ESB : 12 or 16 kVA

deadl0ck

Hi all,

I'm about to apply for ESB (even though I've just started building) but I'm not sure which supply to go for.

We won't have a heat pump, but we will have 3 showers in the house (1 upstairs, 1 downstairs and 1 en-suite)

Also - I may be doing a bit of welding in the future.

ESB recommends 16kVA for heat pump, or if you've a farm and they mention you may need it if you're doing welding.

If I go for the 16kVA supply is there any price difference in the install ? Or in the actual electricity cost ?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance !!

muffler

Part of the form will need to be completed by an electrician so if you havent decided on this part of the project you should do so now and get the electrician to advise you.

It's about €600 extra for an "enhanced" conection, I originally applied for one then backed out as I decided against GSHP.

As far as I know the only difference is the size of fuse at the meter and "headroom" allowed on the cabling back to the sub-station.

deadl0ck

Part of the form will need to be completed by an electrician so if you havent decided on this part of the project you should do so now and get the electrician to advise you.

I don't have an electrician yet as I've just started building, and I want to get the application in ASAP as they can take AGES to do the install, so I was looking to get as much input from people as possible, in addition to their experiences.

I will talk to an electrician before I make the final decision, but like I said, I'd just like to hear what people think here also.

By the way - there is no section that must be filled out by an electrician - it's all pretty basic :
http://www.esb.ie/esbnetworks/downloads/domestic_new_connection.pdf
You basically tick either 12kVA or 16kVA

wazzoraybelle

Deleted User wrote: »

It's about €600 extra for an "enhanced" conection.

Is that a one off payment or is there an increase in the annual service charge?

unclebill98

It clearly states on the form too consult your electrician.

Also they've made massive improvements in connection times. 4 weeks is the wait in Cavan, down form 3 months 2 years ago.

deadl0ck

It clearly states on the form too consult your electrician.

Yep - but it's hardly a section that "will need to be completed by an electrician"...

Also they've made massive improvements in connection times. 4 weeks is the wait in Cavan, down form 3 months 2 years ago.

That's good to know - will be interesting to see how long it does actually take - I'm just at foundation level currently and I talked to ESB on the phone and they advised to apply now.

muffler

deadl0ck wrote: »

I will talk to an electrician before I make the final decision, but like I said, I'd just like to hear what people think here also.

By the way - there is no section that must be filled out by an electrician - it's all pretty basic :
http://www.esb.ie/esbnetworks/downloads/domestic_new_connection.pdf
You basically tick either 12kVA or 16kVA

Sorry I meant to say in an earlier post that you should get an electrician to assist rather than complete. Q's 7, 8 and 9 would dictate a bit of input from an electrician unless you knowledgeable in this regard.

deadl0ck

Ah OK - I thought I was missing something, or looking at the wrong form

cinny

im feeling confused am trying to complete my esb connction form but question 7 is throwing me off. im going with a heat pump and am awre i will need a 16kva connection however i havent got an electrician on board yet still getting quotations but am not sure about the continious operating current starting current and minium interval between starts. im using a nibe fighter 1240. any help would be much appreciated

The heatpump supplier should be able to provide that information.