Another huge ESB bill!


These are available here too: [broken link removed]
Though you can pick them up on e-bay too for about €100 delivered.
 
You should visit the esb website, they have a tool online where you can calculate the cost of running appliances going by the hours you use them. It was fairly accurate with my bill.
 
Would agree with other posters on storage heater ignorance among some, caused by a clear lack of instruction from suppliers.
Are you sure you are fifferentiating between storage part of heater and combi part that is fitted with some?
 

I don't agree...when I moved into my apartment I just behaved what I considered to be "normally" and my first couple of bills were astronomical like yours. People quoting their stats about their houses is irrelevant. It's the storage heaters that cause the bulk of the problem. Obviously tumble dryers and immersion eat the juice as well.
My bill is €250 every two months now...normal for a 2 bed with electrical heating.

My advice is :

-Check you are using the storage heaters correctly. Never ever use the boost function. Only use one per room even if there's two in the bigger rooms.
-Only tumble dry at night.
-Use timers on all other radiators.
-Get a timer on your Immersion...have it on for 2.5 hours from 03.30 to 06.00. That should get you 3 showers, a shave and washing up pots/stuff that don't fit the dishwasher.
 
My bill is €250 every two months now...normal for a 2 bed with electrical heating
Click to expand...

I dont think this is normal, i think its very high. I also do think quoting stats about our house type and usage helps.

Like i said previously i live in 2 bed - have storage heaters on practically all year round (with a boost in afternoon), immersion on all day long.

In my parents house there was a meter on the wall and you could see how much different electrical appliances used.
The worst were electric shower, tumble dryer and kettle.

Our bill is about €100 (bimonthly).
 

Sorry Thrifty...the figure you're quoting cannot be true.
 
hi OP,

It seems steep! We have a 2 bed apartment - electric oven/hob, washing machine, microwave, electric shower and ours is 25 euro per month - with Airtricity. Heating is gas and immersion is rarely used, maybe about 3 times per wk for max 2 hrs. I would investigate and make a bit of a fuss for them to take you seriously!

S
 

Again, hard to see the relevance of this post when it's clear electric heating is the problem
 
KalEl said:
Sorry Thrifty...the figure you're quoting cannot be true.
Click to expand...
I agree, and I'd also suggest Thrifty should check the meter. If the meter can't be read (gated community / no externally accessible meter) then it's possible these are estimated readings that don't assume electric heating. I had this problem years ago in a rented place with electric underfloor heating, and at the end of our tenancy, we got a horrendous bill because we'd never thought of checking.
 
We have yet to ascertain what happens to the meter when everything is turned of in the apartment. It is very possible the wrong meter is assigned to the apartment or it is 'incorrectly wired'. ie someone/something else is also on it. For all the OP knows they are paying the for the hall lighting, water pumps or lifts.

These checks may have to be performed over a period of the. eg before going to work, read the meter and read the meter when arriving home.

So turn everything off, but leave CU breakers /switches on.
Check if meter is turning.
If meter is still turning turn off switches on CU to isolate the circuit using power. Note: You have to leave the Main and RCB on to supply the socket MCBs.
If meter is still turning with all CU switches off then you are reading the wrong meter or someone is stealing your power.
If you can isolate one circuit using power and everything on it is off, them you will need an electrician to trace there the power is going.



Towger

BTW. Also check the the Night Saver (do you have it ??) is working correctly. It might not be switching over, or switching at the wrong time.
 
Last edited:
Make sure the storage heater is working right/settings are correct. I had bother with one of those before. They can be expensive if not in good order.
 

You were right i checked some bills last night and they are about €150 every two months. We do have access to the meter and we check it a couple of times a year to make sure it is right.

Our storage heaters are on full blast for about 6/7 months of year and on med/high for remainder and immersion on 24/7.

Still a lot less than OP thought at nearly €400!!
 
Interesting that you keep your immersion on 24/7...mine is on for about 2.5 hours before I get up. I have heard from some people that it actually uses less electricity to have it on all the time. Does anyone know for sure if this is the case?
 
HAve had 2 estimated bills in succession - both UNDERestimated so now owe ESB over €70. Letting it ride so when bill falls a bit in summer should catch up then. If they can't go to the trouble of reading meter & its under well thats €70 in my pocket for a bit longer.

On immersions,
1) defo get an electric shower in ,

2) the immersion cuts in to heat the water. I have been told by an electrician that if the water is maintaining a steady temp then immersion cuts in less. By turning the immersion on and off the water is cooling then needs more power to get up to temp again so in theory at least the immersion is using more power by turning it on and off then by leaving it on alltogether. You would have to do the sums on this to see if it works out in reality but the theory seems to make sense.

3) I must agre with Des Bishop........this country has way too serious a hang up about immersions
 
Last edited:
I can't imagine that turning on/off an immersion over an hour or two, would use more electricity than it being on 24/7. Mythbusters did a test on a light bulb and it was more efficient to turn it on/off than leave it on all the time.
 
I'm very sceptical that there's any scientific evidence to prove that leaving an immersion heater on 24/7 is more energy efficient than turning it on only as required, assuming that the immersion cuts in and out as the integral stat functions. A heated cylinder of water (no matter how well insulated) loses some of its heat through the cylinder walls and connected pipework; an immersion that is continuously powered on will switch on intermittently to compensate for this heat loss, depending on the responsiveness of the integral stat. A cylinder that's heated only when required will have to riase the water temperature by a greater degree but heat loss during the heat up is less than in the former case. Does this make sense? M&E engineers out their.
 
The problem is bigger than an immersion. We leave ours on 24/7 as well and when we had it on a timer I didn't notice any real saving. Whatever the cost it's not over €200 on each bill.
 
aircobra19 said:
Look at this way you've constant heat loss for 24 hrs vs 2 or 3.
Click to expand...

To be fair it's more the huge amount of electricity required to heat a large insulated cylinder of water from cold to a given temperature versus the amount of electricity required to maintain a large insulated cylinder of water at that temperature.
 
KalEl said:
To be fair it's more the huge amount of electricity required to heat a large insulated cylinder of water from cold to a given temperature versus the amount of electricity required to maintain a large insulated cylinder of water at that temperature.
Click to expand...

How long does it take, 20-30 mins? How often do you need that much water in one go? Usually all you need is a shower or a sinkful. If you are using that much water a lot then you still have to heat the whole cylinder as its constantly being filled with cold water.

IMO its like having a electric bar heater on for 2 or 3 hours vs 24. Doesn't matter if the room get hot or not, its the length of the heater is on. Thats what you get charged for.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register