First ESB Bill €241!! 2 Bed Appartment

dontclickonthis

Hope you can help but got my first esb bill of €241!! Two bed apartment with two people.

The heating is electric but I have them turned off on the wall from day one as I wasn’t sure how they worked and I didn't want to run up a bill with them. I think they call them storage heating, also there is a timer in the hot press for hot water which I have it set for two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening.

We both take a shower most mornings and use the oven for dinner in the evening besides the TV and two laptops that’s it.

Can you please tell me how we could have run up a bill of €241.

Bill break down:


Day units 863
Night Units 801


Also we moved in on the 1st of November but were getting billed from the 26th of October. That’s a whole 6 days of heaters and the immersion on that we didn't use.


Can you help?

ted1

did you take a meter reading when you moved in? Did you give them this reading when you opened your account? What does the meter read now? Was your bill estimated.

inforfun

Maybe it is an estimated bill, based on what previous tenants used.
If that is the case, things will put right as soon as you ll get billed based on the actual meter read.
Had that myself years ago. Had 2 high(ish) bills in a row, 3rd bill based on the actual meter read showed ESB owed me money.

Dempo1

I suspect the OP bill is estimated or perhaps no reading was done when they moved in although they state its their first bill. It does appear on the High side particularly as they have a night meter which would keep the storage heater costs down albeit they say they have not used them? Best thing is to do a meter reading and contact the ESB and they will re issue a new bill (unless the situation is that no meter reading was done from the previous owners/tenants).

Wicklowrider

Make sure its not owed from a previous tenant. Happened to me years ago. Paid my first ever ESB bill and it was 8 times higher than my 2nd and subsequent bills!

dontclickonthis

ted1 wrote: »

did you take a meter reading when you moved in? Did you give them this reading when you opened your account? What does the meter read now? Was your bill estimated.

The aparment was new and no one lived here before us everything was brand new and was never touched and there is no meter here I think its in the basement. I taught as it was a new apartment we would be starting from 0 and it was the company who own the apartment who gave the ESB my details.

It says pervious reading 4796C Present 5659

and for night tariff

pervious 3973C present 4774

I know people who live in four and five bedroom houses who don't pay any where near what we have to pay.

Tazz T

If it's starting in the 4000s, then someone has been using it before. You might want to check if there's an 'E' after the most recent reading, meaning it's estimated on previous usage.

You really should have taken a reading before moving in and agree that with landlord, but you can still say this is the date we moved in and have it recalibrated on that.

Those heaters are awful expensive. I can't believe they're still being installed in new apartments.

Davy

You should confirm its your meter. Could be a chance the tails were mixed in the meter room. Get someone at the meter and have the immersion/kettle on, see the meter rotating. Then open your switch fuse on your consumer panel in the apartment, and the meter should completely stop rotating.

Davy

Tazz T wrote: »

If it's starting in the 4000s, then someone has been using it before.

Not the case, the meter could have been fitted in another premises for a short time, then removed. Then was refitted to this premises. Wouldn't make sense to dispose of it after a short use.

It doesn't matter what the reading is, on connection the reading would be took, and thats where the bill starts from.

Joe10000

I have just moved out of an apartment where we got esb bills in excess of 300 regularly, electric heaters and storage heaters too.

Never got to the bottom of it I'm afraid but I did get this suggestion off a mate and that is drop the trips and then go down to the meter to see if it's still moving.

dontclickonthis

Davy wrote: »

You should confirm its your meter. Could be a chance the tails were mixed in the meter room. Get someone at the meter and have the immersion/kettle on, see the meter rotating. Then open your switch fuse on your consumer panel in the apartment, and the meter should completely stop rotating.

I might do that so to double check. I will of course have to ask permission to go to see the meter can anyone see there being a problem to let me down to see it?


Also am I right in saying as both day and night units are around 800 units each does that mean were using just as much power when were asleep as opposed to when were awake?

hohojojo

just as a mater of interest how do you heat the apartment i know you said you turn off the stoage heaters but if you are still using electric heating thats probably your problem all electric heating is expensive

and to be honest i don't think thats to expensive when it comes to an apartment it is hard to keep the bills down

but i would think of it this way at least you not getting a seperate heating bill like gas or oil

dontclickonthis

hohojojo wrote: »

just as a mater of interest how do you heat the apartment i know you said you turn off the stoage heaters but if you are still using electric heating thats probably your problem all electric heating is expensive

and to be honest i don't think thats to expensive when it comes to an apartment it is hard to keep the bills down

but i would think of it this way at least you not getting a seperate heating bill like gas or oil

There are two smaller electric heaters in the bedrooms, I know one of the bedroom heaters is never turned on and the other bedroom I turn it on the odd time before I get up in the morning.

dontclickonthis

Can anyone tell me have I set this wrong? It says Bath timer But im guessing its for all the hot water.






All the heaters are set to 1 and turned off at the wall.

hohojojo

how do you heat your sitting room and the rest of the apartment

there one thing i would run you immersion early in the morning and at least you be getting cheaper electricity for that

hohojojo

on your storage heaters the input is the amount of power your putting in to it ie. the higher it is the more units you use, but if the spur on the wall is off thats really means nothing cause there is no power being used

but them heater on the wall in your bedroom are pushing your units up

hohojojo

just as a mater of interest why do you have your immersion on for so long i wouldn't of though it would take that long to heat your water for a shower or 2

Tails142

The C after the meter reading on your bill means it was submitted by a 'customer', i.e. whoever had the meter previous to you, possibly the developer of the apartment block.

So they couldve screwed you.

dontclickonthis

hohojojo wrote: »

just as a mater of interest why do you have your immersion on for so long i wouldn't of though it would take that long to heat your water for a shower or 2

Just to make sure there was enuff for two showers in the morning and hot water for washing up in the eveing. Turned it back now and see if there still enuff hot water.

Anyone know what time the night rate kicks in at and off at?

hohojojo

11 till 8 are night rate

Electric Ireland: David

Hi dontclickonthis,

It would be best to PM me your account details so I could go into more detail with you, but based on the questions you've already asked and the information you've provided, I should be able to help you.

dontclickonthis wrote:

Anyone know what time the night rate kicks in at and off at?

As hohojojo said, the night rate activates from 11pm until 8am (in wintertime); in summertime, the hours are 12am until 9am. See here for further pricing details (assuming you're on an urban tariff; click here if your profile is classified as rural. This information can be found on your bill).

dontclickonthis wrote:

Also am I right in saying as both day and night units are around 800 units each does that mean were using just as much power when were asleep as opposed to when were awake?

Yes, assuming your nightswitch is set to the correct time (and that you're sleeping patterns coincide with the aforementioned hours ). The nightswitch should be next to your meter, and the time will be visible on the panel's display. I would check this when inspecting the meter, as Davy helpfully advised above.

On a more general note, if you find your usage to be excessive, I would recommend using our online app, the appliance calculator, which was designed to be a reliable guide to estimating your ESB consumption (bear in mind that you will need to modify the final € figure for those units used at the night rate).

For general energy saving tips click here. And if you want to go into greater detail, you might also like to try our newly launched Energy Saving Wizard, an online tool which provides recommendations (which indicate costs, grants available and savings) to customers based on answers they give about their house.

I look forward to hearing from you, and if anyone else has any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks,

David.

tomcollins97

Hi OP,

I had a similar problem a few years back - I had a power shower and an electric, stopped using the powershower when i realised how much the immersion cost.

Assuming a standard 120lt tank, though you may have larger. If this is heated twice daily from cold to hot (morning & evening) it will set you back €165 every two months and that is before you cook, use an oven, light the aparatment.

Re wall heaters: Assuming a 2000W convector for 7 hrs per week, this will cost about 20 quid for 2 months. Given the amount of heat provided in one hour a day it is not really worth it.

My advice - buy an electric blanket to keep you ward in bed, costs about 14c to run for a full night, and in the future NEVER NEVER NEVER move into an apartment with electric heating and no electric shower.

pwd

I got a huge esb bill in an apartment before. It turned out that the next door neighbour was on the same meter. The landlord had not gotten planning permission to have the number of apartments he did, so he cheated.

To make sure you are the only one on your meter, turn off everything. Look at the meter. If it is still moving then you are paying for electricity that you are not using.

Electric Ireland: David

pwd wrote: »

To make sure you are the only one on your meter, turn off everything. Look at the meter. If it is still moving then you are paying for electricity that you are not using.

Hi pwd,

Just a quick FYI, in the majority of cases when a meter is still rotating (or with a digital meter, still flashing) and all the power has been turned off at the main trip switch, the customer's own installation would need to be inspected for faults. It wouldn't necessarily point to there being a splitting/splicing of the supply.

I'm sorry to hear of your own very unfortunate experience. Such landlords are surely a rarity (although in uttering such a statement I don't mean to open the proverbial can of worms! ).

If a customer ever feels there is a problem with their meter, the first port of call is certainly to contact their electricity provider for advice.

Thanks,

David.