Folks can't cope with ESB bill

MonkeyWrench

My parents live in a 3 bed bungalow which is about 35 years old in the countryside. The central heating (oil) broke down about 3 years ago and they got quotes in the region of 10 grand to fix the central heating as it is such an old network of heaters and pipes. The solution we came up with at the time was to get the cavities filled in the walls for better insulation and use electric heaters on low as a means of keeping the place warm. This is suitable in spring and summer but the place is still quite damp even on high settings during the autumn/winter months.

It has been an issue with the large ESB bills they have been getting over the last couple of years as a result but the current ESB bill for xmas 2008 is in the region of 1400 euros which really is the straw that broke the camels back. We are looking for a viable solution to keeping the house heated without electric heaters. Would anyone have any suitable cost effective solutions to their dilemma as its a daunting prospect paying these large ESB bills in these difficult times?

Thoie

Electric heaters, or storage heaters? If they can get the ESB to install a day/night meter, then storage heaters should help.

If you're already on storage heaters, then maybe add a thermostat to the circuits?

If the place is damp, a couple of things to look at are is there enough air circulation (are windows opened regularly, are there vents), and is there an actual damp problem. If there's a damp problem, treating and getting rid of the source might help.

If your parents are retired (and possibly even if they aren't), there are grants available to help improve house conditions - see SEI and maybe talk to the HSE as well.

Take a look here as well.

I think it would be worth doing your own audit of the house initially - where's damp? Where is the cold coming from? Are there draughts coming from somewhere? That kind of thing.

10-10-20

This thread would be far better off in the Electrical/DIY section, but anyhow.

Dump the electric heaters.

If you look at the most recent bill, you could probably work out that a significant investment in repairing the old oil system will pay itself back in a couple of years, usually 3 to 4 at most.
You should consider getting more quotes to have the system repaired (not upgraded) using a condensing boiler, which will give you >90% efficiency over the old oil system which would have given you ~75% efficiency.

The cost of a unit of heat from the oil system will work out much cheaper than a unit of heat from an electrical system, possibly by a factor of two.

So, invest in a new oil system now and you might find that you can get one installed or upgraded for cheaper than what you were quoted 4 years ago.

Also look at getting the house insulated in the attic so that there is ~300mm of rockwool or such up there.

MonkeyWrench

Thanks for the replies. Feel free to move the thread to a more suitable location if required. The heaters are just the basic electric heaters rather than the storage ones. The folks are both retired so the SEI thing will be looked at in more detail, thanks for the link.

Victor

Moved from Accommodation & Property.

Folks can ye comment on all the options, oil, gas (I presume bottled), electrical and solid?

davelerave

MonkeyWrench wrote: »

My parents live in a 3 bed bungalow which is about 35 years old in the countryside. The central heating (oil) broke down about 3 years ago and they got quotes in the region of 10 grand to fix the central heating as it is such an old network of heaters and pipes. The solution we came up with at the time was to get the cavities filled in the walls for better insulation and use electric heaters on low as a means of keeping the place warm. This is suitable in spring and summer but the place is still quite damp even on high settings during the autumn/winter months.

It has been an issue with the large ESB bills they have been getting over the last couple of years as a result but the current ESB bill for xmas 2008 is in the region of 1400 euros which really is the straw that broke the camels back. We are looking for a viable solution to keeping the house heated without electric heaters. Would anyone have any suitable cost effective solutions to their dilemma as its a daunting prospect paying these large ESB bills in these difficult times?

have you got double-glazing attic insulation and draughtproofing done as well.
for a bungalow i'd agree oil would be better ,if not at a couple of combi heaters on the nightsaver at least

Stoner

I'd agree that working with keeping in the heat you are producing in the house should be considered as part of the budget


chimney balloon, cheap, safe and easy to install (only 29 euro)
http://www.dublinchimneysweep.com/ch...alloon_15.html
I've put them in a number of peoples houses and they have all noticed an improvement.

New windows with K glass (to reflect the heat back in) and with solar gain (to let some heat in) these make a huge difference.

Insulating the internal walls. I got a quote in the door from a guy claiming that the average cost per house is 1000 euro to internally insulate the walls.

Insulate the attic with decent insulation.


Everyone here will agree that storage heating is not the answer, you might be able to change to a night rate meter, or improve the heaters (Duo storage heaters from Dimplex claim to reduce heating costs by 20%)

Obviously a new gas or oil system with insulated pipes would be a huge help.

I'm assuming that the budget wont allow for solar panels etc, but from an Eco point of view keeping the heat in is a much better way to to things rather then just leaving a drafty house alone and pumping in more heat (once again obviously)

astrofool

Stoner wrote: »

chimney balloon, cheap, safe and easy to install (only 29 euro)
http://www.dublinchimneysweep.com/ch...alloon_15.html
I've put them in a number of peoples houses and they have all noticed an improvement.

That link is broken.

Would there be much gain going from aluminium double glazed (~1991) to a modern double/triple glazed unit?

Stoner

I'm about to do that actually and I'm expecting big results, I know other people have noted big improvements.

http://www.dublinchimneysweep.com/chimneyballoon_15.html

edward543350

how about putting in dual heating system with a back boiler keeping the house warm during the day and the central heating working at periods during the nite my parent have this system and it work pretty well .a new boiler should only cost at max 1200 incl vat

the_barfly1

MonkeyWrench wrote: »

the current ESB bill for xmas 2008 is in the region of 1400 euros

Are you sure that this is the right reading, or just an estimate?
I got my esb bill for dec' 08, jan '09 in today and it was estimated that i used 21,000 units of electricity, or around €2,300!!!

Your folks might have just gotten a completely wild estimated bill for the period, like i did (my previous 2 months had been €160)!!!