ESB Meter Accuracy

Intermediary

We have been receiving relatively inflated bills since we moved address.
Our electricity consumption should in fact have reduced as we are occupying a smaller building.
Our meter is one of the new digital types and I have been informed by the ESB that it's official description is an AMPY RM067.
Has anyone received higher than average ESB bills that they think could possibly be attributed to their electronic meter?
Or is anyone aware of accuracy problems with this type of meter?

Del2005

Intermediary wrote: »

We have been receiving relatively inflated bills since we moved address.
Our electricity consumption should in fact have reduced as we are occupying a smaller building.
Our meter is one of the new digital types and I have been informed by the ESB that it's official description is an AMPY RM067.
Has anyone received higher than average ESB bills that they think could possibly be attributed to their electronic meter?
Or is anyone aware of accuracy problems with this type of meter?

Has your meter actually been read or are you getting estimated bills? That's usually the reason for high bills.

Fnergg

Intermediary wrote: »

We have been receiving relatively inflated bills since we moved address.
Our electricity consumption should in fact have reduced as we are occupying a smaller building.
Our meter is one of the new digital types and I have been informed by the ESB that it's official description is an AMPY RM067.
Has anyone received higher than average ESB bills that they think could possibly be attributed to their electronic meter?
Or is anyone aware of accuracy problems with this type of meter?

That digital meter - like all digital meters - is highly accurate. The old mechanical meters were prone to slow down over time (in the customer's favour) but not so the digitals.

The reason you are getting higher bills has nothing to do with the meter. This is something I posted previously and you should also check other posts in relation to ESB bills:

There are various reasons whey people receive unexpectedly high bills. The most common reason is a series of under-estimated meter readings followed by an actual reading. The result can be an accumulated usage spanning several months - years in some cases - and thus a large bill.
Each bill is clearly marked "estimated" if an actual reading has not been obtained.

There can simply be increased usage due to new appliances and family circumstances (e.g. an addition to the family, teenagers taking showers every half hour, etc). Many people will have bought large screen TVs in the recent past without realising that they cost *significantly* more to run than the old style cathode ray sets. The average household is now using much more electricity than 10 years ago.

There can be faulty appliances. A fairly common occurrence in rural areas is a broken water pump for example. There can be wasteful use of electricity: some people use plug-in electric heaters for hours on end, for instance, when they should only be used very sparingly. Or, they leave the hot-water tank on constantly thus wasting electricity, etc, etc. A visit to the ESB website would quickly show how to use electricity to best effect.

Sometimes, too, ESB bills can cover more than the normal 60 day period. If the meter reading schedule is impacted by bad weather for example the bill might cover 70+ days and in winter that can have a significant impact on the size of the bill. Look at your bill: it spells out the number of days usage billed.

Remember also that this has been the coldest winter in years and most people will have used more electricity. Factor in as well that prices increased by 17% from the 1st August last.

Regards,

Fnergg


How to read your meter:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmPTlXqhzYc&feature=channel_page

Intermediary

Many thanks for your replies,

In response to the points raised, the following details are relevant:

We have been assured by the ESB that in the 16 months we have occupied this new building, that our meter has been read several times. This is in keeping with the detail on our bill.

This thread posting is in fact our last port of call, as we have carried out an exhaustive and forensic analysis of our consumption in the period since we took occupancy.

Our unit usage has dramatically increased compared to our last house, which was much larger, despite the fact that we are using fewer heat producing and therefore inefficient appliances. Also we are sure that there are no appliances running for a longer period of time than in our previous house.

We feel that we have eliminated every other possible reason for our increased unit consumption and therin lies our feeling that the new electronic / digital meter could be to blame.

testicle

While your new house may be smaller, maybe it is less efficient?

Saruman

Did you get new equipment in the new house or is every single electronic item the same as the old house?

Also switch to board gas or airtricity and save money.

Intermediary

Thanks for your reply,

Our last house was a four storey Georgian building approximately 200 years old and construction of our new smaller building was completed just before we took occupancy. Consequently it is built to reasonably current building regulations governing insulation etc.

Please also note that we do not use electricity for any form of heating or cooking.

Intermediary

Our appliances are a mixture of old and new. No different to the normal ongoing replacement of appliances that a normal household would experience.

daheff

get something like this..it will help you identify what is causing the big usage
http://www.energyliberators.com/Products/Electrisave/

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Saruman wrote: »

Did you get new equipment in the new house or is every single electronic item the same as the old house?

Also switch to board gas or airtricity and save money.

We're talking about increased Units here so the problem remains despite the Unit cost.:rolleyes:

OP: What do you consider high usage? What kind of number of Units are you being billed for 2 months? DO you clock up more than 3 or 4 units overnight?

ongarite

The main reason for higher usage this winter is that this winter was the coldest in UK/Ireland for nearly 20 years.
Hence its costs more to heat your dwelling than our more milder winters as ambient outside temperature is colder and mains water coming into your dwelling is also much colder and costs alot more to heat up.

Saruman

Lamar Flaky Dimple wrote: »

We're talking about increased Units here so the problem remains despite the Unit cost.:rolleyes:

I fail to see the point of the rolling eyes.

antoinolachtnai

Maybe your old meter in your old house was running very slow?

ejmaztec

Could be something daft like a different wattage central heating pump. I swapped mine for one of these for a very noticeable saving. I couldn't find one I wanted here so had to ship it from the UK. A lesser equivalent here was substantially more expensive than the one on the link.

http://www.uk-plumbing.com/grundfos-alpha-2-1560-130-a-rated-pump-p-51296.html

delllat

a electrician i was talking to today offered to "fix" our meter today so we would never have to pay for electric again
I told him i wouldnt risk it but after reading this thread.........:rolleyes:

Davy

delllat wrote: »

a electrician i was talking to today offered to "fix" our meter today so we would never have to pay for electric again
I told him i wouldnt risk it but after reading this thread.........:rolleyes:

He wasn't doing you a favour. You would suffer the consequences eventually i imagine. That sort of behavior should be reported.


Op i would suggest registering your account online. You can see your meter reading history, was it estimated, usage, bill totals, etc. Its a very handy tool imo. youraccountonline.esb.ie

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

delllat wrote: »

a electrician i was talking to today offered to "fix" our meter today so we would never have to pay for electric again
I told him i wouldnt risk it but after reading this thread.........:rolleyes:

A) You would definately get caught and then face criminal proceedings as ESB have a very clear policy on this. Abnormal usage gets flagged and metre readers are trained to detect any interference with the meters. ANyway you're not a thief are you?

You should actually report this electrician as his activities are not only illegal but dangerous as well.

Fnergg

A unit of electricity is an electrical load of 1,000w (1kw) running for 1 hour.

For example, a 100w bulb would have to run for 10 hours before it would consume 1 unit. On the other hand a 3 kw appliance running for 1 hour will consume 3 units.

One option you could consider is to switch off all appliances and then run an appliance of 2 kw or above (anything less would be too little) for 1 hour and see how many units it consumes. The problem is ensuring everything else is switched off - people often forget something. There is also the complication of such an appliance only consuming the stated load at the rated wattage (all this would be on a plate on the appliance) and wattage can vary somewhat. Still, if, say, you have a 2kw heater plugged in for 1 hour the meter should show a usage of about 2 units in that period.


Regards,

Fnergg

FaintBum

This post is funny now, all of those Ampy 067 meters are being replaced because a load of them are faulty 😂