Night rate and Costs to date

Fastpud

Just a quick warning to all on night rate, After checking my meter due to larger than expected billls I noticed that the incorrect time and date was set incorrectly. It was out by approx 8 hours and many months. This obviously meant that all the night charging and other usage was on day rate!


Took about 3 months and a lot of phone calls but did manage to get a credit. The good news is that deducting this credit my annual electricity bill has only gone up by €30 - this for 17,000km!!!! yes electricity cost have fallen over the year and I have switched usage but €30 just is amazing.
I reckon I have saved approx €3000 on fuel for the year - not to shabby

n97 mini

That's bad. Meter reader should have flagged it.

Fastpud

n97 mini wrote: »

That's bad. Meter reader should have flagged it.

You'd think, ESB said it was like that since May until I noticed it in December!

n97 mini

When we got a dual rate (aka night rate) meter installed the particular model installed had "only" 6 digits. Bit like a car odometer only going to 999,999 miles. The first reading the meter reader flagged it as faulty as it wasn't 7 digits! That was years ago and we're still in 5 digit territory.

Calahonda52

Just wondering is there any competition in the dual rate meter: I just got one ,
am with Panda Power but my year is up.
Inc VAT it is
09.85 cents night
20.32 cents day (up from )
18.88 cents 24hr

ei9go

Fastpud wrote: »

Just a quick warning to all on night rate, After checking my meter due to larger than expected billls I noticed that the incorrect time and date was set incorrectly. It was out by approx 8 hours and many months. This obviously meant that all the night charging and other usage was on day rate!


Took about 3 months and a lot of phone calls but did manage to get a credit. The good news is that deducting this credit my annual electricity bill has only gone up by €30 - this for 17,000km!!!! yes electricity cost have fallen over the year and I have switched usage but €30 just is amazing.
I reckon I have saved approx €3000 on fuel for the year - not to shabby

17,000 Km divided by say 500 km = 34 fillups multiplied by 50 euro = 1,700 Euro.
Worst case. In my ICE, I reckon about 1,100 Euro for 17,000km.
Having said that, my ice mileage has dropped dramatically since we got the Zoe.

unkel

Calahonda52 wrote: »

Just wondering is there any competition in the dual rate meter: I just got one ,
am with Panda Power but my year is up.
Inc VAT it is
09.85 cents night
20.32 cents day (up from )
18.88 cents 24hr

That's ridiculously expensive. Go to bonkers.ie and it will tell you which is currently cheapest. You should aim for about 7c night and 16c day, you'er paying 30-40% too much :eek:

Rip off Ireland :eek:

cros13

See thread: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=102461956

discostu1

Now I only have my Leaf about 10 days so I'm not a good example but a few interesting things, firstly 500 km driven have not used the home charger yet.I got the Night saver and half my consumption since I got it is on Night rate Win Win

KCross

Fastpud wrote: »

Took about 3 months and a lot of phone calls but did manage to get a credit. The good news is that deducting this credit my annual electricity bill has only gone up by €30 - this for 17,000km!!!! yes electricity cost have fallen over the year and I have switched usage but €30 just is amazing.
I reckon I have saved approx €3000 on fuel for the year - not to shabby

To be fair, and just to make sure we don't mislead new folk on here, the car has cost you more than €30 for those 17k km's.

Your bill obviously would have gone down by switching to night rate regardless of getting an EV so that's something that you should have done anyway before the EV.

If you did all 17k km's on the home charger you would have used about 3300kWh's @ 8c/kWh so it would cost you €270.... Still very good and only a fraction of what diesel would have cost you.

slave1

Just changed to Energia, day rate (inc. VAT) 13.89c for the first 3,000 units in two month billing period then 22.97c, night rate of 6.65c (inc. VAT) for the first 2,000 units in two month billing period then 11.18c

BoatMad

slave1 wrote: »

Just changed to Energia, day rate (inc. VAT) 13.89c for the first 3,000 units in two month billing period then 22.97c, night rate of 6.65c (inc. VAT) for the first 2,000 units in two month billing period then 11.18c

yup, switched to them in Jan , lowest costs of all providers at present

EV adds about 20 euros per month we do approx 2000Km per month in the Leaf so we do full recharges every night except saturday

Soarer

ei9go wrote: »

17,000 Km divided by say 500 km = 34 fillups multiplied by 50 euro = 1,700 Euro.
Worst case. In my ICE, I reckon about 1,100 Euro for 17,000km.
Having said that, my ice mileage has dropped dramatically since we got the Zoe.

What ICE are you driving that it only costs €50 to fill up?
@ €1.20 a litre, that only gives you a 40 litre tank.

zilog_jones

My Prius has a 45 litre tank, but if you fill it when it starts beeping and flashing at you there's still 9 litres left in the tank! Toyota obviously don't trust their drivers I usually do another 40-60 miles after the gauge goes to "R" and it still only costs me about €50 to fill.

Superminis and smaller cars generally have around 40 litres or less.

isnottheword

slave1 wrote: »

Just changed to Energia, day rate (inc. VAT) 13.89c for the first 3,000 units in two month billing period then 22.97c, night rate of 6.65c (inc. VAT) for the first 2,000 units in two month billing period then 11.18c

Is this the lowest nightrate on the market?

Gumbo

Does it cost to swap onto a night meter?
Current supplier is ESB.

isnottheword

kceire wrote: »

Does it cost to swap onto a night meter?
Current supplier is ESB.

There's an increased standing charge. :-(

n97 mini

kceire wrote: »

Does it cost to swap onto a night meter?
Current supplier is ESB.

No, and it doesn't cost to change back to 24 hour billing either, regardless of what the salesperson tells you.

BoatMad

n97 mini wrote: »

No, and it doesn't cost to change back to 24 hour billing either, regardless of what the salesperson tells you.

yes it does, there is a charge from esb networks to remove a night rate meter

BoatMad

Calahonda52 wrote: »

Just wondering is there any competition in the dual rate meter: I just got one ,
am with Panda Power but my year is up.
Inc VAT it is
09.85 cents night
20.32 cents day (up from )
18.88 cents 24hr

use bonkers.ie

you can do much better then that

n97 mini

BoatMad wrote: »

yes it does, there is a charge from esb networks to remove a night rate meter

It doesn't need to be removed. It shows night, day, and 24 hours.

I've been through it... Twice!

zilog_jones

How do people find Energia as a customer? I'm thinking of switching to them too, as I'm currently paying 9c/kWh night rates with Electric Ireland. I think I'll save even with the higher standing charge (I have storage heating too, no gas).

fepper

n97 mini wrote: »

It doesn't need to be removed. It shows night, day, and 24 hours.

I've been through it... Twice!

Think I heard couple of years ago that esb charge €280 to switch over to day rate only from night rate and take away night rate meter,I still have both day and night meters and thinking of just going day rate only

KCross

fepper wrote: »

Think I heard couple of years ago that esb charge €280 to switch over to day rate only from night rate and take away night rate meter,I still have both day and night meters and thinking of just going day rate only

Why switch back?
If you shift any few kWh at all onto night rate it pays for itself.

Do you know how many units you used in the last 12 months on night rate?

DrPhilG

zilog_jones wrote: »

How do people find Energia as a customer? I'm thinking of switching to them too, as I'm currently paying 9c/kWh night rates with Electric Ireland. I think I'll save even with the higher standing charge (I have storage heating too, no gas).

I just switched to Energia this morning from Electric Ireland. Posted on Facebook in the Irish EV Owners page but I'll repeat it here.

Standing charge is up by €30 a year but my rates have gone down plenty.

Day rate
EI - 0.1615
Energia - 0.1223

Night rate
EI - 0.0798
Energia - 0.0586

Prices ex vat.

DrPhilG

KCross wrote: »

Do you know how many units you used in the last 12 months on night rate?

I use about 55% of my electricity at night rates.

KCross

zilog_jones wrote: »

How do people find Energia as a customer? I'm thinking of switching to them too, as I'm currently paying 9c/kWh night rates with Electric Ireland. I think I'll save even with the higher standing charge (I have storage heating too, no gas).

Somewhat controversial opinion of mine... on boards I've heard people ask similar questions before about the electricity providers.... "how do people find provider X"..... to me they are all the same really.

All you need to do/know is find the cheapest one for your usage profile(use switcher.ie or bonkers.ie) and switch to them. It doesnt matter if its Energia or Airtricity etc... they just send you the bill... the electricity doesnt come from them, that comes from ESB Networks and if there is a fault on the line its not your provider that fixes it, its ESB Networks so it doesnt matter who your provider is.

One possible gotcha is how the different providers do bill estimation. That can vary but it all balances out over the year and its best to submit your own meter readings anyway, which will make that point mute.

Some people complain about Airtricity customer service. I'm with them for quite a while now on two houses and never had to call them and cant see why I would unless they billed me incorrectly or something.

fepper

KCross wrote: »

Why switch back?
If you shift any few kWh at all onto night rate it pays for itself.

Do you know how many units you used in the last 12 months on night rate?

I was milking cows when we put in night rate for night time milk cooling,ice bank compressor and dairy heating water tank and early morning milking which were huge users of electricity especially in hot summers but not milking now so not much to do at night but I won't change it for a while yet

KCross

fepper wrote: »

I was milking cows when we put in night rate for night time milk cooling,ice bank compressor and dairy heating tank and early morning milking which were huge users of electricity especially in hot summers but not milking now so not much to do at night but I won't change it for a while yet

I think 3 or 4 units by night is enough to break even.

If you run appliances(dishwasher, dryer etc) at night it would be enough to leave it in.

If you have an EV then its a no brainer to keep night rate.

I'd say monitor your bills for a few months and see how many units you are using and then decide.

zilog_jones

KCross wrote: »

Somewhat controversial opinion of mine... on boards I've heard people ask similar questions before about the electricity providers.... "how do people find provider X"..... to me they are all the same really.

I asked more due to previous experiences with telecoms providers - screwing up bills, poor service/customer support, etc. If that's not really a problem with electricity suppliers then that's great

KCross

zilog_jones wrote: »

I asked more due to previous experiences with telecoms providers - screwing up bills, poor service/customer support, etc. If that's not really a problem with electricity suppliers then that's great

I think the key thing is submit your own meter readings and then there will be no surprises. I get a text from Airtricity 3 days in advance to remind me to submit my reading. App on the phone, enter the two numbers and submit. Simple. Never needed customer support and the bills are always fine.... and I check!

The electricity providers are not involved in any way in providing you the actual electricity which is different to broadband providers so needing an electric providers customer support is not common unless you do have a billing issue.

Personally, I'd rather risk spending an hour, as a one off, on the phone with crap customer service and have ongoing cheap electricity saving me hundreds than to pay above the odds because they supposedly have good customer service.

The electricity providers. to me anyway, are nothing more than billing entities.

NIMAN

No harm, but would none of you lot be wary about running a dryer during the night?

I have often seen advice about not running a dryer when there's no-one at home. There has been a recent spate of recalls for them catching fire.

DrPhilG

NIMAN wrote: »

No harm, but would none of you lot be wary about running a dryer during the night?

I have often seen advice about not running a dryer when there's no-one at home. There has been a recent spate of recalls for them catching fire.

Not only that, but when I was young we had a house fire caused by a dishwasher going up in smoke!

Personally I'm OK with it. Dryer fires are most often caused by not being cleaned out regularly enough, which clogs them and let's heat build up. I clean ours regularly.

I also have 2 smoke alarms within 2 metres of the utility room (dryer) and kitchen (dishwasher). One standalone and one linked into the monitored house alarm.

zilog_jones

Yes, I've also heard of fires caused by dishwashers, electric showers, and Prius PHVs (like mine) when charging. Not sure how many were caused by wiring faults as opposed to the device. It's all about acceptable risks, and mitigating risks where possible.

unkel

I change electricity and gas suppliers every year to avail of the cheapest prices. Sometimes I give my current provider a call to see if they can match the best price in the market. They usually can't but recently enough I had one that did match and gave me €50 off the next bill too. It didn't happen of course, had to ring after it to get it

Generally it's the easiest money you'll make. Typical household will save about €300 by switching both gas and electricity every year (instead of staying on your current providers who will revert to the standard rates after your year's discount runs out)

cros13

I use a heat pump dryer. Way cheaper to run and safer overnight as the heating element is rarely on.

DrPhilG

unkel wrote: »

I change electricity and gas suppliers every year to avail of the cheapest prices. Sometimes I give my current provider a call to see if they can match the best price in the market. They usually can't but recently enough I had one that did match and gave me €50 off the next bill too. It didn't happen of course, had to ring after it to get it

Generally it's the easiest money you'll make. Typical household will save about €300 by switching both gas and electricity every year (instead of staying on your current providers who will revert to the standard rates after your year's discount runs out)

I was on the phone to Electric Ireland this morning submitting a meter reading as the online system wasn't working. I told them I was about to shop around and asked if they could do anything, they said no.

5 minutes later, 1 customer lost.

unkel

Yeah, there's barely any point. Just keep track of your yearly m3 and kWh consumption, fill in your details in bonkers.ie and switch online (having your meter numbers handy). Takes less than 10 minutes. €300 saving for 10 minutes "work" sitting at your desk sipping a tea / coffee. Easiest money ever!

And most people don't seem to be bothered???

DrPhilG

unkel wrote: »

Yeah, there's barely any point. Just keep track of your yearly m3 and kWh consumption, fill in your details in bonkers.ie and switch online (having your meter numbers handy). Takes less than 10 minutes. €300 saving for 10 minutes "work" sitting at your desk sipping a tea / coffee. Easiest money ever!

And most people don't seem to be bothered???

I've been guilty myself.

5 years at my current address and I've never changed electricity supplier. Nor the phone & broadband. That's on the menu for tomorrow. Just need to dig out a bill and see what I'm paying currently.

BoatMad

DrPhilG wrote: »

I've been guilty myself.

5 years at my current address and I've never changed electricity supplier. Nor the phone & broadband. That's on the menu for tomorrow. Just need to dig out a bill and see what I'm paying currently.

I review , electricity , broadband , health insurance , house insurance , motor insurance every year. Change as appropriate

BoatMad

By the way condenser dryers ( i.e. Washer dryer ) typically has two safety thermostats on the dryer element.

Never have the slightest concern running them at night.

zilog_jones

Would modern dishwashers be similar in terms of safety?

BoatMad

zilog_jones wrote: »

Would modern dishwashers be similar in terms of safety?

Yes typically there is two safety thermostats near the water heating element. ( I fix my own white goods )

Very very difficult for a modern white good to burst into flames. RCD protection furthermore adds even more protection. I've never had a concern

crossmolinalad

DrPhilG wrote: »

I use about 55% of my electricity at night rates.

here 95 % on nights
Shower washing drying dishwasher heating fridge freezer almost every energy eater on nighttime
60 Euros a month

BoatMad

isnottheword wrote: »

Is this the lowest nightrate on the market?

Im with them , and I beleive it is, note that its limited to 2000 units per billing period

cros13

crossmolinalad wrote: »

here 95 % on nights
Shower washing drying dishwasher heating fridge freezer almost every energy eater on nighttime
60 Euros a month

That's bloody good going. And I thought I was good with 60% of my consumption on nightrate.

BoatMad wrote: »

Im with them , and I beleive it is, note that its limited to 2000 units per billing period

Yup... me too... though I negotiated a slightly better rate for moving a multi-property account. Broke contract with Airtricity to move, 'cause the difference in rates was enough to make the early termination fee back in a few months.

pwurple

crossmolinalad wrote: »

DrPhilG wrote: »

I use about 55% of my electricity at night rates.

here 95 % on nights
Shower washing drying dishwasher heating fridge freezer almost every energy eater on nighttime
60 Euros a month

90% Wow. That's very good going.
Do you switch your fridge/freezer, wifi routers etc off during the day? 
Is your house vacant during daytime?
Do you use an electric oven, hob or a hairdryer?

I've a heat pump dryer on order alright. it's more expensive, so it better be worth it. 
I'm convinced my ancient fridge freezer is eating electricity. Must get a lend of one of those monitors to check it out.

KCross

crossmolinalad wrote: »

here 95 % on nights
Shower washing drying dishwasher heating fridge freezer almost every energy eater on nighttime
60 Euros a month

95% on night rate?! You definitely dont have a typo there?

You must be obsessive about turning things off during the day (lights, TV, fridge, heating) to achieve 95%?

DrPhilG

BoatMad wrote: »

I review , electricity , broadband , health insurance , house insurance , motor insurance every year. Change as appropriate

I can't change car insurance at the minute due to a never ending outstanding claim.

Don't have health insurance as I work in the North.

I do always shop around for house unusual but bizarrely never end up moving. Quotedevil.ie for the last 5 years on my own house and the one I rent out.

Will definitely be shopping around for electric and phone/broadband again this time next year.

unkel

Just checked and I have 30% on night. No EV yet. Don't put in any effort to run things at night, except the dishwasher runs 4 times a week (1.5kWh per go) and mostly at night rate. The occasional wash at night rate, that's it.

oinkely

We have just changed supplier and have used, since April last year, 2262 units at day rate and 5054 at night rate.

So 70% at night. Cant really see how I could improve that bar getting up extra early to do the ironing! Dishwasher, washing machine, bread machine always run at night. Slow cooker often does. That was charging two leafs at night from april to november, currently just one. but hopefully back to two in the near future.