Lots of electricity questions from a newcomer

Murilotdb

Hello!

I have recently moved to Ireland (Galway) and I am struggling to find the most cost efficient way to use electrical heaters. I used to live in Canada and electricity was very cheap compared to Ireland. I don't want to have a 500 euros bill by the end of the month
I am sorry but I have many questions:
Where do I find the electricity rates for day and night time?
How do I find the name of my electricity provider? I just moved to a house I rented. Should I ask the landlord? What's the cheapest provider?
Sometimes when I turn the water heater on, the R.C.D. from the electricity box turns off. Why is that?
My bedroom has a hole in the wall for ventilation. It feels like all the heat coming from the heater in my bedroom is lost because of the hole. Why are these holes present in walls?
In the bathroom, there is a small heater. Do I need to keep it on while I take a shower to reduce condensation? For some unknown reason, this heater turns off after a while. Is it normal?

Thank you very much for all your help! I want to have the best stay in this pretty green country.

Cheers

brightspark

Where do I find the electricity rates for day and night time?
How do I find the name of my electricity provider? I just moved to a house I rented. Should I ask the landlord? What's the cheapest provider?

The landlord should have got you to sign up to a provider, cheapest depends on your typical usage but Bonkers.ie is a place where you can compare deals


Sometimes when I turn the water heater on, the R.C.D. from the electricity box turns off. Why is that?

a faulty immersion is most likely, ask your landlord to get it fixed

My bedroom has a hole in the wall for ventilation. It feels like all the heat coming from the heater in my bedroom is lost because of the hole. Why are these holes present in walls?

required for ventilation purposes


In the bathroom, there is a small heater. Do I need to keep it on while I take a shower to reduce condensation? For some unknown reason, this heater turns off after a while. Is it normal?

if it is a heater it has reached its temperature and shuts off until the temperature falls again

Murilotdb

brightspark wrote: »

Where do I find the electricity rates for day and night time?
How do I find the name of my electricity provider? I just moved to a house I rented. Should I ask the landlord? What's the cheapest provider?

The landlord should have got you to sign up to a provider, cheapest depends on your typical usage but Bonkers.ie is a place where you can compare deals


Sometimes when I turn the water heater on, the R.C.D. from the electricity box turns off. Why is that?

a faulty immersion is most likely, ask your landlord to get it fixed

My bedroom has a hole in the wall for ventilation. It feels like all the heat coming from the heater in my bedroom is lost because of the hole. Why are these holes present in walls?

required for ventilation purposes


In the bathroom, there is a small heater. Do I need to keep it on while I take a shower to reduce condensation? For some unknown reason, this heater turns off after a while. Is it normal?

if it is a heater it has reached its temperature and shuts off until the temperature falls again

Thank you very much for replying, brightspark!!!
The R.C.D. turns off at randomly. Sometimes, I can turn on the water heater and it functions normally. I am afraid I’ll complain to the landlord and when he comes to check the house he will see it working fine.
The heater in the bathroom has a little fan and a string that I have to pull to turn it on. I did some tests and it looks like it does turn off after a certain time when it reaches its temperature. Funny thing is that the red light in the heater stays “on” but the heater stops working.
I am having a problem with the storage heaters. They don’t seem to be working. I am freezing in the house during day and night.
I don’t know if I have to adjust something in the fuse box. I saw that there are “day” and “ night” dials with -4, -2, 0, +2, +4 options. What are their functions? The “day” is green and the “night” dial flashes red sometimes. It seems that I am supplying energy to the storage heater at least during the day because I can use it as a convection heater. There are two switches beside the storage heater and I’ve been keeping them in the “on” position. Same position as used to turn the sockets on.
I would appreciate if you could help me with some ideas of how to fix these problems.

Thanks again!

realdanbreen

Not sure where to post this but i have a dirty water submersible pump which keeps triping the fuseboard. I have replaced the 13a fuse in the plug.it is only 6 months old and had been working fine,any ideas?

realdanbreen

realdanbreen wrote: »

Not sure where to post this but i have a dirty water submersible pump which keeps triping the fuseboard. I have replaced the 13a fuse in the plug.it is only 6 months old and had been working fine,any ideas?

?

brightspark

realdanbreen wrote: »

Not sure where to post this but i have a dirty water submersible pump which keeps triping the fuseboard. I have replaced the 13a fuse in the plug.it is only 6 months old and had been working fine,any ideas?

Was the fuse blown?

Anyway if it's tripping the fuseboard (I'm guessing the RCD) then it sounds like water has got into it.

realdanbreen

brightspark wrote: »

Was the fuse blown?

Anyway if it's tripping the fuseboard (I'm guessing the RCD) then it sounds like water has got into it.

But it's a Submersible pump?
It had been pumping fine for the last 6 months.

solargain

Murilotdb wrote: »

Thank you very much for replying, brightspark!!!
The R.C.D. turns off at randomly. Sometimes, I can turn on the water heater and it functions normally. I am afraid I’ll complain to the landlord and when he comes to check the house he will see it working fine.
The heater in the bathroom has a little fan and a string that I have to pull to turn it on. I did some tests and it looks like it does turn off after a certain time when it reaches its temperature. Funny thing is that the red light in the heater stays “on” but the heater stops working.
I am having a problem with the storage heaters. They don’t seem to be working. I am freezing in the house during day and night.
I don’t know if I have to adjust something in the fuse box. I saw that there are “day” and “ night” dials with -4, -2, 0, +2, +4 options. What are their functions? The “day” is green and the “night” dial flashes red sometimes. It seems that I am supplying energy to the storage heater at least during the day because I can use it as a convection heater. There are two switches beside the storage heater and I’ve been keeping them in the “on” position. Same position as used to turn the sockets on.
I would appreciate if you could help me with some ideas of how to fix these problems.

Thanks again!

Turn off the convector on those heaters it is costing more to run than the heater itself. The -4.-2 0 2 4 are a devi reg controller . They do a calculation between the outside temp and inside when it switches on at midnight. Most were never set up properly when houses were built. They can be a nightmare to dael with when not set up on a mild night , you end up with little or no heat the folloowing day. They were all the go 15- 20 years ago under a gold shield scheme. There is a damper flap at the top of your storage heater , that keeps the heat in & releases it slower if its closed down

Have a look at http://www.winterspm.com/wp-content/uploads/Operating-Instructions-for-Cuirt-Seoige-Underfloor-Heating.pdf
I nsuggest you set the devi reg to 4 . You get a full charge

realdanbreen

realdanbreen wrote: »

But it's a Submersible pump?
It had been pumping fine for the last 6 months.

?

brightspark

Doesn't mean it hasn't failed??

realdanbreen

brightspark wrote: »

Doesn't mean it hasn't failed??

So have you a solution?

brightspark

realdanbreen wrote: »

So have you a solution?

Sorry can't conduct the tests etc through boards, my meter leads are too short

You didn't say if the fuse in the plug top was gone?

What exactly is tripping? An MCB, RCB, or an RCBO?

Did the fuseboard only start tripping after you replaced the plugtop fuse?

Does the fuseboard trip with the plug out? (Probably not)

What controls the pump (perhaps a switch is damaged)

Visually check all the wiring for damage.

Perform insulation and resistance checks on the pump/cables.

If it's the RCD or RCBO tripping ensure it's not overly sensitive, or maybe something else on the circuit has a high leakage current.

Try a new pump?

Get someone competent on site to check it all for you, might be quicker and cheaper than just replacing parts at random.

realdanbreen

brightspark wrote: »

Sorry can't conduct the tests etc through boards, my meter leads are too short

You didn't say if the fuse in the plug top was gone? I replaced the fuse

What exactly is tripping? An MCB, RCB, or an RCBO? not sure what its called, its the fuseboard in the house and pump is tripping the sockets

Did the fuseboard only start tripping after you replaced the plugtop fuse? no

Does the fuseboard trip with the plug out? (Probably not) no

What controls the pump (perhaps a switch is damaged) it works off a float level.

Visually check all the wiring for damage. looks perfect

Perform insulation and resistance checks on the pump/cables.

If it's the RCD or RCBO tripping ensure it's not overly sensitive, or maybe something else on the circuit has a high leakage current. only this pump trips it.

Try a new pump?

Get someone competent on site to check it all for you, might be quicker and cheaper than just replacing parts at random.

thanks anyway