, you'll need PLN permit. Unfortunately the regulation does not encourage people to install PV panel. Several cases, people have to pay penalty due illegal installation of PV panel.
What type and capacity battery they quoted? Lifetime of SLA is very short. Lifepo4 battery will cost rp. 3m -5m per kWh depending on the quality / cycles.
PV panel 500wp cost rp. 1.5m - 4m per piece depend on type and quality. Read carefully the offer in toped or shoppe, many misleading.
 
Isn't it normal to clean the AC-unit every 3 months? By a 'professional'? With a high pressure water jet? I think cleaning the filters only is not enough.
Today AC cleaners did 3 units ... IDR 240.000,-
 

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Grounding rod is installed by a specialist here-regular electricians do not do it.

RCCB is obligatory by regulations here, and by Indonesian regulations has to be installed on the whole installation.
Indonesian regulation (PUIL 2011) does require you to install ELCB 300mA for 4400 VA and above but not specifically refer to RCBO. Each floor must have a dedicated electrical panel. Our installation here use 1 SPD, RCBO 300mA and 12 RCBO sensitivity 30mA for MCB group, each AC has its RCBO. The problem was - local electrical contractor here not aware with this type installation, in fact they afraid despite I provide very detail installation drawing; reputable electrical contractor from Denpasar was very busy so I mobilize electrical technicians (work for Schneider) from Jakarta, indeed not cheap to have good and safe electrical installation.
 
Many of those ‘electricians’ here don’t even know what an earthing electrode is…and if they do they often can’t tell you how long it should be (and how deep it goes).

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Actually I'm worry if somebody simply mention a figure for length and depth of grounding rod. PUIL 2011 indeed provide recommendation which mostly sufficient - but might not or can be excessive. So, in our case very easy to meet the requirement of less than 5 ohm, in fact with single 2m 3/4" copper rod, I can get less than 3 ohm.
 
Indonesian regulation (PUIL 2011) does require you to install ELCB 300mA for 4400 VA and above but not specifically refer to RCBO. Each floor must have a dedicated electrical panel. Our installation here use 1 SPD, RCBO 300mA and 12 RCBO sensitivity 30mA for MCB group, each AC has its RCBO. The problem was - local electrical contractor here not aware with this type installation, in fact they afraid despite I provide very detail installation drawing; reputable electrical contractor from Denpasar was very busy so I mobilize electrical technicians (work for Schneider) from Jakarta, indeed not cheap to have good and safe electrical installation.
RCCB is in the PUIL amended schemes from 2016 but I suppose you can use other switches. I had some PLN manual with instalation schemes. Here it is:


I have one RCCB 30 mA for the whole building (31 kW,3 phase 220V). Works without problem with proper griunding. I had to explain to the electrician, and he executed it. The zero line from PLN was grounded as well.
 
I do have the PUIL 211 amendment 2016 though I have a bit difficulty with the indonesian electrical terms used in PUIL, prefer IEC standards.

the PUIL recommendation:

Untuk rumah tangga dengan sirkit cabang dan panel cabang/akhir, diperlukan GPAS yang
berbeda untuk menghindari trip tak diinginkan, yaitu:
  • GPAS 300 mA dipasang pada panel utama; dan
  • GPAS 30 mA dipasang pada panel cabang/akhir.

my interpretation of GPAS is RCCB which provide protection against earth leakage as well as RCBO which provide earth leakage (300mA) and over current protection (30mA). That's why we use RCBO 300mA and RCBO 30mA for the groups

The electrician I mobilize from Jakarta is very knowledgeable, and familiar with this type installation; even without I have to explain him, he knows that we'll need three (3) separate grounding, PLN zero, SPD and lightning protection. He install the SPD and RCBO properly without reading the instruction manual. He follow all test procedure including continuity and megger test.
 
So, in our case very easy to meet the requirement of less than 5 ohm, in fact with single 2m 3/4" copper rod, I can get less than 3 ohm.
From my memories keypoint is the resistance (measured in Ohm) indeed, which will depend on the terrain in which you plant the (or multiple) copper rods.

Now, how many electricians have a meghommeter..... ? Because the basic multimeter is sure not the best recommended tool for this !
 
From my memories keypoint is the resistance (measured in Ohm) indeed, which will depend on the terrain in which you plant the (or multiple) copper rods.

Now, how many electricians have a meghommeter..... ? Because the basic multimeter is sure not the best recommended tool for this !
exactly,
You can get good and not expensive grounding tester for less than Rp. 3m. Fluke is very expensive here.
 

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