Rented house with electric heater left on in attic

sligoface

Hi,

Just began renting a house with my girlfriend two months ago, had never gone into the attic but today decided to check it out as I wanted to store some stuff in there. When I went up I discovered a small electric heater, not a fan or oil heater, but one with just a sort of heated coil in it that was plugged in and left on. It was on a low setting but that still would have used up a considerable amount of electricity being on 24 hrs a day. I assume it was to combat dampness as frozen pipes would not have been an issue recently and the previous owner moved out shortly before renting it to us. It was actually screwed into the attic floor as well which was strange.

I have no idea what the ESB bill will be like, when we get it, should we raise this issue to the renting agancy, especially if it is very high? It really seems unfair as we are very conscious of our electricity use. Our last flat had no central heating at all and we had to use electric heaters that sent our bills through the roof and that was why we moved into a more expensive place because at least it had oil heating. We had a very hard time paying the ESB from the last flat and getting a sec deposit and first months rent for the new place, we had to borrow money from her dad to do so. I am on the dole and cannot receive rent allowance as the accommodation is above the ridiculously low limit (the house is only 500 per month= 250.00 each) and my girlfriend has been cut to a three day week and only makes minimum wage. As a result we make every effort to save on bills, leaving an electric heater on 24 hrs a day is going to make our bill much higher i would imagine.

Dunno what to do, really? I guess since we were living there they will just say it's up to us to pay it, but I think they should knock a few quid off this month's rent to compensate as we just paid to run a heater they installed and left on to preserve their property (which is not very well insulated, I noticed as well while up there). We didn't benefit from it and they never told us about it.

pontia

knock off everything else,check metre for hour,calculate amount and take off months bill

jjf1974

That heater is most likely a frost heater which is controled by a built in thermostat this usualy turns on when the temperture is less than 5 degrees. If it is working properly it should only be staying on for a few minutes to bring up the temperture.If you turn it of make sure to remember to turn it back on if the winter .If it is working properly it should use very little power this time of year.

sligoface

That heater is most likely a frost heater which is controled by a built in thermostat this usualy turns on when the temperture is less than 5 degrees. If it is working properly it should only be staying on for a few minutes to bring up the temperture.If you turn it of make sure to remember to turn it back on if the winter .If it is working properly it should use very little power this time of year.

yes that would make more sense as i could not understand why such a small heater would be left on and bolted to the floor, or why they bothered to put it on such a low setting as there was only a small amount of heat coming out of it. i will go back up and check, the only dial on it had no discernible temp setting. I turned it to try and knock the heater off so i will have to put it back to the original setting if i need to turn it off in winter. I hope you are right about the power

Gin77

sligoface wrote: »

yes that would make more sense as i could not understand why such a small heater would be left on and bolted to the floor, or why they bothered to put it on such a low setting as there was only a small amount of heat coming out of it. i will go back up and check, the only dial on it had no discernible temp setting. I turned it to try and knock the heater off so i will have to put it back to the original setting if i need to turn it off in winter. I hope you are right about the power

By Law all rented properties must have a energy rating, I ran into a similar problem with my last house. The oil burner was years old and burning oil at a rate of 200eu every 3 weeks just using 3hours a day.
I will be looking for my deposit back next week and this is my bargining tool/ I have proof of me asking the landlord for an energy rating beforehand.:)

JustAThought

Seems like you be had a few bad circumstances & don't want to be taking risks but try not to let it damage this new relationship with your landlord.

It sounds like it's sthing put there by the LL to stop pipes freezing : maybe with the snow he'd had a bad experience & didn't want a repeat. Check out the safety aspect in writing with the LL ; & flag the concerns at high level ; if it's not on a timer & will be on for a year 24/7 can you agree & make adjustments to the rent accordingly as you were not advised of this cost when you signed the lease. I assume it was nit disclosed to you?

From what you say it sounds like they are offsetting the cost of insulating with a heater which you pay for!! Or it might be a timer which only goes on if the temp falls below a certain temperature in which case you will be glad 0f it later!!
Either way the non disclosure needs to be put in writing & concerns about safety.. Ventilation/risk of electrical malfunction/ overheating etc house burning down etc.

jjf1974

A frost heater at the minimium setting switches on at below 5 degrees room temperture (less on some makes) it switches of again when it reachs 5 degrees.The one fitted in my house is rated 500watt which means it will burn half an electric unit if on constantly for one hour which is costing you about 10 cents an hour .

L1011

If it was actually on in daytime at this time of year, that would suggest its not a proper frost heater.

Talk to the landlord to see what it is - and get a proper frost heater or a thermostat fitted to the current one if that's what it was there for.

sligoface

it doesn't appear to have a timer on it, just a dial which seems like it is just for the amount of heat coming out, not a temp switch or thermostat.

it definitely doesn't come on when its under a certain temp, it was just left on because there was heat (a small amount) coming out of it over the weekend and it was well above five degrees, since it is summer.

i mentioned it to the agency and she said it was probably for frost protection which insurance requires for renting a property. she said she would contact the owners and get back to us but hasn't yet. as it is not a proper frost heater i will definitely be asking them to cover the cost of running it by calculating what it uses and subtracting that from the rent as a previous poster suggested.

i hope to god it's not using 10 cents an hour as was mentioned above. being on 24 hrs a day for 2 months would be nearly 150 euro!

Graces7

Good luck.. we are still working on sorting our ll out re his electric fences running on our bill. Have notified him via the agent that we have withheld the rent this month to recoup the money and have had no reply from anyone,which seems a typical response indeed.

Lost count of the number of letters etc written on this.

bertie1

sligoface wrote: »

Hi,

Just began renting a house with my girlfriend two months ago, had never gone into the attic but today decided to check it out as I wanted to store some stuff in there. When I went up I discovered a small electric heater, not a fan or oil heater, but one with just a sort of heated coil in it that was plugged in and left on. It was on a low setting but that still would have used up a considerable amount of electricity being on 24 hrs a day. I assume it was to combat dampness as frozen pipes would not have been an issue recently and the previous owner moved out shortly before renting it to us. It was actually screwed into the attic floor as well which was strange.

I have no idea what the ESB bill will be like, when we get it, should we raise this issue to the renting agancy, especially if it is very high? It really seems unfair as we are very conscious of our electricity use. Our last flat had no central heating at all and we had to use electric heaters that sent our bills through the roof and that was why we moved into a more expensive place because at least it had oil heating. We had a very hard time paying the ESB from the last flat and getting a sec deposit and first months rent for the new place, we had to borrow money from her dad to do so. I am on the dole and cannot receive rent allowance as the accommodation is above the ridiculously low limit (the house is only 500 per month= 250.00 each) and my girlfriend has been cut to a three day week and only makes minimum wage. As a result we make every effort to save on bills, leaving an electric heater on 24 hrs a day is going to make our bill much higher i would imagine.

Dunno what to do, really? I guess since we were living there they will just say it's up to us to pay it, but I think they should knock a few quid off this month's rent to compensate as we just paid to run a heater they installed and left on to preserve their property (which is not very well insulated, I noticed as well while up there). We didn't benefit from it and they never told us about it.

Most likely a cold watch heater they are a a 600 watt heater . Quiet a few have been put in since the severe winter in 2010. It only comes on if the temperature in the attic drops under a certain level. If you turn it off the landlord could hold you liable if the pipes froze over winter. It is not costing a lot to run

jjf1974

sligoface wrote: »

it doesn't appear to have a timer on it, just a dial which seems like it is just for the amount of heat coming out, not a temp switch or thermostat.]

Could the op post a photo of the heater or find a brand name on it ,then someone could tell him what kind of heater it is and give advice on setting it.

Del2005

sligoface wrote: »

Hi,

Just began renting a house with my girlfriend two months ago, had never gone into the attic but today decided to check it out as I wanted to store some stuff in there. When I went up I discovered a small electric heater, not a fan or oil heater, but one with just a sort of heated coil in it that was plugged in and left on. It was on a low setting but that still would have used up a considerable amount of electricity being on 24 hrs a day. I assume it was to combat dampness as frozen pipes would not have been an issue recently and the previous owner moved out shortly before renting it to us. It was actually screwed into the attic floor as well which was strange.

I have no idea what the ESB bill will be like, when we get it, should we raise this issue to the renting agancy, especially if it is very high? It really seems unfair as we are very conscious of our electricity use. Our last flat had no central heating at all and we had to use electric heaters that sent our bills through the roof and that was why we moved into a more expensive place because at least it had oil heating. We had a very hard time paying the ESB from the last flat and getting a sec deposit and first months rent for the new place, we had to borrow money from her dad to do so. I am on the dole and cannot receive rent allowance as the accommodation is above the ridiculously low limit (the house is only 500 per month= 250.00 each) and my girlfriend has been cut to a three day week and only makes minimum wage. As a result we make every effort to save on bills, leaving an electric heater on 24 hrs a day is going to make our bill much higher i would imagine.

Dunno what to do, really? I guess since we were living there they will just say it's up to us to pay it, but I think they should knock a few quid off this month's rent to compensate as we just paid to run a heater they installed and left on to preserve their property (which is not very well insulated, I noticed as well while up there). We didn't benefit from it and they never told us about it.

Did you take a meter reading when you moved in and transferred the electricity to your name? Then you're only liable for the few months your in the house.

But the first thing you need to do and since it's high summer plug the heater out. Once you find the wattage, you can figure out how much it's cost since you moved it and work out getting that back from the LL.

If in the winter your LL wants in back on, then with the sums you've done already you can work out the amount to deduct from rent.