Average Gas and ESB costs?

ZygOte

Hi,

im currently renting a place where my esb and gas are included in the rent. im thinking of possibly moving but im trying to factor in how much i am likley to be facing on utilities bills in another place.

how much is the average esb + gas bill on a standard two bed apartment assuming nothing out of the ordinary is being used, just heating water and running tv and computer in the evening etc.

i know it will be different for everyone but im just trying to approximate what i should be budgeting for.

S12

My gas and esb are both ususlly 90 euro each every two months on a decent sized one bed. Gas goes down in summer obviously since you don't need too much heating. My friend lives in a two bed, esb for everyting, and hers is usually 210-220

FibbersON

3 Bed Semi D, been in it 6 months and the highest was 300 before Christmas, 200 Gas 100 Elec. In the summer around 100 was covering both. Only had the gas on in the morning for hot water.

The_Conductor

Last bills- ESB 90 Euro, Gas 378 Euro (heating and water immersion are both gas). Gas goes down to zero in summer (electricity goes up to about 250-260 (when not using the gas in summer water for showers etc tends to be on a different immersion)). We tend to heat a lot more water than most people- we like our baths and showers.

matrim

I think you would be talking about 150 - 200 every 2 months.

helimachoptor

3 bed house, gas and elec are about 150-170 each every 2 months, in the summer gas is pretty much 0 but elec goes up a bit to maybe 200.

Moonbeam

I have a 2 bed house and I pay about 30 euro every 2 months in the summer (just used to heat water for showers)and about 70 in the winter for Gas.
My ESB averages about 80 euro every 2 months.

It depends on whether your heating is gas/oil/electric and also if your cooker is gas or electric or a mix.

Firefox10

I live in a 2 bed duplex. My electricty bill averages at about 60 Euro for 2 months over the year (Whole House kitted out whith CFL bulbs.) Gas bill would go up to 120-140 euro druing peak winter months and of course allmost nothing during the summer months. I have some radators turned off in some rooms i dont use. I think im turning into a green purely on economic grounds!!:D

helimachoptor

Firefox10 wrote: »

I think im turning into a green purely on economic grounds!!:D

Arent we all!

markpb

I'm sharing a 2 bed apartment with two other adults. During the summer our ESB bill for 2 months is about €100. During the winter it rises to about €200. That's for water heating and house heating on the night saver plan. I'm quite careful to run the dishwasher & washing machine at night, all the bulbs are CFLs (where practical) and the TV/DVD player/Wii are switched off at the wall when they're not in use.

MysticalSoul

2 bed apartment, where hob is gas, last ESB bill was €90, and Gas was €70 for two months, I expect the next bills to be a bit higher, as December/January, for me usually are.

adamski8

our nov/dec esb bill was €360 :eek:. thats for a 3 person flat. We have gas cooker and heating so that seems like a crazy bill. does it help to run things like the dishwasher on at night? the is no mention of night usage on the bill!

Agent J

I'd say average about 100 euro a month.

There isnt a "night" rate for Electricty. I think you are thinking of storage heating.

MysticalSoul

Agent J wrote: »

I'd say average about 100 euro a month.

There isnt a "night" rate for Electricty. I think you are thinking of storage heating.

Actually there is, but think you need an engineer to come out to switch it over, as different meter needed etc. My aunt has night saver electricity, and always puts her washing on at 11pm for that reason. I think the standing charge is higher for the night saver option though.

MysticalSoul

adamski8 wrote: »

our nov/dec esb bill was €360 :eek:. thats for a 3 person flat. We have gas cooker and heating so that seems like a crazy bill. does it help to run things like the dishwasher on at night? the is no mention of night usage on the bill!

Seems a bit excessive alright. How many times a week do you run the dishwasher. I run my dishwasher twice a week, and my bills are usually below €100. If you are heating the immersion every day, this could account for the cost, rather than heating water off the gas.

The_Conductor

irishamethyst wrote: »

Seems a bit excessive alright. How many times a week do you run the dishwasher. I run my dishwasher twice a week, and my bills are usually below €100. If you are heating the immersion every day, this could account for the cost, rather than heating water off the gas.

Big time- it costs about 10 times less to heat your water from gas than it does from electricity. I would check whether you have a decent lagging jacket on the immersion heater, frequency of using things like the kettle, dish washer etc- whether devices are being left on/on standby the whole time, etc- you are using a silly amount of electricity- you need to do an audit of where it is going........

hunnymonster

2 people in a small 3 bed here and our last ESB was €140 and the gas the same (€138). Gas would be a lot lower in summer although we do use it for cooking so doesn't go to zero. Most of the ESB goes on laundry I would guess - we generate a silly amount of dirty clothes!

hunnymonster

smccarrick wrote: »

- you are using a silly amount of electricity- you need to do an audit of where it is going........

You can buy a meter in hardware stores (ours was €15 from B&Q). You plug is in between teh wall socket and the appliance and it will tell you how much electricity is being used. I was surprised at how high the cordless phones were (and how efficient the fridge was)

Firefox10

Washer/Dryers can suck up alot of electricty too. If you are using one of these a few times a week id say it would clock up a bill quickly. Large LCD/Plasma TV's also can i think.

garimac

....you need to do an audit of where it is going........

Hi,

How do you get such an audit done?

My bill just in the door is for 374E for 2 mnth period. My last one was 340E for previous 2mnths.

I think these bills are too high, but maybe I am wrong.

Is this normal cost?
3 bedroom house - 2 adults, 3 kids, a couple of computers, dishwasher, washing machine, one tv, average joe soap house (ESB monster in shed )

Thanks

Firefox10

garimac wrote: »

Hi,

How do you get such an audit done?

My bill just in the door is for 374E for 2 mnth period. My last one was 340E for previous 2mnths.

I think these bills are too high, but maybe I am wrong.

Is this normal cost?
3 bedroom house - 2 adults, 3 kids, a couple of computers, dishwasher, washing machine, one tv, average joe soap house (ESB monster in shed )

Thanks

Hi

You can find out how much energy you are using this energy calculator from the ESB website.
https://www.esb.ie/esbcustomersupply/residential/energy_efficiency/appliance_calculator.jsp

This might help.

garimac

Thanks Firefox, I'll give that a shot so.

eimearnll

ok this seems to be happening to a lot of people and i was told it was on joe duffy today but did'nt get to hear it.my own esb bill jumped from 140-160 euro to 260.and i was talking to 2 other people who siad the same thing.think im going to make a phone call to the esb in the morning thats just madness.

Black Beard

Just got my first gas bill today, 2 people in a 3 bed house, gas heating and hob is gas, €540 for 2 months, this seems extremely overpriced, does anyone else have similar bills? esb is normally €50-€60 per month

The_Conductor

Black Beard wrote: »

Just got my first gas bill today, 2 people in a 3 bed house, gas heating and hob is gas, €540 for 2 months, this seems extremely overpriced, does anyone else have similar bills? esb is normally €50-€60

I'm guessing your water is also gas heated.
It is the peak usage time of the year- and your bill does not appear to be totally out of the realms of possibility- its probable that you simply have been a little too ready to pop on the heat etc.

You can do many things to minimise your bill-

1. Put the heating on a timer- there is no point in heating the house when you are not there.
2. Lower your thermostat. 17 degrees is quite agreeable- you do not need 22-24 degrees.
3. When cooking- use the amount of water you need- do not fill up pots or the kettle unless its necessary.
4. Not all rooms need to have their radiators turned on. Rooms that are lesser used should not be automatically heated.
5. Leaving curtains closed will stop the heat escaping.

There are lots more tips- mostly fairly straightforward- 540 Euro is a lot of gas- you should have no difficulty whatsoever in getting this down significantly- perhaps even halving it.

S>

bladebrew

christ now im depressed! my last esb bill was 110euro and the gas was 138euro for two months thats for a large 1 bed apartment,and the girlfriend is "always cold":rolleyes:

just noticed the thermostat is at 26!!

loyatemu

I got my gas bill yesterday - nearly €400 for the last two months (3-bed semi). I've been tracking my bills for the last 2 years and this is far and away the highest we've had. I know its been cold but this is ridiculous...

The_Conductor

loyatemu wrote: »

I got my gas bill yesterday - nearly €400 for the last two months (3-bed semi). I've been tracking my bills for the last 2 years and this is far and away the highest we've had. I know its been cold but this is ridiculous...

Keep in mind gas prices increased by 20% per unit last September (and they were looking for another 8-12% but later retracted this request, when wholesale prices started to fall). Totally aside from the fact that this winter has been on average over 4 degrees colder than Winter '08- everything else being equal you would be paying 20% more........

The 10% reduction they are now proposing is a bit of a kick in the teeth when you consider it went up by 20% only last September.........

loyatemu

yeah its typical - they jack up their prices in autumn and then propose dropping them in the spring when usage is going to drop anyway (see also: the ESB)

I must compare actual usage with the previous couple of years - March is generally the biggest bill of the year, I just wasn't expecting it to be this hefty

shrapnel222

Firefox10 wrote: »

Hi

You can find out how much energy you are using this energy calculator from the ESB website.
https://www.esb.ie/esbcustomersupply/residential/energy_efficiency/appliance_calculator.jsp

This might help.

just used that and it is very accurate. biggest costs: tumble dryer at 35 euros, light bulbs at 45 and electric shower 30

Kotek Besar

I made some very basic bill estimators in Excel.

They're for Bord Gáis gas and Airtricity electricity as they are (urban tariffs), but you can modify them as per the rates of whatever supplier / tariff you use.

Handy to be able to estimate what your next bills are going to be like, based on your usage to date in the current bill period.