Average Electric Bill

29-09-2021 2:44pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117954234#Comment_117954234

I seriously doubt most homes have zoned heating, perhaps newer homes in the last 5-10 years and some retrofits but I bet the vast majority of homes are using bog standard heating with no zones and all radiators fed on a ring.

I sure am on a 40 year old heating system that was originally used with solid fuel and converted to oil, still mostly use original radiators. I expect the vast majority of homes, my mothers Gas powered home built around 2003 and many homes even after that are much the same.

We need to do a lot of work in the house and a complete upgrade is what we need but to replace the heating would be a very costly job needing to make tracks in the floors etc. Cost of upgrade vs cost of oil probably take years to pay back, however at some point we need a complete renovation of some sort that you're talking probably 100K and to be honest being mortage/rent free to having to spend such money isn't very appealing nor is moving out, but perhaps we could do work in stages without having to move. It wasn't an option to have all this done before we moved in 4 years ago.

Sleeper12 · 29-09-2021 6:15pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117954425#Comment_117954425

I am a plumber & I can assure you that most homes do indeed have zoned heating. The grant available can cover the cost of getting the zones in many cases. I can also assure you that an electric shower is in fact the cheapest way to shower with the exception of solar heated water but the solar system would need to be 10 to 20 years old to be actually putting out free hot water. Using water from the hot water tank while the heating is on has to be replenished. If you use 20 liters of hot water from the cylinder while the heating is on then you will heat 20 liters with your oil or gas to replenish this "free" hot water that your heating creates. This costs more than using an electric shower. This may be slightly off topic but it's important to keep these threads factual

Bobeagleburger · 29-09-2021 7:03pm

Solar heating aside, electric showers are not the cheapest way to shower. That is completely incorrect.

Unless you are using an electric shower on night rate at a very cheap electric rate maybe you'd have a valid argument. Even then oil is possibly cheaper.

Heating water with an oil boiler is incredibly cheap.

29-09-2021 10:05pm

Gas is also way cheaper than day rate electricity.

Sleeper12 · 29-09-2021 11:00pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117955620#Comment_117955620

This is fact. A 5 minute shower is cheaper using an electric shower than gas, oil or an immersion. A 5 minute electric shower uses 15 to 20 litres of warm water. It only heats the water used. It is 100% efficient. Heating water with the oil boiler or gas boiler has a dead leg of of many litres of water. If I run the hot water at my kitchen sink and measure the water until it gets hot I will get 6 litres of cold water before the hot water hits the tap. This is a dead leg of 6 litres. When I turn off the tap I leave 6 litres of hot water in the pipe between the hot water cylinder and the kitchen tap to go cold. You have a dead leg between the gas boiler and the hot water cylinder and a bigger dead leg between an oil boiler and the hot water cylinder. You have another dead leg between the hot water cylinder and the shower itself. You could have a dead leg of up to 20 litres of water. This 20 litres of wasted water is the equivalent of a 5 minute electric shower with absolutely no dead leg. Most showers that aren't electric showers have a pump and are classified as power showers. These will pump out 10 to over 20 litres of warm water per minute. So even the weakest power shower putting out 10 litres of water per minute will put out 50 litres for a 5 minutes shower. 2 and a half times the amount of the electric shower. This is the weakest power shower and doesn't take into account the 10 to 20 dead leg I mentioned above.

I don't make this stuff up. We study things like this in the plumbing trade. Personally I specialise in showers so have done dedicated courses covering these things. I need to have these facts to hand when advising clients on the most sensible shower for their needs. Oil, gas and immersion are far more expensive for a 5 minute shower than an electric shower. The cost isn't even close. Electric shower is far cheaper to run. Power shower is far more pleasurable than an electric shower. My own puts out around 23 litres per minute. I have an electric shower downstairs that I never use but I know that it's far cheaper to run. It's just not as enjoyable to use.

rainbowtrout · 29-09-2021 11:21pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117954234#Comment_117954234

My house was built in 2003 and none of the houses on my estate have zoned central heating unless they went for a retrofit since then. Anyone I'm friendly with in the estate doesn't have it. Plenty of rural housing heat the house off burning turf in a range.

c.p.w.g.w · 29-09-2021 11:26pm

Semi D house, with myself and OH...average bill is €127...that's every 2 months... annually that is €762

Sleeper12 · 30-09-2021 8:21am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117957190#Comment_117957190

You wasting €100s by not having a zoned system. As explained already the "Free" hot water that appears in the hot water cylinder isn't actually free. When you use it for a shower the oil or gas boiler then has to replenish it. You most likely don't have heating on 6 or 7 months of the year. With a zoned system you can set it to heat water only during the summer

lisasimpson · 30-09-2021 8:44am

Definately check to see if you can switch providers. Our bill jumped massively in the last few months but we were die to switch and it bought it back down again even with 2 working from home full time

Also check all your appliances to make sure there is nothing faulty. After that its then back to basics of turning off lights in room noone is in plug out items not in use and turn switches off in the wall

rainbowtrout · 30-09-2021 11:28am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117957620#Comment_117957620

This is Ireland. People have heating on from September to May. The notion that people don't have heating on for 7 months of the year is laughable.

I use very little hot water. When the central heating is on, I can use that for a shower at night. I don't have much other use for it. So once it is replenished after the shower, it doesn't make much difference to me. I also have solar and produce surplus solar than what I need, so I can use the surplus solar to heat the water in the tank at no extra cost to my electricity bill.

Sleeper12 · 30-09-2021 2:19pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117958295#Comment_117958295

Our home rarely needs heating till November. We are still wearing summer clothes & shorts around the house at the moment. It's too late now but upgrading the insulation of your home is usually done before you concider getting PV solar. New installation of boilers aren't allowed after 2225 I think & replacement boilers will be outlawed around 10 years after that. You will then need a heat pump from then on & they require better insulation than you have right now. Air tightness even. It's something to think about & plan for in the future

Anyway getting way off my original point that electric showers are cheaper to run than oil gas & immersion (even if your heating runs 24/7 365 days of the year. Solar is the only thing cheaper but only after the 10 to 20 years it takes to recoup the cost of the solar installation

BlackEdelweiss · 01-10-2021 4:11pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117957665#Comment_117957665

I am going to switch provider but not sure if I should go for Pay as you Go or standard plan. The PAYG offers a smart type meter that I can monitor when usage is high and can try to isolate either faulty or high power consumption devices. My fear is that I could end up paying even more as the rate is a bit higher.

I am paying 2 different rates at the minute, 18.56c & 20.52c with 190kwh on the cheaper rate and 400kwh on the higher rate. Anyone able to explain these? The description on the bill is the same for both.

lisasimpson · 01-10-2021 7:48pm

Prepays can be dearer, so be careful with that

BlackEdelweiss · 01-10-2021 10:48pm

Yeah, I know it will be more expensive per unit but I am hoping that I will be able to isolate where the expense is coming from by using the usage meter.

Gooser14 · 01-10-2021 11:54pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117963899#Comment_117963899

Looks like you are on a day/night plan. Day/Night plans have cheaper rates between midnight & 9am during the Irish Summer Time period & 11pm to 8am during the winter time period.

Who is your current supplier?

BlackEdelweiss · 02-10-2021 6:32pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117965901#Comment_117965901

SSE Airtricity

Bobeagleburger · 02-10-2021 6:53pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117963899#Comment_117963899

Those rates are high. Are they before or after VAT?

I'm paying 12.64c a unit before VAT with Energia.

Muahahaha · 09-10-2021 3:59pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117964673#Comment_117964673

Not sure if it is still the case but I think you have to pay money to get out of a prepay situation as well, they put some charge on for their equipment if you ever want to go back to post pay. Think I read before its something like 200 quid so its not cheap to get away from them.

c.p.w.g.w · 09-10-2021 4:05pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117997691#Comment_117997691

I know a sparky who removes those pre-paid power boxes for cash in hand...the owners just say they were removed when they moved in...

My brother was having trouble trying to get it removed by the supplier, as he didn't have an account

Average Electric Bill

Comments