House Utilities

Electricity in San Juan del Sur is expensive and unreliable. As a result, we installed a solar powered electrical system for Casa Flores in 2022. The system is nearly capable of powering the entire home off-grid, which has effectively made blackouts a thing of the past!

Please note that excessive use of electricity at night may deplete the solar batteries prior to sunrise. If the batteries are depleted, the system is designed to automatically switch to the grid until the solar power is restored. During this time on the grid, the house will be at risk for a temporary blackout. You are not likely to experience this inconvenience, as it requires the coincidence of a power failure to the grid at the same time as a battery depletion. However, if it occurs, you should have power restored through the solar powered electrical system by 8 AM.

Air Conditioners & The Hot Water Heater

Due to their high power requirements, the air conditioners and the hot water heater are not powered by the solar powered electrical system. These amenities continue to draw power directly from the grid, making them vulnerable to power outages.

The high power requirements also make these amenities costly to operate.  As a result, we must charge a fee for their use.  The appliances are metered, so electricity use can be accurately measured.  The cost to you will be $0.50 USD per kilowatt hour. This translates to about $1 USD for 2 hours with a single AC unit running.