Average electric bill

blacksmith105

just got my nov-jan bill electric bill and came in at 181.00 euro for a 3 bed with 3 adults and 1 child and tumble dryer on all over christmas
Also had the dishwasher on more over the same period ,

Would most consider this high average or low

ronkmonster

Ours is average of 150 and it was 210 this time. It was high this time last year too but we had no oil then, we did this year.

What is your usual bill?

1966

yeah just got our bill @ €155 which I thought wasn't too bad considering how cold it was around then. Tumble dryer seemed to be on forever and with Christmas lights (outside too), us all being off over Christmas too I was dreading the ESB bill but have to say I am pleasantly surprised this time round.

jillyb

hey

I would have thought that was High but I suppose since ppl were off during the christmas period it'd be higher alright.

We only moved in 7th dec and we got a bill from then to 11th Jan and it was €63.19, but was only for 5 weeks. I thought that was bit high as we have Gas for our heating. what ppl think?

We've a 3 bed dulpex..was considering moving to Bord Gais Energy but not sure whats an avg bill is yet.

Penguino

Sounds like an average bill for this time of year

User Friendly

blacksmith105 wrote: »

just got my nov-jan bill electric bill and came in at 181.00 euro for a 3 bed with 3 adults and 1 child and tumble dryer on all over christmas
Also had the dishwasher on more over the same period ,

Would most consider this high average or low

get that tumble dryer and bring it to the recycling center............ they eat electricity. you will survive without one.

LavaLamp

OMG I nearly died when I got our bill for winter - it was just over €300!! Mind you, first winter with storage heaters, lesson learnt on that one

carwash_2006

User Friendly wrote: »

get that tumble dryer and bring it to the recycling center............ they eat electricity. you will survive without one.

What are you supposed to do if you live in a tiny house with literally no room to hang clothes to dry? It's grand during the summer they all go on the line then, not really gonna work in the winter!

Ponder013

Our bill was up by about €20, €91 not bad, but we were careful. (oil heating and gas cooking)

I agree about the Dryer, I have a tiny house and manage. I use those radiater airers and have a clothes horse on the landing. I've also cut down on the washing we do by subjecting everything ('cept underwear ) to the 'sniff test'. No obvious stains - no putting it in the wash. Get everyone to hang up the towels after use and get a few goes out of them. Save money and the environment.

My mother managed six kids worth of laundry with a twin tub, I can manage without the dryer.

seamus

€250 here, two bed duplex with storage heaters. Actually not that bad, I think it was over €300 for the cold snap last year.

Since everything in my place is electric, I think it's reasonable enough. If I had Gas I'd be paying a standing charge for that too, and the two bills combined for the last two months would probably be well over €250.

Main problem is that I took the week before Christmas off, so there was someone in the house all day using electricity at the day rate for about 3 weeks solid. It also didn't help that the water was turned off at night after Christmas, so washing machine & dishwasher were being run at the day rate for two weeks.

On the dryer issue - we did manage without one for about 6 months I think, but eventually having washing hanging everywhere is a pain in the ass. Also nothing worse than needing a pair of jeans to only discover that they're not dry yet. You can just bang them in the dryer for 30 minutes.

Phoenix Park

144 here,bill arrived yesterday, 2 bed apartment, washer/dryer prob used three times a week and dishwasher 3 times a week. Downlights in rooms. 2 laptops charging a lot of the time. Bill probably higher than our usual one.

How Strange

Ours was around €280 but that was estimated. We have a 2 bed apt. Our largest one last winter was just over €300. We have storage heaters but used them more prudently this year so don't expect the next onf to be so high.

Re tumble dryers, we considered getting one as we've a baby on the way but we don't want anything else contributing to high electricity bills. We hang the clothes out at night and use a small dehumidifier so the clothes are usually dry the next morning or that evening at the latest.

tHE vAGGABOND

time to properly research the alternatives to storage heaters for us in apartments

seamus

tHE vAGGABOND wrote: »

time to properly research the alternatives to storage heaters for us in apartments

At our last AGM, the developer "revealed" that every apartment and duplex in our development had been plumbed for gas if the buyer wanted gas, but they fitted electric storage in most of them. Cheaper presumably.
Worth checking out in your place, though I'd guess that fitting a full gas heating system can't be cheap.

Giblet

380 for a single room apartment.

THANKS AIRTRICITY.

That's due to two low estimates previously though, and them charging the balance It averages out at about 180 euro.

DoesNotCompute

carwash_2006 wrote: »

What are you supposed to do if you live in a tiny house with literally no room to hang clothes to dry? It's grand during the summer they all go on the line then, not really gonna work in the winter!

Use the hot press/airing cabinet to take advantage of the heat from the hot water cylinder that is on all the time due to the cold weather.

youcancallmeal

Are all these bills for 2 or 3 months. Bit confused cause the op said Nov-Jan?

bladespin

User Friendly wrote: »

get that tumble dryer and bring it to the recycling center............ they eat electricity. you will survive without one.

They don't really the worst offenders for power consumption are heaters, then showers, kettles, ovens, emersions.
I've heard of some huge bills coming from geothermal pumps and septic tank pumping systems, they often use underrated pumps that have to run at maximum capacity 24 hrs a day to cope.

gurramok

Mine is about the same as the OP for an all electric 2 bed apt but for the 2 mth period up to Dec 1st. Its the day rate that kills you as well as those evil storage heaters. Try and do your washing machine/tumble dryer/dishwasher overnight assuming you have good sound insulation.

ParkRunner

E175 for gas and electricity for two months. Clothes will dry on the line outside, I don't know why people have tumble dryers. Dishwashers too. A well insulated house goes a long way also for keeping the heat in and the cold out!

mike65

Nov 3rd - Jan 3rd 83 euro, no tumbledryer or dishwasher in this house! Gas bill for central heating yet to arrive mind.

coffee_cake

I thought I'd never cope without a dryer but it's fine tbh
Just requires a bit more planning in advance

angel01

Normally it is when the company estimates the bills and then takes an actual reading that it can get pricey..

angel01

EF wrote: »

E175 for gas and electricity for two months. Clothes will dry on the line outside, I don't know why people have tumble dryers. Dishwashers too. A well insulated house goes a long way also for keeping the heat in and the cold out!

I am guessing you don't live in an apartment then?

ABajaninCork

Lived in both, (flat and house) and have NEVER had a tumble dryer!

I use clothes horses in the winter, and line dry in the spring/summer. Like the previous poster says, it just needs a bit more planning and it can be done.

JohnK

Got my first ESB bill the other day covering 19th Nov to Jan 25th for 1 person living in a 2 bed apartment and it came 437.50 euro; I ****ing hate storage heaters

Novella

My latest 2 month bill from Airtricity was 93 euro. That's for a one bed apartment, no dryer or dishwasher but electric heaters. Not too bad.

Senna

Our bill was €175, 2ppl 4bed, but i was expecting that with more time off over xmas.
Normal is €140 or so.

SIX PACK

Just got our Electric bill in the door for December Jan, 3bed semi detached (BER rating 2 adults 1 child - €146. we have Gas heating
Happy enough with that bill considering we put a wash & a dishwash on every day.
We dont have a tumble dryer

shoes34

Received my bill from Bord Gais last week for electricity only and it was €172 for 3 girls. One of the girls puts washing machine on when its only half full and said it to her to maybe check with others to see if it can be a full load. Same girl complains about the bill! One electric shower and two pump showers and of course christmas lights over the December period. Seems a bit high but on average its seems to be about €130.

Solair

We have a condenser dryer and it works out really well.

Rather than blasting the steam out through a duct in the wall, they use an air-to-air condenser. So, cool air from the room is drawn into the bottom of the dryer, through the heat exchanger, (water condenses) and the hot air is exhausted straight back into the room again. No steam enters the room at all.

So, basically you can use it to supplement your heating while drying your clothes.

We bought a fairly top of the range AEG dryer, and it has worked a charm. It's quite and sits in the kitchen/dining room area so heats the living room when it's running.

So, basically you're getting your clothes dryed and the otherwise wasted heat is keeping your house warm.

The other tip is to make sure you've a washing machine with a really good spin speed. It really drastically reduces drying times and it's probably better for your clothes than tumble-drying them for hours too.

We run stuff through on a 1600 RPM spin. Nothing has ever been damaged / crinkled and it all dries very quickly.