ESB Networks "is this a good time?/beat the peak" pilot project

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ClubMan

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Only signed up for this last night having seen their ad on TV so I've no idea yet how much use it will be, but just posting it here on case it's of any interest to others.

ESB Networks launch 'Is This a Good Time?' pilot to help Beat the Peak this winter.

Sign up to 'Is This a Good Time?' pilot to learn more about your electricity usage. The pilot is a Beat the Peak initiative to help reduce electricity demand this winter.
www.esbnetworks.ie
 
This could be a great scheme if they offered cheaper unit charges at the low demand or excess generation periods. This was supposed to be what smart metering was all about. Unfortunately in this country the idea of giving the ordinary citizen a break doesn't exist.
 
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Instead of wasting time money and effort on this window dressing, maybe they could concentrate their efforts on supplying up-to-date data to Electric Ireland to produce bills.

My last bill was dated 26-Sep based on a reading I supplied on 10-Sep. 16 days to type in a few numbers, produce a PDF invoice & email it. Even by public services standards that seems a trifle excessive and they can't blame their unionised colleagues in An Post anymore.

I phoned last Weds to enquire about a new bill and was told I'd have my new bill by Friday last. No Bill of course.

I phoned again this evening and I was asked to supply a meter reading by the Electric Ireland customer services rep. When I asked why the "smart-meter" investment wasn't working she told me that from a billings perspective, their world is in a state of chaos. I supplied the reading and was promised an up-to-date bill within 24 hours. This is the way stuff worked before the "smart-meter" waste.

Please don't play these silly games with ESB PR teams, it'll just slow down our bills even more. 75 days and counting since 10-Sep ...
 

Hi Clubman,

Signed up for it but would have to say I find it a little disappointing. To me it is bad advice to dry clothes indoors even in a well ventilated room and this was one of their recommendations this week. They are not the only ones to be recommending this of late. I could be totally wrong but my gut feeling is that you would do more damage cost wise to your house with mould, dampness and condensation than you would pay by using the dryer.

I also saw this recommendation elsewhere and they say to clear out your fridge/freezer so that it won't have to work so hard to keep food cold/frozen. I have always read down through the years that it is best to keep the freezer stocked and if you don't then put newspaper in it to fill the space and save electricity. Never happens in our house as practically have to kick the food in because of lack of space

Fridge and freezer​

Clearing the fridge out is arguably one of the worst household tasks, but doing so could save you money in the long run.

Running this one appliance costs you around €158.58 per year, but while you cannot simply turn off your fridge, there are ways to ensure it works as efficiently as possible.

The simplest way to ensure the fridge functions correctly, according to Natalie, is to routinely clean the exterior and interior.

She said: “As every household needs to keep their fridge/freezer on, it is hardly surprising that over 12 per cent of the entire household’s energy comes from running the fridge/freezer alone.

“Dusting the exterior means the cooling system won’t get affected, whereas cleaning the interior and disposing of any out-of-date food will ensure that the fridge doesn’t need to work as hard to keep food cool or frozen.”
 
The idea of drying clothes indoors in a person's home in winter in Ireland is lunacy.

Recently a child in Rochdale died as a result of black mould.

There are periods when there is plenty of wind generated electricity in Ireland and in future this will be even more so. This environmentally friendly electricity could be used to power tumble dryers.
What is needed is to use a communication app and the smart metering system to alert people as to when there is surplus electricity available and to charge a lower price for this electricity.


Asthma and Lung UK say mould in your home...

  1. Can damage the lungs
  2. Trigger asthma attacks
  3. Trigger allergies in those who already suffer
  4. Exacerbate or cause mental health issues.
 
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Note sure if others signed up for this, but they are now offering rewards to people on smart meters who participate in the energy events. I've received €20 in vouchers in the last 2 months.
 
Leo said:
Note sure if others signed up for this, but they are now offering rewards to people on smart meters who participate in the energy events. I've received €20 in vouchers in the last 2 months.
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All I get is useless emails and texts.
 
ClubMan said:
All I get is useless emails and texts.
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Not sure if they rolled all the original pilot participants over to the rewards scheme, think I had to enter my MRPN which I hadn't done before. I also suspect they have criteria on how you respond to the event. The most recent one was an energy surplus event from 10am-12pm on Thursday, I timed the car to charge during that time, so would have been pulling 7kWh+ during that time.
 
Thanks @Leo. I logged into my account and I seem to be on the scheme having originally registered for the pilot scheme. But all I seem to get from it is occasional spam. I'll double check what the messages say next time as, because they were useless up to now, I got into the habit of deleting them automatically.
 

I can charge my car for 7c a unit overnight, if they want me to charge at 25c a unit during the day I'd want a guarantee of a reward. Eh, I've signed up anyway.
 
shweeney said:
I can charge my car for 7c a unit overnight, if they want me to charge at 25c a unit during the day I'd want a guarantee of a reward. Eh, I've signed up anyway.
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Oh yeah exactly! I'm still on a flat rate so made no difference to me. I did get a €15 voucher for that one but as you say, there's no guarantee whatsoever and I'm sure the more people who sign up the less generous & likely the rewards will be. There were two 'turn down' events since I switched that I didn't do much for and didn't get a reward.
 
Leo said:
Note sure if others signed up for this, but they are now offering rewards to people on smart meters who participate in the energy events. I've received €20 in vouchers in the last 2 months.
Click to expand...
So far I've received €50 in vouchers, and they are great, so many shops to choose from. I'm saving mine for Christmas.
 
I've received 3 vouchers since August after several months of nothing since signing up - €5, €20 and €10. I've only had to respond to the post-event email within 72 hours to confirm that I took action, not to confirm the nature of the action I took.

EDIT to add - signed up to "Is this a good time" at beginning of Feb, started exporting FiT solar in July, which could well be the reason I was moved from the encouraging-email camp to the actively-rewarded camp.
 
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The ad on tv annoys me

The wind is blowing put the dishwasher on

It happens to be blowing at peak rate, no benefit to customer.
 
Sue Ellen said:
disposing of any out-of-date food will ensure that the fridge doesn’t need to work as hard to keep food cool or frozen
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I would of thought that it costs less energy to keep an already frozen piece of food cold, rather than air, which everytime you open the door escapes and then has to be cooled again.
 
@AJAM

I was quoting that recommendation above as to what the ESB say/recommend.

I actually also said:

 
The issue of over-loaded fridges is one air circulation. Poor air circulation puts additional strain on the compressor, costing you more to run and shortening the life of the fridge.
 
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