Very high kwh usage for 1 person?

I have a tank in the hotpress, sitting on a shelf old style, attached to the side of it is my immersion, it's not in the tank as such as I think some are (not a plumber/electrician), it's a thing like a little cannister and it's what heats when I turn on the immersion switch.

Within 5 minutes I have enough roasting hot water to wash the sink of dishes from yday, you wouldn't hold your hand under hot tap! So I'd imagine that;s more than enough for face wash etc too. I can leave it on longer and more of the tank heats and I regularly do when grandkids are here as they like baths. Now you wouldnt have a very full bath or it can also be used to get enough hot water to have a shower in the one that works off the tank, it's a pumped shower so uses a good bit. I don't use it for that purpose that much as have the electric shower but it does get used.

My original system is over 35 yrs old and the tank has been replaced once to an insulated one and this immersion thingy has been replaced as well in fairly recent years but it's the same as the previous one, think the original tank had the immersion in it. Anyway any chance you can get something like that installed as I don't even have that sort of usage cost from fairly similar immersion use, it's on every day but seldom for longer than minutes for the sinkful use.

Someone in those professions might know exactly what it is I have installed!

I don't think there's really any 'culprit' at the end of the day. It looks like the OP is being billed correctly for the electricity they are using. Even if the timer for the immersion is turning it on for longer than it should, the extra heated water should keep fairly warm because of the insulated tank and therefore is not really wasted or lost. That said, it is a good idea as suggested to have the timer unit replaced as this will allow you to use night saver off-peak electricity rates to heat the tank. An interesting 'out there' possibility is that there is a hot water leak somewhere, which is emptying the tank over time and requiring complete reheating. But I think we've spent enough time on this thread with suggestions like these and at the end of the day the reality is that everything is simply what it appears to be. A key thing here is that the apartment heating is electrical rater than oil or gas, so this will also contribute to bills.

Incidentally, I noticed that the OP's cooking uses a bit of electricity. Am guessing a hob/ring or two is left on for almost an hour. If so, there is generally scope to turn off the heat when cooking pasta or rice once it comes to the boil, and likewise when frying after 15 mins once everything's browned (just cover the pan then so that steaming can cook anything through). But these are just little savings - definitely check the fridge model for efficiency and consider turning up the temperature by setting it to a lower number on the temperature setting dial. It's only in summertime when the room is warm that you generally need to turn up the dial.

a Willis heater they're called. perfect for the scenario you've described.

Both a bath and sink immersion element use the same power, just the former heats the whole tank versus half the tank. I would say it's likely the OP has a dual element immersion tank from the picture, with just one of the elements shown.

Edit: The left-hand side of the timer/controller in the OP's case is presumably to activate the bath element during off-peak times while the right-hand side is essentially an immediate boost function that activates the sink element.

Yes but the national average household isn't one person in a 1 bed apartment that the OP says is cold and not heated during the winter.

Yes absolutely! I had a look at my own usage based on the national average and its slightly above. I have a 4 bed detached house so no surprise. I think even using 25% less than the average,particularly in a small apartment, should give you a reasonably comfortable existence.
That’s not the case here.

Looks like you have a smart meter. Easy switch to day/off peak. Easy to time immersion and washing machine to before 8am.

If a single element immersion at 3kw, it will need to be on for an hour (45c a day off peak rate), but it will give sufficient warm water in the evening if washing up and will only need a boost if wanting a shower.

Get the timer fixed and switch plans (and supplier) and you are back to normal usage

€129 for timer + installation from these guys https://www.gasworks.ie/services/immersion-heaters/ most should be similar

the usage will stay the same, cost may go down but you'll be left micro managing everything else, washing machine etc. & oven usage your not going to change.

As mentioned already, the control to the right is for boosting/heating the hot water during peak times by heating the top half of the tank (sink). The left timer control is used generally to take advantage of off-peak electricity rates during the night and it looks like this heats the whole tank (bath), but obviously at a much slower rate.

For your current needs where you turn on the immersion on demand, you should be using the right-hand control. It will get you warm-to-hot water quickly. Ideally though you'd use the timer on the left-hand side to heat the whole tank during the night at a night-saver rate and not need to boost at all during the day at peak rates.

To heat a full tank should take what, 2-3 hours on immersion timer (aka bath) setting?

Need to sort the dodgy timer though before being able to rely on day \ night rates.

When I first moved 2 years ago in it was set to heat up the water at certain times and for a certain amount of minutes, but it ended up stuck on "on" for way longer than it was set to, and at the wrong times. So I ended up relying on the boost button. 

I'd say it would be cheaper boil a kettle for the morning face wash and dishes than use the immersion. Fine if you need it for the shower, presume there is no electric shower? Would you be allowed have one fitted, might be more economic at this stage.

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