ESB Bill jumped this month ?

I'm also on only my second ESB bill in a one bed apartment. My first one (covered 2.5 months) was 75euro and the one I got this week (covered 2 months) was 95euro which I think is quite reasonable especially as my boyfriend moved in since January so the washing machine / dryer would be used a bit more. Luckily (considering posts above on storage heaters) I have gas heating and it also heats water on demand and my gas bills work out around 35euro per month which should be reduced in summer as the heating won't be used as much.
 
All points note thanks...i just didnt think i was being wasteful or excessive thats why im shocked! Have dryer but have used it probably once as have big clothes rack thing, storage heating will be off from now on along with night water heater..fingers crossed for next bill, i wont be able to afford food to cook on the electric hob at the rate im goin he he..
 
If most of the heat is gone from your storage heaters when you return in the evening, you're probably using them wrong. Make sure that, as you go to bed each night, you turn down the output fully. The output should then be turned on as needed. I find that the overnight charge leaves out enough heat that the living areas in my apartment are warm enough in the morning anyway, so don't usually turn on the output until I come home in the evening. There is usually plenty of heat stored up to keep the place warm until bedtime (when I turn off the output and the night heating cycle kicks in again).

If you're not using the output knob in this way, chances are that your input is turned up far higher than it needs to be in order to get some heat at the end of the day.
 
The output knob just controls a small vent over the storage heater bricks. The heat will escape anyway, albeit at a slightly slower rate, when it is turned down. In my experience with several different storage heaters, and depending on prevailing environmental temperature, a storage heater with the output set to "off" will still lose most or all of its heat over the duration of a day and almost certainly by 11PM. Storage heaters are hit and miss and you don't really have that much control over them.
 
jnh said:
you turn down the output fully. The output should then be turned on as needed.
Click to expand...
Output is at 1..it doesnt go any lower. It cant be switched off totally. Its rarely raised beyond 2.

jnh said:
chances are that your input is turned up far higher than it needs to be in order to get some heat at the end of the day.
Click to expand...
Input between 3 and 4 which is middle of the road...!
 

I agree on the control aspect, but I have always found that there is enough heat remaining in the evenings that opening the output leads to a appreciable increase in the heat given out (and this is just the standard storage heater, not the ones with a convection heater boost). I generally have the input set quite low anyway (it never goes over a third of the way round). Recently I have had the input very low and haven';t had any need to open the output, and it's still giving out a pretty constant heat by bedtime.
 
Hi Swordshead;
If your immersion timer is set up anything like mine, then I definitely wouldn't use it at night. My timer is sealed, and set to come on for about 6 hours during the night That is around the same price as having it on for 3 hours during the day. 30 mins to an hour heats mine sufficiently (shower runs from it unfortunately so I have to put it on every day)

As for the storage heaters, I've learned a valuable lesson here I think. I have been using the convector part of mine in the Living Room, (I don't actually think that the storage part works) and along with the thermostat in the LRoom it comes on and off and I only use it for about 3 hours in the evening (it might only be actually heating for about ½ that time) so that is definitely cheaper than it storing up all night, only to be leaking out all day when I'm not there. So thanks all for those words of wisdom. [personally I hate electric storage heating. Had gas in my last place and I miss it ]
 
Auntie said:
Hi Swordshead;
If your immersion timer is set up anything like mine, then I definitely wouldn't use it at night. My timer is sealed, and set to come on for about 6 hours during the night
Click to expand...
What sort of time (make/model) is it? You could replace it with a more flexible one although...
30 mins to an hour heats mine sufficiently (shower runs from it unfortunately so I have to put it on every day)
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... if that works then maybe you don't really need night water heating?
 
Do you get your meter read every 2 months or is the bill usually based on estimates? If you're not getting the reading done regularly, your bill can become fiction over time & then when they do get around to reading, you can get a surprise.

Not sure how they do their estimates. When I last moved house, we bought a house that had been vacant for months. Missed the meter reader for the first bill and received a very high "estimated" bill - couldnt have been based on anything since meter had never been read. Then ended up getting free electricity for next 5 months after meter was read a couple of months later and number of units on the meter was way way behind the estimate.
 
If you do get an estimated bill that is wildly inaccurate then you can update the reading online and get a corrected bill issued. If it's not wildly inaccurate then things will balance out over time.
 
ClubMan said:
What sort of time (make/model) is it? You could replace it with a more flexible one although...
Click to expand...

It's a Horstmann Quartz E7. There is a 2-hour countdown on it too but I have never managed to get that working. I've never really tried that hard to work it out to be honest cos..........

ClubMan said:
... if that works then maybe you don't really need night water heating?
Click to expand...

.......yeah, turning it on and off myself works grand for me most of the time.

Although I had thought about changing the timer for one of those basic small ones, I might actually look into that now that you mention it, thanks.
 
got my bill after Christmas and was three times what it normally is, took a reading and rang them. they were 230 euro off the actual bill! they like to over estimate. ring with reading every time from now!
 
Auntie said:
It's a Horstmann Quartz E7.
Click to expand...
You can adjust the on/off times using cams inside the front panel but I think that 5 hours may be the minimum.
There is a 2-hour countdown on it too but I have never managed to get that working. I've never really tried that hard to work it out to be honest cos..........
Click to expand...
Mine went faulty a while ago and I had to replace it.
 
We have has some big esb bills recently as well.
I have been measuring our useage and we are currently using between 20 and 25 units of electricity a day, i think this is quiet high as niether of us are there from 9 to 6 and we have no kids.
The house is a new build 2500sq ft and all appliances we have are 'A' rated, we would only have the dishwasher on maybe once a week, never use the tumble drier and only use the washing machine maybe 3 or 4 times a week. I cant understand how our bill is so high, we do have oil heating but that is only on for 2 hours at the monent and 3 to 4 during the winter months.
Do you think that 25 units a day is quiet high ?
Would changing all our light bulbs over to energy savers be beneficial ? We have changed a good few but have 12 downlighters in our kitchen. i dont want to go paying nearly 10 euro per bulb to change these if it is not gonna have much of an effect on the bill.

I have been on to herself to make sure everything is turned off stand by as i know this has a big effect to.
 


A look at the Energy Efficient House on the ESB website might be helpful:

[broken link removed]

Their appliance calculator is also very useful:

[broken link removed]

Yes, changing your light bulbs to energy savers would definitely be helpful.

Take a meter reading at roughly the same time every day for a week or so. Subtracting one reading from another will give you your daily usage. Take note of what appliances you have been using. Try cutting down on some and see what impact it has on the usage.

What do you do for hot water? If you use an immersion make sure it is not left switched on all the time. Turn it on about 30 mins before you need it and then switch it off.

How to read your meter:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmPTlXqhzYc&feature=channel_page

Regards,

Fnergg
 
 
 
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