What does '100% power backup' mean to you?

gertie · May 16th, 2007, 13:35

Just wondering, because to me it means that, should the electricity fail, you will have full power provided by your generator.

Is there some intrinsic mistake in my reasoning here? Am I missing something?

I returned from a trip to the UK on Sunday night. Since then we have had a few random hours of mains power. The generator kicks in (you can hear it a mile off)... the lights come on... and two power points in the whole house work.

No air conditioning, no plugs in the kitchen work, no fans, nada.

We pay a small fortune for this apartment (expat prices

) and it states in our contract '100% power back up'. This point was a deciding factor when choosing the apartment. Yet on questioning the landlord, 100% power backup means you get lights and a couple of power points. Hmmm...

What to do people? Its bloody hot here in Chennai. Is this amount of power failure usual for Alwarpet in the summer?

Hot and irritated,
Gertie

jyotirmoy · May 16th, 2007, 13:40

This is quite common. The generators are sized for basic facilities like a couple of lights & fans. One should check this before renting.

gertie · May 16th, 2007, 13:59

Even though the contract states 100%?

How do you check the size of a generator? Do you mean the output it is capable of?

Gertie

nosianai · May 16th, 2007, 14:10

your landlord's cheating you big time. 100% power back-up means that everything including your A/C works. If that is not the case, the amount of back-up you get should be specified. e.g. the apartment i have rented provides merely 600Watts which means i got a couple of lights and fans. better apartments offer 1KW. i've stayed in a flat in gurgaon that offered 100% back-up. it was possible to switch on each A/C (there were abt 6 or 7) at the same time during power failure. clearly depends on the amount of maintainance you pay per month.

it also seems you didn't exactly get a premium place to live if the generator makes so much noise. it's possible to have "silent generators". why don't you move to a condo? the society would provide the power back-up.

capt_mahajan · May 16th, 2007, 14:53

Agree with Jyoti and nosianai

Apartments with true 100percent backup do exist, but they are few. Most apartment generators work the lifts/elevators plus a few 'points' per apartment.

If 100 percent backup was promised, and specially if it was elaborated upon (you did say deciding factor), then the landlord has lied to you.

The generator should have the output marked on it. Else from the manual.

Nick-H · May 16th, 2007, 16:16

Compare the definition of "100%" in this instance with that of "fully loaded" in listing the accessories fitted to a car.

I suspect that it has been used in exactly the same way, and that there are innumerable levels to it.

---This apartment has 100% backup for one lightbulb

---This apartment has 100% backup for one lightbulb and one fan

---This apartment has 100% backup for the lighting and fans throughout

---This apartment has 100% backup for the lighting, fans and TV.

Its all 100%, and your landlord will probably tell you so, with a look of wide-eyed innocence

.

The power consumption of just one AC unit is likely to be more than the rest of the house in total. Providing this much back up is a big deal and the situation that nosianai had must have been awesome!

Combine all this stuff with the ethics of the estate business in Chennai and I'm afraid you may not get better

As to whether it is the normal state of affairs... daily power cuts during the summerare normal. They happen for two reasons. One is that the supply cables were laid before anyone had AC and now people having one or more per house is putting megawatts through them and they frizzle. The other is power shortage, which leads to what is called load-shedding. They simply turn off the current to some areas when there is not enough to go around.

Newspaper articles telling how power-shedding would not be necessary this year were obviously wrong.

There is also maintenance, and this should be announced in the newspaper each day.

The situation will improve when the temperature drops.

By which time you won't be so desperate to use your AC anyway.

Dilliwala · May 16th, 2007, 20:52

It means, 1) u shud have asked more questions (the probing type) to start with. "100%" means different things to different people at different times of the day/week/month in different parts of the country. If EVERYTHING in your apt was truly backed up, u wud have been told "200% power backup"!

Nick has given a pretty good starting list, to which I wish to add:
---Everything is backed up, until the diesel/petrol or batteries run out! (Believe me, a loooong power-cut will ensure that can happen).
Most household generators/inverters provide back-up for anywhere from 2 to 8 hours. And they tend to be in the 0.5 to 1.5 KVA (500 to 1500 VA) range, which means u can forget airconditioners, washing machines, etc. Even one toaster causes a strain. However the 1500 VA ones can take an air-cooler w/o hassles. We have one in use since 12 years, wired to "everything", i.e., all the lights and fans (plenty of those put together), cooler, TV/VCR, but no a/c's - the start-up load is too much, u need an "industrial" type for that. Obviously the more u have on simultaneously, the less your back-up time.
2) I second what Capt says - despite all possible meanings/connotations of "100%", u were clearly lied to in this case. Suggest u ask for a lowering of the rent, or installation of a more powerful gen/inverter. If that doesnt work, threaten to take the land-lord to the Consumer Tribunal. That might work. If it doesnt, carry thru on the threat. Unlike regular courts, it doesn't take years, and I'm guessing you're here for a while, so it wud not be a bad idea to keep this option in mind.

Quote:

The situation will improve when the temperature drops.

By which time you won't be so desperate to use your AC anyway.

It's raining in Delhi right now!! Maybe I won't have to use my a/c tonight

crvlvr · May 17th, 2007, 01:20

If you are really pissed off, stop paying rent and renogitiaite the amount to what you think the apt is worth with the measly back up.. The landlord probably charged you 11 months deposit, so you ar pretty much stuck there for the 11 months, even if you stop paying rent. Going to courts are pretty much useless in India for these kinds of issues. Moral of the story: Don't believe everything that people say, especially if they are trying to sell you something.

shashank.aggarwal · May 17th, 2007, 01:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dilliwala

It's raining in Delhi right now!! Maybe I won't have to use my a/c tonight

yeah...I am loving it...

there is no better feeling than couple of hours of rain in scorching May in Delhi..

truly God sent..

May 16th, 2007, 13:35	#1
gertie Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Chennai Posts: 156	What does '100% power backup' mean to you? Just wondering, because to me it means that, should the electricity fail, you will have full power provided by your generator. Is there some intrinsic mistake in my reasoning here? Am I missing something? I returned from a trip to the UK on Sunday night. Since then we have had a few random hours of mains power. The generator kicks in (you can hear it a mile off)... the lights come on... and two power points in the whole house work. No air conditioning, no plugs in the kitchen work, no fans, nada. We pay a small fortune for this apartment (expat prices ) and it states in our contract '100% power back up'. This point was a deciding factor when choosing the apartment. Yet on questioning the landlord, 100% power backup means you get lights and a couple of power points. Hmmm... What to do people? Its bloody hot here in Chennai. Is this amount of power failure usual for Alwarpet in the summer? Hot and irritated, Gertie

May 16th, 2007, 14:53	#5
capt_mahajan Infidel Sufi Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: styx Posts: 13,605	Agree with Jyoti and nosianai Apartments with true 100percent backup do exist, but they are few. Most apartment generators work the lifts/elevators plus a few 'points' per apartment. If 100 percent backup was promised, and specially if it was elaborated upon (you did say deciding factor), then the landlord has lied to you. The generator should have the output marked on it. Else from the manual. __________________ . Outside the machine

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May 16th, 2007, 13:40	#2
jyotirmoy Maha Guru Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: India Posts: 5,223	This is quite common. The generators are sized for basic facilities like a couple of lights & fans. One should check this before renting.

May 16th, 2007, 13:59	#3
gertie Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Chennai Posts: 156	Even though the contract states 100%? How do you check the size of a generator? Do you mean the output it is capable of? Gertie

May 16th, 2007, 14:10	#4
nosianai Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Mumbai Posts: 90	your landlord's cheating you big time. 100% power back-up means that everything including your A/C works. If that is not the case, the amount of back-up you get should be specified. e.g. the apartment i have rented provides merely 600Watts which means i got a couple of lights and fans. better apartments offer 1KW. i've stayed in a flat in gurgaon that offered 100% back-up. it was possible to switch on each A/C (there were abt 6 or 7) at the same time during power failure. clearly depends on the amount of maintainance you pay per month. it also seems you didn't exactly get a premium place to live if the generator makes so much noise. it's possible to have "silent generators". why don't you move to a condo? the society would provide the power back-up.

May 16th, 2007, 16:16	#6
Nick-H This is just a cameo appearance Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 36,189	Compare the definition of "100%" in this instance with that of "fully loaded" in listing the accessories fitted to a car. I suspect that it has been used in exactly the same way, and that there are innumerable levels to it. ---This apartment has 100% backup for one lightbulb ---This apartment has 100% backup for one lightbulb and one fan ---This apartment has 100% backup for the lighting and fans throughout ---This apartment has 100% backup for the lighting, fans and TV. Its all 100%, and your landlord will probably tell you so, with a look of wide-eyed innocence . The power consumption of just one AC unit is likely to be more than the rest of the house in total. Providing this much back up is a big deal and the situation that nosianai had must have been awesome! Combine all this stuff with the ethics of the estate business in Chennai and I'm afraid you may not get better As to whether it is the normal state of affairs... daily power cuts during the summerare normal. They happen for two reasons. One is that the supply cables were laid before anyone had AC and now people having one or more per house is putting megawatts through them and they frizzle. The other is power shortage, which leads to what is called load-shedding. They simply turn off the current to some areas when there is not enough to go around. Newspaper articles telling how power-shedding would not be necessary this year were obviously wrong. There is also maintenance, and this should be announced in the newspaper each day. The situation will improve when the temperature drops. By which time you won't be so desperate to use your AC anyway.

May 17th, 2007, 01:20	#8
crvlvr Guru Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Hollywood Posts: 4,667	If you are really pissed off, stop paying rent and renogitiaite the amount to what you think the apt is worth with the measly back up.. The landlord probably charged you 11 months deposit, so you ar pretty much stuck there for the 11 months, even if you stop paying rent. Going to courts are pretty much useless in India for these kinds of issues. Moral of the story: Don't believe everything that people say, especially if they are trying to sell you something.