ESB Bill massive

krun81

Registered User
Messages
8
Hi all,

I recently moved into an apartment. And I just got my second (meter read bill) the cost of the bill was 300 euro, this seems very excessive.

I'm trying to figure out what the appliance is that is causing the cost. Any suggestions?

- Electric Heaters - runs for 2 hours in 2 rooms per day and possibly 30 mins in the morning - it's these radiators - DSM Electric Combination Radiators (brand new)
- Hot tank for showers - connected to electric pump shower takes 1 hour to heat per day, have to use "boost" to get a hot shower.
- Washer Dryer combo (new AAA energy rated) runs mostly at weekends but takes ages.

I was thinking it must be the hot tank and I am investigating having an electric shower installed.

Thanks for any tips

Energy usage for living room heater attached: https://ibb.co/C5FLGbz
 
Electric Heaters - runs for 2 hours in 2 rooms per day and possibly 30 mins in the morning - it's these radiators - DSM Electric Combination Radiators (brand new)

What ratings are the heaters? Looks like they come in models ranging from 800W to 3000W. The 3000W ones will use up to 3kWh or 3 units of electricity for each hour of use.

- Hot tank for showers - connected to electric pump shower takes 1 hour to heat per day, have to use "boost" to get a hot shower.

Most likely a 3kWh heating element, so again, up to 3 units of electricity for each hour of use.

- Washer Dryer combo (new AAA energy rated) runs mostly at weekends but takes ages.

Look up the energy plate or manual, should tell you how much energy each cycle consumes.
 
Mine is about 150 to 160 in the winter. Something similar to you but I only heat one room on a 'kind of' storage heater which is always on. Are you sure the first bill was not estimated and was a much lower reading ?
Also those heaters may be expensive and you may have left them or the immersion on by mistake. When you boost make sure you turn the switch off again when complete or it may start up on a timer.
 
Hi all,

Thanks for responses. The meter was read last two times since I moved in.

One bill was 230 (I had a credit on the account after I moved from the last place), there other 320.

I contacted ESB who asked me to plug things in one at a time wait 20 minutes and try again... to see which appliance it is...

I checked the energy usage on the heaters there is an app and contacted the supplier to double-check I was reading it correctly.

It works out at 32 euro for living room for December for Technotherm 1400W Energy Efficient Radiator (the other two are half that size). I've two other ones, they are used less often maybe half.

I checked out the energy rating on the other washer/dryer it says "Annual Energy Consumption 208 kWh/annum" It is this model (http://www.montpellier-appliances.c...tpellier-mwdi7555-integrated-washing-machine/)

I suspect the water boiler, which I do switch to off after an hour heating. I do have a blow heater in the bathroom which spends about 40 mins average running per day when we are washing after work in total, and also an electric towel heater that is on for an hour daily.

I spoke with work colleagues with large families (it's just two here) and they were about 180 in winter.

I've hired a REC electrician to do a fill wiring check on Monday and see if he can find some fault. When I first moved here the power blew every few days, an electrician said he fixed that issue... He said he can also issue me with a cert to prove wiring is ok.

Other than that I'm just going to be more careful I suppose.. I'm actually always conscious of my usage so I don't understand why it's so high.

Thanks again.
 
You have access to the meter ? If it's whirring around try switching things off and on again one by one. I'd be reading it every day either way to see if that gives any clues.
 
I spoke with work colleagues with large families (it's just two here) and they were about 180 in winter.

Are you comparing like for like? Are they using electric heating and what are the BER ratings of the two properties?
 
The most obvious thing to check is the heaters and the immersion. Are either on a timer so they come on when you're out or asleep ?
 
This is an Excel spreadsheet I used to audit our electricity usage

You need to enter the appliances, their power rating in use and in standby mode, the minutes each is used every day
 

Attachments

  • Electricity_Audit.xls
    96 KB · Views: 25
I do have a blow heater in the bathroom which spends about 40 mins average running per day
That alone could be adding 20 - 30 to each bill. They tend to be 2 - 3kw usage.

@jpd has shared a very detailed spreadsheet if you've time to go through every appliance, but focus on the heating: radiators, towel rails, fan heater, cooker, immersion, etc.
 
Thanks everyone for response. Congrats on the excel sheet, I will give it a try.

I rang ESB again and got someone very helpful and they have said there must be some sort of wiring issue, that the bill is too high (about 1000 units more - if i understood him correctly), all the usage is during the day he said.

It was suggested that the boiler could be the cause, and may need a service...

I turned on everything, cooker, heating, boiler, etc (except washer dryer) and the meter only went up six digits on the meter, seems little to me. So I'm not sure at what time the usage jumps.

The heater is manually turned on and off at night, so not running constantly, the boiler manually on for an hour daily on boost.

I have a the Electrician coming in the morning to do "Periodic Inspection Report" which is 350 9ex VAT) (apparently I should have had this done when I moved in) so I hope that turns up something.

As others pointed out it could be the fan heater in the bathroom or the dryer. I've not tested the meter with the dryer running.

Regarding comparing like with like, I've asked people at work with 3-4 kids in 3-4 bedroom houses, aside from the electric heating (they seem to have gas) their bills are around 180 max. I know for sure my heating costs as I've monitored these.

It's just two of us basically in one room flat from 7pm and leave at 7am (except weekends), so even if we used all those appliances would it not be difficult to rack up that amount?

Thanks again for tips
 
aside from the electric heating (they seem to have gas) their bills are around 180 max.

It's very difficult to compare so, and house versus apartment further complicates it. You could add them to ass what they are spending in total on electricity & gas and comparing that to your total. But, electric heating is much more expensive than gas.
 
True. But i know my electric bill for heating was approx 40 euro for December, the heaters energy usage is monitored. I lived in a similar apartment before that was colder and heat was on even longer and i often forgot the boiler and my bill came to about 140 or 150. There is a screen grab of their usage in the first post.
 
True. But i know my electric bill for heating was approx 40 euro for December, the heaters energy usage is monitored.

And what about hot water? Those with gas boilers will be using those for water heating for the most part.

and i often forgot the boiler

What boiler?

There is a screen grab of their usage in the first post.

ibb isn't the most trustworthy of hosting sites, so I won't be clicking that.
 
Yes, unfortunately I must concluded it's my usage....

I had the electrician in. The electric heaters he was happy they were not too expensive as far as electric heaters go. About 40 quid for December which was the worse month.

The baddies he said were, the fan heater and towel heater in bathroom, the weekend dryer usage and the water boiler usage (unavoidable - but I can be more careful) He suggested heating the boiler at night time (leave it on all the time on auto basically) when rates are lower, but I take my showers at night so it would be cold by then. Does anyone do this, is it better than having in on for an hour on boost?

Thanks again everyone for the help, this really helped wake me up to my usage.
 
The baddies he said were, the fan heater and towel heater in bathroom, the weekend dryer usage and the water boiler usage (unavoidable - but I can be more careful) He suggested heating the boiler at night time (leave it on all the time on auto basically) when rates are lower, but I take my showers at night so it would be cold by then. Does anyone do this, is it better than having in on for an hour on boost?

How are your rates lower at night? Are you in some sort of NightSaver tariff?
 
He suggested heating the boiler at night time (leave it on all the time on auto basically) when rates are lower, but I take my showers at night so it would be cold by then. Does anyone do this, is it better than having in on for an hour on boost?
OK this is known as the immersion heater as oppose to boiler as they are totally different. One hour will use 3 units during the day is probably 60 cents and 30 cents at night. not a good idea to leave it on imo. If you change to showering at 6 am in the morning you will halve this cost for the hour you currently use it.
Read your meter every day at the same time and take a count for average use. Then stop using the fan heater to see whether it's less.
 
Yes. I am on a "night saver".

I switched the immersion heater to night time mode called "off peak".

It comes on from 4 to 8am as far as I can tell. The water is still very hot by night time shower. I'm not sure I will save using this method. As four hours off peak is surely the same or more than 1-2 hours on boost during the day rate.
 
Is 4 hours not a lot to have an immersion on? I'm no expert but I only put my immersion on for max 20mins or so to get a short shower out of it, 5 mins would do enough water to wash dishes for example. They are very heavy on electricity.

Have you not seen Des Bishop :)
 
Back
Top