Pricey Electricity - any suggestions?

L

Leccie Bill

Registered User
Messages
11
Hi,

I'm going nuts about my electricity bill - I'd love to hear any tips on reducing it!

I've tried to use more Night Units, e.g. using the washing machine, heaters at night but my bill is as high as ever! Over 300 Euro!

Please can anyone help? I'm so frustrated about this, especially as I've been actively trying to do something about it,

Thanks!

Helen
 
Are you living in an Apartment or House ?? What type of heating are you using ?? What size is your home ??
 
Are you using energy saving lights?
Do you turn off lights in rooms you don't use?
Do you have heating on all day?
Do you have the immersion on all day?
 
Keep items OFF standby ie. TV, Sky Box, DVD Player

Cooker main switch is kept off

Microwave/kettle/toaster plugged out until needed

Using lights only when necessary, switch off when leaving the room

Air dry clothes, don't use a dryer

Only do full loads of washing

Switch TV/Radio off when not in the room
 
mercman said:
Are you living in an Apartment or House ?? What type of heating are you using ?? What size is your home ??
Click to expand...

hi,

use storage heating...

in a 2 bed apartment, only use one bedroom so keep heating off in 2nd room.

just a regular sized apartment really!
 
j26 said:
Are you using energy saving lights?
Do you turn off lights in rooms you don't use?
Do you have heating on all day?
Do you have the immersion on all day?
Click to expand...

i could use more energy saving lights...

i def turn off lights when not in room...

heating is storage, so turn on at night then am heated well all day...

don't have the immersion on all day... it come on in the morning automatically for hot water...and it's just used for showers...rarely boost it...
 
Also, if you have a mobile, don't leave it charging overnight. It only takes a couple of hours to fully charge a phone, but it will keep drawing power if left plugged in afterwards.
 
Can anyone suggest a good target electricity usage per square metre of living space?
 
i used to live in an apartment and found that when using the nightsaver, the bill was higher. i monitored the meter with the actual electricity time used and for every hour water heating during the day - it was 1 unit while the same hour during the night was 2 Units. the actual price for the night "saver" is a wee bit lower but i found that because more Units (even though they were the same times) were used during the night, i ended up paying more.
ESB's reply to it was: get an expert - prove to us we're overcharging you and then we will refund you.

i've seen the uk watchdog the other day where they covered a story of too high gas bills. they said, that the problem is across the board and includes electricity suppliers also. now, this programm was uk related but i wouldn't be surprised if it's the same in this country.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2009/01/are_you_paying_too_much_for_ga.html
 
Do you work somewhere where you could charge up things like phones, mp3's, etc?

I have storage heaters too... hate them personally... if you have them on timer they obviously use electricity all day and night long, because they are switched on at the wall...

Make sure if you have a freezer that its stocked well... if it isn't, use cardboard boxes to bulk it up. An empty freezer uses more electricity than a full one...

Use battery power when you can, like for radios and stuff..
 
Check out this Calculator... it might pin point some of the appliances which are contributing to your bill...

[broken link removed]
 
alaskaonline said:
i used to live in an apartment and found that when using the nightsaver, the bill was higher. i monitored the meter with the actual electricity time used and for every hour water heating during the day - it was 1 unit while the same hour during the night was 2 Units.
Click to expand...

Extraordinary - so the meter was actually running twice as fast at night. This could only happen if ESB were conspiring against you (and possibly other nightrate customers).

What did you do when they asked you to prove it? It would be simple to prove your allegation.
 
Consider one of these to help you monitor your electricty usage. It is essentially a bit of a gadget but the [broken link removed] seem pretty good. You'll get one on eBay for £29 incl delivery.
 
can log in to your esb bill now and view bi monthly usage in the history, can also add in your own readings to add to the data.
Combined with their calculator, now very easy to track usage.
 
extopia said:
Extraordinary - so the meter was actually running twice as fast at night. This could only happen if ESB were conspiring against you (and possibly other nightrate customers).

What did you do when they asked you to prove it? It would be simple to prove your allegation.
Click to expand...

Nobody says anything about "conspiring" - I have no doubts that errors on Meters can happen, especially in new apartment blocks. And errors in general happening on the ESB's side is nothing new ;)
My choice was to get an expert, get him to check the meter box, get a report off him, pay him, send the report to ESB and hoping to get a refund for the extra charge of the bills. The money I would have had to pay to the expert, of course, wouldn't have been refunded. OR
Instead, I just moved out and I am living now in a house where Meter is working fine and bills are acceptable :D (still using the same times by the way).
 
How many storage heaters do you use? My bother lives in a 2 bed apartment with storage heating and his monthly bill is about €70, €300 seems really high (is this for 2 months?)
 
Celtwytch said:
Also, if you have a mobile, don't leave it charging overnight. It only takes a couple of hours to fully charge a phone, but it will keep drawing power if left plugged in afterwards.
Click to expand...


That's a great one, thanks. That would be something I'm guilty of. Thanks!
 
alaskaonline said:
i used to live in an apartment and found that when using the nightsaver, the bill was higher. i monitored the meter with the actual electricity time used and for every hour water heating during the day - it was 1 unit while the same hour during the night was 2 Units. the actual price for the night "saver" is a wee bit lower but i found that because more Units (even though they were the same times) were used during the night, i ended up paying more.
ESB's reply to it was: get an expert - prove to us we're overcharging you and then we will refund you.

i've seen the uk watchdog the other day where they covered a story of too high gas bills. they said, that the problem is across the board and includes electricity suppliers also. now, this programm was uk related but i wouldn't be surprised if it's the same in this country.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2009/01/are_you_paying_too_much_for_ga.html
Click to expand...

Wow! This is fabulous! Thanks!
 
Smashbox said:
Do you work somewhere where you could charge up things like phones, mp3's, etc?

I have storage heaters too... hate them personally... if you have them on timer they obviously use electricity all day and night long, because they are switched on at the wall...

Make sure if you have a freezer that its stocked well... if it isn't, use cardboard boxes to bulk it up. An empty freezer uses more electricity than a full one...

Use battery power when you can, like for radios and stuff..
Click to expand...

Thanks! very much. Just got an Ipod Dock with a rechargeable battery, so hoping that helps too!
 
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