Air to water pump huge ESB bill

[Introuble83]

My friend has purchased a new 2 bed apartment. 60sq meters , A2 rated. . He is due to move in approx 4 weeks . The builders were adamant he set up an account with Electric Ireland so the power could be turned on. The apartment has a smart metre . He received a bill for 26 days at a cost of 263. The bill has actual readings . This came as a shock as he has not actually moved in . This cost relates directly to the air to water pump which runs 24/7. When queried the builder advised that the system was drawing heat for 2 weeks and the next bill will settle . Can anyone advise if this is sure BS? Surely an A2 small apartment should be far more efficient than this . He is terrified now that when he moves in and starts running appliances the bill will be massive . Any info is great appreciated.

 

[Zenith63]

This is a common practice and you’ll find some other threads about it on AAM, querying who should pay the bill etc.

On the cost itself, €263 for 26 days at €0.30/kWh would translate to a constant draw of 1.4kW. Our heatpump is using about 0.7kW 24x7 at the moment for a 400sqm A2 house. So that bill is very high, probably because the heatpump was being run flat out, maybe to help dry the apartment (again common practice). It will come down significantly once they move in and set it to a moderate temperature I would say, I wouldn’t stress about it.