Bill price

ratsam

Hi

Just looking to see if my electricity bill is high compared to others. I live in a detached house of 125sqm (approx 1350sqft). We cook on electricity and heat with oil. Emersion heater is used the odd time (maybe 2 hours a week). 4 of us in the house, 2 adults and 2 kids.
Our bills for the last couple of years have been the region of €240-260. Is this roughly normal for house of this area. I know that a very generic question but I am just curious what other in a similar sized house might be paying. I don't remember it being that much maybe 5 years back - more in the region of 150-200. Beginning to thing there could be a problem in my submersed water pump or waste water treatment system...???

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks a mill

Rats

liveandnetural

thing have gone up in price

Irish domestic electricity prices rose by 14.8% year on year to the first semester of 2009, consisting of a rise of 14.9%
in the first half of 2008 followed by a fall of 0.1% in the second half. Irish prices were 22% above the EU average in
the first half of 2009.

taken from
seai.ie Understanding_Electricity_and_Gas_Prices_in_Ireland pdf

SCOOP 64

My last 2 bills, €193 and last week €220 (Electric Ireland) had alot worst, last year bill after xmas was €330, same set up as you but we don't use emersion heater , xbox,computers on all evening, might get some gu10 led bulbs to replace my 20, 50 Watt ones, might help.

ted1

Yes its high, spend money on energy efficient lamps. The payback is very good.

wiz569

ratsam wrote: »

Hi

Just looking to see if my electricity bill is high compared to others. I live in a detached house of 125sqm (approx 1350sqft). We cook on electricity and heat with oil. Emersion heater is used the odd time (maybe 2 hours a week). 4 of us in the house, 2 adults and 2 kids.
Our bills for the last couple of years have been the region of €240-260. Is this roughly normal for house of this area. I know that a very generic question but I am just curious what other in a similar sized house might be paying. I don't remember it being that much maybe 5 years back - more in the region of 150-200. Beginning to thing there could be a problem in my submersed water pump or waste water treatment system...???

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks a mill

Rats

Unfortunately thats about the norm nowadays m8

.G.

I've lived in 3 bed Semi d's,3 bed terraced and now a 2 bed terraced. 2 adults,2 young kids. My bill is always around €130 every two months and always has been over the last few years regardless of price increases.

wiz569

superg wrote: »

I've lived in 3 bed Semi d's,3 bed terraced and now a 2 bed terraced. 2 adults,2 young kids. My bill is always around €130 every two months and always has been over the last few years regardless of price increases.

I havent seen a €130 bill in about 5 years at least

But how many PC's,Xbox's,TV's,Cable/satellite boxes do you have?

.G.

My latest bill is €134.

Tv's and the like use very little power.I have quite a few.I have energy saver lamps and an electricity monitor in place.Anything thats heats water will use a fair chunk of your electricity so thats where you look for savings,and electric heaters. I don't use a dishwasher,a clothes dryer and I rarely use the immersion. I bought the highest energy rated appliances I could afford when I moved into this house.We use an electric shower a fair bit and boil a kettle to wash dishes but will be getting an instant hot tap in the new year.

wiz569

superg wrote: »

My latest bill is €134.

Tv's and the like use very little power.I have quite a few.I have energy saver lamps and an electricity monitor in place.Anything thats heats water will use a fair chunk of your electricity so thats where you look for savings,and electric heaters. I don't use a dishwasher,a clothes dryer and I rarely use the immersion. I bought the highest energy rated appliances I could afford when I moved into this house.We use an electric shower a fair bit and boil a kettle to wash dishes but will be getting an instant hot tap in the new year.

My last bill was €265

I live in a 3 bed terrace,

Most if not all of my appliances are A+ and higher,dont use the immersion,my gas boiler heats all the water and heats the house,so no costly electric shower or heaters,

I do use a dishwasher once a day,so that along with three pc's,an Xbox and various phone/tablet chargers must use over €100 worth of electricity I guess

ted1

wiz569 wrote: »

My last bill was €265

I live in a 3 bed terrace,

Most if not all of my appliances are A+ and higher,dont use the immersion,my gas boiler heats all the water and heats the house,so no costly electric shower or heaters,

I do use a dishwasher once a day,so that along with three pc's,an Xbox and various phone/tablet chargers must use over €100 worth of electricity I guess

I've a three bed semi, 2 adults 2 kids, a rated apippliances, electric shower , gas heating. €130 is the norm.

What type bulbs have you? That's more than likely where your going wrong, also when did you last change supplier? Once your discounts are gone you need to jump ship.


FYI electric showers are not expensive, they only heat the water that is needed. In summer we have no need for gas, and no need for the immersion which beats excess water.

wiz569

ted1 wrote: »

I've a three bed semi, 2 adults 2 kids, a rated apippliances, electric shower , gas heating. €130 is the norm.

What type bulbs have you? That's more than likely where your going wrong, also when did you last change supplier? Once your discounts are gone you need to jump ship.


FYI electric showers are not expensive, they only heat the water that is needed. In summer we have no need for gas, and no need for the immersion which beats excess water.

Well there is 4 adults here,as both my kids are over 18,I'm sure the always on PC's don't help either,

As for bulbs they are still old style bulbs,cannot really afford 5 euro a bulb tbh,but its getting harder now to find them lol,

As for your electric shower,its still probably dearer then using your gas boiler to heat the water though,especially as its on anyway this weather,

I have always been with ESB or Electric Ireland as they are now called,never felt the need to switch,mainly because I'm not on direct debit with them so I can pull money away from that bill if needed elsewhere

But I definitely need to do something to save money

ted1

wiz569 wrote: »

As for bulbs they are still old style bulbs,cannot really afford 5 euro a bulb tbh,but its getting harder now to find them lol,

As for your electric shower,its still probably dearer then using your gas boiler to heat the water though,especially as its on anyway this weather,

I have always been with ESB or Electric Ireland as they are now called,never felt the need to switch,mainly because I'm not on direct debit with them so I can pull money away from that bill if needed elsewhere

The payback period on bulbs is only a few months. Not having that fiver is costing you much more.

Your gas may be on more but other months it's costing you. Our gas is on for only about 33% of the year, what do you do for the other 66%? If you use gas to heat water can you isolate your hot tank?
If your using your immersion, your probably heating more water than required.

You can't afford a lamp for a fiver, that pays for itself fairy fast but yet never felt the need to switch supplier?

You sir need your wife to it one of the kids to manage your money.
Go to bonkers.ie and find a new supplier.

Look at the attached, straight away your saving over 20 quid a month and a 50 quid voucher. Use the 20 to buy lamps and then save more. Pretty soon you'll be down to 130 a month

wiz569

ted1 wrote: »

You sir need your wife to it one of the kids to manage your money.

Now you see you were doing alright with your advice till you got to that bit m8,I'm out

whizbang

Goto your local electrical wholesaler, ask for 10 of your favourite CFL's, €20 for cash.

.G.

wiz569 wrote: »

Now you see you were doing alright with your advice till you got to that bit m8,I'm out

He's right though,It's absolute madness not to change supplier every year.Head to Bonkers.ie and see for yourself and invest the savings in cheaper to run lamps like CFL or LED.And get an owl monitor and it will show you in real time what items are eating your money.

He could have said it better though:D

ted1

wiz569 wrote: »

Now you see you were doing alright with your advice till you got to that bit m8,I'm out

Apologies if I offended, my comment was meant in jest but you do need to manage it better

wiz569

Its not always greener on the other side though,if I go direct debit,which I do not want to,the most I can save using electricity the same way as I do now it will only save €21 a bill,so that still leaves me at least a €100 dearer then him and yourself,

So my question is are CFL's or even LED's going to save me €100 every two months? I very much doubt it,

I only heat my water using my gas boiler,which has a hot water only circuit,as any decent installation should have,

So were am I going wrong?

I don't have a problem with real world advice,but not with comments like before,

Apart from the fact I originally just answered to let the OP know he was not the only one with high ESB bills lol

EDIT: Sorry we were typing at the same time,apology accepted and believe me I do not waste electricity,well at least not to the tune of €100,but please by all means prove me wrong

SCOOP 64

Just done check on bonkers ie would save about €20 on 2 month bill if i sign up direct debit with bord gais, don't seem worth it, i will just pay the bill off weekly with electric Ireland,but have ordered 7 led gu10 to replace kitchen ones to see if it will make any difference.

ted1

SCOOP 64 wrote: »

Just done check on bonkers ie would save about €20 on 2 month bill if i sign up direct debit with bord gais, don't seem worth it, i will just pay the bill off weekly with electric Ireland,but have ordered 7 led gu10 to replace kitchen ones to see if it will make any difference.

That will make a big difference.
7 50w LEDs use 350w = about 6 cents an hour. If its on for 4 hours a day that's 24 cents a day, 1.68 a week, 14.40 on each bill.

7 4 watts will cost about 1.20 for the 2 months.
Saving you 12.20 per bill.

If you change out the other bulbs with CFLs or LEDs you can save more.

You can still get discounts if you don't sign up to DDs.

.G.

wiz569 wrote: »

Its not always greener on the other side though,if I go direct debit,which I do not want to,the most I can save using electricity the same way as I do now it will only save €21 a bill,so that still leaves me at least a €100 dearer then him and yourself,

So my question is are CFL's or even LED's going to save me €100 every two months? I very much doubt it,

I only heat my water using my gas boiler,which has a hot water only circuit,as any decent installation should have,

So were am I going wrong?

I don't have a problem with real world advice,but not with comments like before,

Apart from the fact I originally just answered to let the OP know he was not the only one with high ESB bills lol

EDIT: Sorry we were typing at the same time,apology accepted and believe me I do not waste electricity,well at least not to the tune of €100,but please by all means prove me wrong

€21 a bill is still a €126 per annum saving though,I'd rather that in my pocket then their's.

You can't afford lamps that will save you money so you probably can't afford an owl monitor but really,thats the best way of seeing what costs what and then going from there.

One thing is for sure if your consumption pattern stays the same then your bills will,so finding what costs what and reducing usage is the only way you'll save.Check ebay or adverts.ie or donedeal,might get one cheap second hand.

Boaty

Can't wait to see what my next bill will be, was 450 euro this time last year. Lowest I've ever seen was 250.
I guess I deserve it for have 20 year old appliances.

wiz569

ted1 wrote: »

That will make a big difference.
7 50w LEDs use 350w = about 6 cents an hour. If its on for 4 hours a day that's 24 cents a day, 1.68 a week, 14.40 on each bill.

7 4 watts will cost about 1.20 for the 2 months.
Saving you 12.20 per bill.

If you change out the other bulbs with CFLs or LEDs you can save more.

You can still get discounts if you don't sign up to DDs.

Now that's an interesting bit of information, I have two light fitting in my kitchen and one in my livingroom,with a combined total of 11 x 40w bulbs,

So changing those will save me a fair bit,so that's a good place for me to start,once I can get some money together

SCOOP 64

wiz569 wrote: »

Now that's an interesting bit of information, I have two light fitting in my kitchen and one in my livingroom,with a combined total of 11 x 40w bulbs,

So changing those will save me a fair bit,so that's a good place for me to start,once I can get some money together

Its a minefield buying those LED bulbs(gu10), wattage (doesn't mean the higher the brighter), lumens,smd, warm white/day light, so many to chose from.
Got 4 of Ebay last week ,daylight,6.5Watt,550lumens, sent them back, dull blue white in kitchen. have 2 from year ago in hall, 3.8Watts, 430lumens,5050 SMD, warm white, much brighter,so ordered more of these.
I suppose you get what you pay for, but im not spending €10 to €15 per bulb.

ratsam

Many thanks for all the replies... I had completely forgotten that I had wrote the original post. I have a LOT of chargers etc that I have to start plugging out when not being used. Also have a 50inch plasma which i heard uses a lot of electricity. At the moment the tumble dryer is used a lot too as we have 2 young kids.
However we did just replace our washing machine with a good energy efficient one which should help too. As bulbs blow I am replacing them with leds etc. Will see how things change over the next few months but it is really interesting hearing how other people save on energy consumption... I'm off over to bonkers.ie..!

Thanks again

Rats

okiss

Hi Ratsam
If you are trying to save money on your esb bill I would stop using you clothes dryer as much as they are hard on electricity.
Instead of using the dryer I would get one or two drying racks like this one.
From amazon.co.uk
Axentia 251555 Winged Clothes Drying Rack 18 m TÜV/GS - check to see that you have room for this.
If you want to buy one in a shop go for one made of metal as the plastic ones are not as strong.

If you put these beside your heat and leave the clothes on them overnight the clothes should be dry in the morning.
Most people I know have one or two of these rather than using a dryer.

.G.

okiss wrote: »

Hi Ratsam
If you are trying to save money on your esb bill I would stop using you clothes dryer as much as they are hard on electricity.
Instead of using the dryer I would get one or two drying racks like this one.
From amazon.co.uk
Axentia 251555 Winged Clothes Drying Rack 18 m TÜV/GS - check to see that you have room for this.
If you want to buy one in a shop go for one made of metal as the plastic ones are not as strong.

If you put these beside your heat and leave the clothes on them overnight the clothes should be dry in the morning.
Most people I know have one or two of these rather than using a dryer.

This.

Clothes dryer would be using quite a bit of your usage OP. I'd be knocking that on the head if you want to see savings and do the other things you've stated. Ignore the chargers,if there's nothing being charged by them then aren't using any power and carry on replacing the lamps as you've said.

I have 2 young kids too and have never had a dryer. Clothes airer's and radiators do the job in the winter months.

bazmc35

Interesting prices around. My bills are around 160euro only two of use in the house, Ive bought an energy monitor CC128 and the house on standby uses quite a lot of energy 206watts. Then when the fridge and chest freezer kicks in it jumps up to 317watts. Thats before showers, cooking on electric hobs and ovens. All lights are energy savers and have 3watts leds in place.

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SCOOP 64

Not much you can do about fridge and freezer,did you find dishwasher makes a difference, i was told it would not make much difference ,but my dishwasher broke ,didn't get it fixed for agood while ,and i did notice difference in electric bill.

ratsam

Sorry to bring this thread back to life but just as an update i too bought one of those monitors and have been watching it hard over the last year or so. The plasma TV is a big drain using between 450w and 600w. Its next on the list to be replaced. Also had a broken seal on a chest freezer which meant it was on a lot. Fixing that has saved a bit too. With the monitor I am definitely more conscious of what energy is being used. We check it every day before leaving the house as a quick way to know we've everything turned off...! Ambient use is around 250w...!

Thanks a mill

Rats