#994 – The Expat Files: Resort Experiences, Power Outages, and Solar Power in Latin America

Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.

[00:00] South of the border down Mexico way That's where I fell in love when the stars above came out to play and now I wonder Hello there all you ex-pat wannabes. I'm Johnny Mueller and you're listening to the expat files living in Latin America The show that tells you just what it's like to live work play and or retire down here in Latin America It's a mix of the good the bad the ugly and the great and it's all right here. So let's get started All right You heard me say that I took Sunday off a vacation day to go to another one of those all-inclusive Resorts got invited to one and of course you regular listeners know that I came back from one of those all-inclusive resorts a month and a

[00:46] Half ago. It was one of those hard rock hotel resorts and I was very disappointed in the place I mentioned how it wasn't worth it and I'd never go back. However, just this last weekend I was invited to another completely different resort and it too was practically devoid of people I'd say maybe they had 20% occupancy and you know in a way. That's good I kind of prefer it when people aren't yelling and laughing and crowding you and kids are kept in line and not underfoot and screaming Well, I'm happy to report that the resort was quite nice and they solved the problem of the buffets Now you heard me say last time at the hard rock They'd completely eliminated the food buffets You had to order a la carte off the menu and you didn't even get a menu You had to scan a barcode and your menu popped up on your cell phone

[01:34] Absolutely ridiculous idea and terribly difficult to read, you know, how big those screens are on the cell phone, right? Anyway, I was relieved to see that someone finally figured out a way to do the buffet to everyone's satisfaction So at least at this resort the buffets were alive and well and you know for me That's one big part of going to one of those all-inclusives the buffets where you've got like 200 kinds of food No matter what you're into you've got massive choices. Anyway, here's how they self it When you walk into the restaurant you check in with a waiter and they hand you one latex glove you put that on your right hand or left hand if you're a lefty and Scooping away with those ladles and tongs then at the end of the buffet line

[02:21] There's some lazy ass waiter with a little trashcan and you toss that glove and can't and head to your seat Now personally, I don't think that kind of operation does anything at all as far as eliminating cross-contamination But it's a nice show and for all the under educated sheeple out there. It does I suppose give you some peace of mind. Oh and by the way when I first walked into the room There was a notice on the chair advising me of some of the do's and don'ts one of the don'ts was get this Hookahs are not allowed. This resorted said is a hookah free zone. No hookahs allowed indoors or out Yeah, right like they really had to go through all the trouble a print notice is up and hand them out to everyone Hey, but they did you'd be surprised. Just a question for you guys out there How many of you have toked on a hookah lately?

[03:08] I know I know it seems rather odd that they'd even have mentioned it or write it down But I have to tell you some weeks ago when I was at the hard rock I saw quite a number of people token on those big old hookahs in and around the swimming pools and the people that were doing it What a bunch of under educated losers They were busy passing the mouthpiece around and lippin it a little unintended spit swap in there While otherwise wearing masks and face shields. Yep cove idiots on parade Yeah, think so unlike the hard rock at this particular resort. No hookahs allowed Alright, just a little heads up later in the program will be hitting on more than solar applications here in Latin America Yes, I'm getting so many requests for information though I'd rather not do a whole show about solar because I know I'm gonna bore the hell out of some people who are just not

[03:58] Interested or maybe you're already off the grid or have an electric car and you're charging it from your solar panels at home Hey, I'd like to think you listeners are doing that Or at least thinking seriously about it. Oh, and by the way, speaking of self-sufficiency, you're getting off the grid Have you seen the news lately where they're saying that in Texas they're finding that there's a brain eating amoeba in some of the water supplies? I could be wrong, you know, but rumor has it that Joe Biden gets that stuff bottled for home delivery I don't know man after hearing that great news about water supplies if you're not purifying your own water by now I just don't know what to tell you and I don't know why you're listening to this program By the way, why are you listening to this? I know I know it's for my bubbling personality innate optimism and overabundance of Christian kindness and charm, right?

[04:47] Yep, I knew that already Anyway, later in the show we'll be talking more about solar power But I'd like to bring up one thing just in the past maybe a year or so I've noticed more and more of these funky looking LED light bulbs showing up here in Latin America They're not your average LED light bulbs either. For one thing they're slightly bigger They're starting to show up everywhere except in gated guarded communities and upscale residences They're popping up everywhere though in lower and lower middle-class housing and small towns way out in the boonies Now I don't suppose most people up in the states have ever seen one of these But you just might be seeing them more and more as brownouts and blackouts start rolling through your neighborhood Like what's been happening in California just lately. Anyway, these bulbs I've been seeing pop up everywhere look like those regular light bulbs that actually have an LED in them

[05:36] You know, I'm talking about they're made to kind of copy the old style incandescent bulb and thus screw like a regular bulb Right into a socket the whole point being their LED lights and so they use much less energy I'm sure you've all got some of those around the house What I'm talking about now is a bulb that looks like that but slightly bigger and they're bigger You see because they've got a little lithium battery and a sensor in them So that if there's a momentary power outage or black or brown out they stay lit for a while So while they're screwed into the socket anyway, they're always making sure that battery is fully charged And when they detect an outage, they automatically switch over to the battery and you still have light So in a continuous power outage, you might have light for a couple more hours. So here in Latin America

[06:22] They're available at practically every hardware store for five or six bucks And with the middle and lower middle classes who don't have solar or an extra generator They're all the rage a very good and practical idea actually by the way The fact is even upscale Latinos who have enough money generally don't buy generators That's because their power rarely goes out and I'll get to that in a second Now the thing is if you live in Latin America in a nice upscale subdivision or residential tower You won't need those kind of bulbs because nicer neighborhoods and residential towers and office buildings shopping malls and such Have their own diesel generators that kick right in if there's a power outage or brown out They use the same very big generators that hospitals use to maintain continuity of power

[07:08] By the way part of your maintenance cost if you're in a condo complex or residential tower Goes for keeping diesel in the tank on site However, since the word maintenance or at least a spirit of the word maintenance does not exist in the Spanish language You never know if the tank has been filled until you have a pretty good sized power outage But I have to say from personal experience in most cases if you're in an upscale gated guarded community or residential tower You won't have to worry about power But you see in middle and lower middle class areas and sometimes on the boonies you will experience short power outages In fact in the place I lived in in Guatemala for so long in the Altiplano that was out in the boonies You'd get a few power outages during big storms Sometimes lasting an hour or two while under normal conditions

[07:53] There might be a power outage once or twice or three times a week But only for a couple of minutes at a time or even less and before I went solar You know I had a gas generator and I use that thing maybe three times a year Always right after a big storm where a tree took out a transformer down the line somewhere In fact, I remember in 10 years the longest that was without power was for about maybe 12 hours And that was after a huge storm came through and a lot of trees fell down on power lines So the point is the little guys out in the boonies and people living in kind of crappy neighborhoods They don't have to drag out the candles anymore when they have power outages. They just stock up on those special bulbs So if you decide to live way out in the boonies, they're highly recommended and they're gluten-free

[08:40] Of course, no matter where you are the object is to go full solar eventually, right? But until then as an insurance policy, it wouldn't hurt to pick up a couple of those bulbs Now the unfortunate thing is for the sweaty masses That is though for you and I it's kind of fortunate in classist societies like Latin America Who do you think the electric companies prioritized why it's the upscale neighborhoods shopping centers and areas where there are government buildings? And of course all those places and destinations scumbag politicians live and hang up now, of course There's nothing fair about that But let me tell you if you happen to live in a neighborhood where there are a few scattered embassies government buildings shopping malls Or transnational businesses You might never experience a power outage except again if there's a storm and some trees knock out power lines or transformers

[09:31] Meanwhile the poll folks and folks out in the boonies are fired down on the list of priorities for utility companies That means if you're some indigenous guy living 20 or 30 miles outside the big city You might have four or five power outages a week lasting anywhere from a couple of minutes to an hour or more Meanwhile in the nearby big city the people there might not be experiencing power outages at all That's just the way it is here in Latin America. And why? Those bulbs I was talking about earlier are becoming so popular for some people way out in the boonies It's either those things or bring out the candles But here's the thing even if you've been living here in Latin America a long time and you've got really stable power Gotta know worldwide. We're heading into some really bad times with lots of shortages

[10:17] That means power plants and utilities are gonna have shortages, too There will be disruptions in that supply chain. You can count on it So you guys and gals and uncle slam land can expect a lot more outages just like, California It'll be a worldwide phenomena. So you can expect that in Latin America, too Which is why again, I suggest everyone get at least a portable solar power supply that way no matter what happens You're always prepared with at least enough power day and night to run your refrigerator a couple of lights in your computer and television and of course if you can swing it Go completely solar and off the grid now a really good portable solar power system That means you can pick it up throw it in the trunk of your car and the panels, too A really good quality one that'll last will cost you between a thousand and three thousand bucks

[11:07] Note there are lots and lots of cheapies out there with tons of competition and dozens maybe hundreds of different brand names Well, let me just advise you when you're shopping for one of those units Make sure you get one that stores and puts out minimum of one kilowatt. That's a thousand watts in the battery The more the better two thousand watts is excellent three thousand watts is fantastic Except now you get into a unit that's not so portable anymore. It's the batteries that really weigh the thing down So by all means I suggest getting a portable unit rated at 1 to 3 kilowatts That's 1,000 to 3,000 watts and the total wattage for your portable panels should be at least 400 watts that should get you through any short-term power outages you might have all the while again

[11:53] Powering your refrigerator a couple of lights a TV and a computer then the next day You just set out your solar panels in the Sun and you'll be able to run all that stuff, too Plus it'll recharge your batteries and again if you want my actual recommendations and diagrams Send me an email the expat files at gmail.com All right, speaking of getting the hell out of Dodge We have this little rant from that now I've seen everything department or you could say that now I've smelled everything department Comes the news that there's a new app for your Android or iPhone Specifically for the Los Angeles and San Francisco metro areas. It's called for lack of a nicer phrase the fresh poop app. I You not it's an app that advises you of all the fresh poop. That's been deposited

[12:41] by one or more the 60,000 homeless people wandering around in LA and for San Francisco, it's called the snap crap app Go ahead look it up. You can't make this up now according to Sean Miller the developer of this app He says as of 2018 when I moved to San Francisco I continued to see human waste on the streets every single day and it seemed the problem was only getting worse and worse Then he says while most of the city's residents have just become numb to this routine the germaphobe in me couldn't let it go I Desperately needed to develop snap crap and I suspect other people had the idea too, but I did it Then he says in the last three months. My app has been downloaded 10,000 times and continues to get hundreds of downloads away with people continuously uploading photos of poop shots

[13:30] By the minute keeping the data current and fresh. Yeah when it comes to poop fresh is good, right? Mmm There you have it reason four thousand seven hundred and twenty six why you don't want to live in, California So the obvious next question is how's that plan be coming? You still on the fence? Well, you fall off check out the pavement first. Oh And that reminds me of a conversation. I got into the other day with a couple of Latinas They asked me why I never had any kids one of them said Johnny Give me one good reason why not and I said well for one the diaper changing routine. No, thanks Then she said really Johnny you wouldn't change your kids diapers I said, nope, then she proceeded to give me some mama learning. She said Johnny

[14:19] Don't you know baby poop is not like regular poop and I said is that right? Are you saying it's nicer? It smells better. It's more sanitary. What are you saying? It's somehow a better class of poop and she said that's right Johnny all of the above Well, I thought how can you argue with that? Obviously, she wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer nor did she ever crack a biology book, but I digress you think by the way I get questions all the time from gringles and expats down here regarding gassing up your car People want to know the best and worst brands and what to look out for it when filling up now It seems to be that every single Latin American you run into thinks that if you have a nice late model car It must use premium or else they're thoroughly convinced that regular gasoline is only for junks and boxes

[15:10] So right now I'll give you the poop on that. I Couldn't help it. Just remember in a past life I was a real engineer and thus I have some very smart engineering buddies and believe me we settled that gas topic Thirty years ago now, so please disregard everything you may have read and heard number one You never have to put premium gas in any of your cars Whether you're up in uncle slam land or down here in Latin America unless you have a high performance vehicle That specifically states in the manual that it needs premium gas that rules out about 98% of cars and trucks But here's the thing You should only be buying regular gas from a small group of well-known oil companies Ones that have been around 50 years or so like shell s o

[15:57] Texaco called Texaco here in Latin America Chevron and a few others, of course, there are tons of no-name gas stations, too I suggest if you're running out of gas and your only option is to go to a no-name station by all means get premium Why because the well-known brands like shell s o and Texaco are absolute sticklers for quality control whereas with the off brands They can be using gas that's been sitting around a long time and or rejected by the big boys And it's a fact that some off-brand gasoline's have contaminants and impurities in them And that'll almost never happen with the major brands So then what about buying gas here in Latin America? Same thing goes I say never buy your gasoline at an off-brand station unless it's an emergency

[16:44] And when you're at a brand name station like a shell go ahead and buy regular every time Unless again, you've got a high-performance car though I have to admit over the years. I've gotten into arguments with many people while sitting at the gas station I'll be sitting shotgun with the owner filling up at a transnational like Texaco or shell The Latino or gringo driving will say fill her up super that's what all Latinos call premium gas super regular gas being regular I Can't tell you how many times I've said to the driver You don't have to do that put in regular and that's when the argument begins. They say everybody knows here in Latin America You have to use super they say Johnny don't be a tech on you Translation cheapskate by the way, how come you still hear people saying Scott free aren't the Scottish people pissed off about that?

[17:33] Anyway, sometimes I'll give non-believers the rundown on how engineers have done all the tests and they found regular is just fine And with super you're wasting your money Though most people have been so doused by the marketing no matter what you tell them they don't buy it So bottom line if you're stuck at an off-brand station go for the premium every time though when filling up at a transnational Get the regular and though the difference in savings between premium and regular might not seem much to you. Here's the math You'll be surprised. Let's say the average price spread between premium and regular is 30 cents And you use on average 10 gallons a week though You might not believe this if you use regular over premium for 30 years. You're gonna save more than $4,500 just in the regular versus premium cost spread, but you knew that already, right?

[18:20] Though I know after hearing this a lot of you are still gonna go with premium Why because big oil has marketed you to death and you believe them over science now said about that Alright now let's get to some of those solar power questions I've been getting for people who want to go off the grid or 99% off the grid because as mentioned in the past show you want to stay connected Just for that oddball case when your solar power is down for repairs or whatever and you need a backup Alright first question Johnny how much available rooftop space do I need to put in and off the grid system? Okay, as mentioned in previous shows if you're going off the grid, you're gonna want to have close to 5,000 watts of solar panels That's if for example, you're in the altiplano and are not running air condition But you'll need twice that or 10,000 watts worth of panels

[19:09] Thereabouts if you're at the coast or in lower altitudes and decide you're gonna run air conditioning, too In that case, you'll have two identical systems But completely separate with one of those systems wired to your regular circuit panel Running your 110 volt stuff and that's practically everything in your house except air conditioning and or an electric car Now you've probably heard all the talk that you can charge an electric car through your regular 110 outlet You can do that, but it takes forever probably two days to charge it completely But if you charge it using the 220 volt system the same one you'd be running your air conditioners on you could charge your car's Battery completely in about four to six hours Oh and do remember if you're going off the grid You never want to have an electric hot water heater because those things pull on godly amounts of current and you never want to have

[19:55] An electric dryer because those things are 220 volts too and they take a hell of a lot of current though That's not to say you couldn't run them off your solar power system, but you'll deplete the battery in a hurry That's why I always recommend for hot water and your clothes dryer go with gas It would be propane gas here in Latin America because they don't have piped in natural gas. No problem It's really cheap, but really it's not ideal to have your water heated with gas Ideally you could buy a solar hot water heater for a little over a thousand bucks generally From then on your hot water is absolutely free and since those things have virtually no moving parts They can last 20 even 30 years now as far as rooftop space needed You figure each solar panel covers about two square meters more or less two square yards

[20:41] That's just slightly over three by six feet around 18 square feet Let's say 20 to make the math easier now you heard me say over and over again You need between four and five thousand watts Now with the new panels that are around 360 to 400 watts each and you have to set them up in groups of three That means you'll have 12 panels That's if you don't have air conditioning and 12 panels times 20 square feet per each one That's 240 square feet that you'll need on your roof to mount your panels That'd be like the size of a small two-car garage or the floor space of a decent sized master bedroom Now you have to remember the newer panels are so efficient for their size That is if you were to set up a similar system just five years ago It would take double the roof space and to me what's so great about the solar industry

[21:29] Is that about every five years the efficiency doubles on the panels? That means you have to use half again as much space on your roof and battery density per weight Doubled so for example today a powerwall battery all-in-one system might weigh 300 pounds Way too heavy for one person to maneuver around but just five or so years ago It weighed twice that and in five years from now should weigh half again as much But in no way am I telling you to wait five years to do this just because things will be smaller and cheaper You could chase your tail on that forever Looking at this way if you live in the altiplano and don't have air conditioning you could have electricity for life for around eight to twelve grand and About double that if you're running air conditioning and or have an electric car because as mentioned you'll need two systems

[22:17] Well, here's another thing you'll really like if for example, you don't have air conditioning You're in the altiplano or maybe you are at the beach or at low altitudes You don't want AC and you like sweating, but you want an electric car You don't have to have a complete extra system for that All you need is the solar panels and of course a small charge controller You don't need the batteries. That's the expensive part You won't need them because guess what your car is your battery. So again, I recommend 5,000 watts of panels That's 12 panels wired in groups of three And if you go on olx.com you can pick up those panels for a hundred bucks apiece. That means 1,200 bucks for your panels and maybe $800 for mounting and the charge controller and now for around $2,000 maybe a few hundred bucks more cuz you'll need a special connector to hook to your car

[23:06] When you're charging it, let's say 2,500 bucks complete You'll have a car that costs you nothing to run Think of it this way if you had a car with a regular gas engine and you use ten gallons a week and your gas was Three bucks a gallon it would take you around a year and a half to blow 2,500 bucks. So the payback on the solar panels and associated equipment for an electric car is about a year and a half Then after that every mile or kilometer you go is absolutely free And how long will that system last will your panels are guaranteed for 25 years? It turns out most panels will be putting out 90% of their rated value in 25 years So then to answer that rooftop space question if you don't have AC you need 250 square feet of space if you're running air conditioning units and or have an electric car you'll need double that or

[23:58] 500 square feet of roof space Now if you can't picture or imagine how much space that would take up look at it this way your average house is between 1200 and 2,000 square feet So even if you have a very tiny house of 1200 square feet You'd be using less than a quarter of that roof space if you didn't have an electric car or AC And if you had electric car and or AC you'd be using less than half of that total roof space to mount your panels Alright next question Johnny. How do condominiums townhouses and residential towers feel about solar systems? Haha, well, here's the thing if you're renting forget about a permanent off-the-grid system My advice is to never mount anything permanently on something you don't own However, if you're renting by all means get a portable system because you'll need that backup and you can assemble and disassemble the thing

[24:47] In under 15 minutes just remember for a permanent solar setup You'll have to mount the racking for the panels directly to the roof If you don't own the place the landlord probably won't let you do that And if he does chances are he just might be thinking when you leave he gets this system Now if you own your condo or townhouse, my suggestion is to always buy a penthouse then you get the whole rooftop It's yours and even if it's the kind of rooftop terrace That's got a jacuzzi and chairs and a barbecue and railings around it as long as you own the penthouse You can put one of those open-air carport roofs on it and still keep that living in party space Meanwhile right above you on the roof providing your shade are your solar panels now a lot of condos and townhouses Especially ones in residential towers will have balconies big balconies sometimes

[25:36] So if you're looking to buy on another floor, that's not the penthouse always find out from the owner If they allow you to construct a roof like gazebo or carport to shade that balcony Most often they will because you own it then you can mount your panels on top of that In fact, I've seen many setups like that in big Latin American cities Just take a drive in a high-end area where they've got residential towers and look up check it out You'll see quite a lot of them have big balconies with a metal or wooden beam roof and more and more of those roofs Have solar panels though. You can't see them from down below. Yep down here People are catching on with solar companies popping up everywhere Even though very few Latin countries lets you tie to the grid and sell your electricity back to the power company The point is one of the few expensive things here in Latin America besides having things imported from the states or Europe is

[26:28] The cost of electricity if for example, you're paying Let's say 10 or 15 cents a kilowatt hour in Missouri You can expect if you move to practically any Latin American country to pay double that So when talking about money and the breakeven point the payback time, it's always worth it here in Latin America to go solar Alright, we're not quite finished yet with the solar stuff, but we're getting to the end of the show We'll be diving deeper into that stuff over the next few shows. So stay tuned. Meanwhile, don't forget my upcoming January 2021 Expat insider seminar we're already more than half filled Just check out expat plan B dot com read all about it and sign up while the early bird Discounts are still in effect and don't forget to check the seminar info sheet to find out how you can kill two birds with one stone

[27:13] That is come down to the seminar and at the same time apply for your permanent residency in Guatemala And once you have it remember you only have to spend one day a year in the country to maintain that residency and after five Years, you can apply for permanent nationality and passport, but you knew that already, right? You've been listening to the expat files living in Latin America If you need some help with your own plan B We can schedule a one-on-one phone or Skype consult Just send me an email the expat files at gmail dot com And if you want to get on the waiting list for my next week-long expat insider seminar in Central America Where you're guaranteed to get a two to five year head start on your plan B Send me an email the expat files at gmail dot com. No spamos