Question re DEWA for people with their own pools ??

My Dewa billa averages around 6k a month but I do have a sprinkler system. I have a/c on in all the rooms that are used regularly. Villa is also large though (signature villa on Palm) This also includes housing fee <em>edited by Ghetto Barbie on 01/04/2011</em>

Before the hike in prices in January I'd have said that our average DEWA bill (just two of us, 3 bed villa, no greenery anywhere in the garden so no irrigation, no maid) including the housing fee (for us just under 500dhs) but with a pool with heating and chilling would have averaged something between 1800/2000dhs/month. Our bills are roughly the same as our neighbours - again a 3 bed villa, but with lawn, greenery needing irrigation, couple with two children and maid with split A/C in her room, no pool, same housing fee. It's not necessarily the pool which will hike your DEWA bill, it could well be the use of your A/C. Ours is pretty much turned off from end October to mid April. We open all the doors and enjoy the fresh air as much as we can. Even during the hottest months, the rooms we don't use have the A/C set at 28c. The rooms we do use have the A/C set minimum at 24c (master bedroom) and kitchen/family room 25c but we have a free-standing fan to move the air around in the latter. Also, during the summer we have the door from the kitchen/family room onto the terrace open about 6 inches just to try and get some fresh air into the house and this doesn't seem to affect our bill (we tried going one summer without and didn't notice much difference in the bill). We do find that some visitors tend to set the A/C at it's minimum of 18c whatever time of year they visit which we find quite bizarre - at that temperature in the UK they'd have the central heating on! Our pool is also completely covered by a canopy which helps to prevent it heating up so much in the summer months (so the chiller isn't needed quite so much) but which, conversely, prevents the sun from heating it in the winter - preferable from our point of view as we don't use it quite so much during the winter and can turn the heater down a little. We find the water a bit chilly at 28c but that doesn't stop our visitors from spending hours in the pool though lol!

The reason our bill is less than Catawba's is, I suspect, because there are only two people -- DH and I -- in our villa [no kids'>. Yes, that and the fact that I am freakishly hot and keep the a/c on in the bedroom year round. Figure I gave does not include housing fee.

We have a pretty large house and garden, seperate maid quarters and a pool. We average about 3200 pm for DEWA.

Ohhh also, our DEWA bill includes an automatic sprinkler system as well. The reason our bill is less than Catawba's is, I suspect, because there are only two people -- DH and I -- in our villa [no kids'>.

Housing tax is extra. :) ETA: And in answer to your question below [sorry!'> yes, we just run the pump and we don't have it running all the time; three hours in the morning, three hours in the evening -- it's on 'auto' -- but we can override that and switch it on when we feel like it [for the bubbles'>. :D <em>edited by WaxMuch on 29/03/2011</em>

Our bill probably averages around 2.5k per month over the year (highs about 3k in the summer) for 5 bed plus pool. We do not have a heater or a chiller so this is just for the excess water to top the pool up twice a week and running the pump. Our pool maintenance is the same as WaxMuch - 400 per month for twice weekly cleaning.

I guess it would depend on a few things, if you run a chiller or a heater I know that if we left our heater on for a month in the winter it would be v expensive same if you run the chiller too, also evaporation in the summer we have to fill ours every 3 days or so, now we have a pool cover been great so far for winter as it keeps the heat in with bare minimal use of the heater.

We've only ever lived in a villa + pool so have no comparison with a villa without pool. ;) We have a 4-bed + maids in Meadows and our average monthly DEWA bill is 2K [over the year ie less in winter, more in summer but it works out to that'>. Our pool doesn't have a chiller/heater, but does have lights/automatic filter system plus bubbles! :D One thing you might want to factor in though, if you're not going to take care of the chemicals/cleaning yourself, is pool servicing charges. We pay 2400dhs every six months for twice-weekly cleaning. Sorry I can't be of more help.