Electricity Prices

[downgirl]

Ok, so as everyone probably knows by now, I am living in student accommodation, so we have a utility advance of €400 or something paid up front.

Got a statement of out electricity costs from start of September to middle of December, for a 4 person apartment it was €640, so breaks down to €160 per person...this seems really expensive to me, went in to query it today because we turn lights and TV's off, unplug chargers etc, very environmentally friendly (apart from the annoying housemate we always have to turn lights off after him).  The only thing that I can think of that would push the electricity up would be the heaters because they are electric, and perhaps the dishwasher?

Anyway went into her and she was like electric has gone up 17.5% and it said on the statement the Nov/Dec reading was only an estimate and I said can you not go down and do a meter reading and she said oh well there will be another statement in February we can give you an actual reading then.

So, point of the thread is, are we being overcharged?

[full back]

The only thing that I can think of that would push the electricity up would be the heaters because they are electric,

Electric heaters are b4stards for using electricity

[Tony Baloney]

Ok, so as everyone probably knows by now, I am living in student accommodation, so we have a utility advance of €400 or something paid up front.

Got a statement of out electricity costs from start of September to middle of December, for a 4 person apartment it was €640, so breaks down to €160 per person...this seems really expensive to me, went in to query it today because we turn lights and TV's off, unplug chargers etc, very environmentally friendly (apart from the annoying housemate we always have to turn lights off after him).  The only thing that I can think of that would push the electricity up would be the heaters because they are electric, and perhaps the dishwasher?

Anyway went into her and she was like electric has gone up 17.5% and it said on the statement the Nov/Dec reading was only an estimate and I said can you not go down and do a meter reading and she said oh well there will be another statement in February we can give you an actual reading then.

So, point of the thread is, are we being overcharged?

There is your answer.

[Minder]

Electricity prices in the north are a disgrace, a 60% increase since January 08. They did reduce it by 10% a few weeks ago, which was big of them. I believe tumble dryers, washing machines, kettles are hard on the electric..............

[mylestheslasher]

I know in  the south if you are not happy with an estimated reading you can fill in a form and submit the actual reading and have your bill recalculated. You may only have a few days to do it though.

[The Real Laoislad]

When I was in Athlone IT on the college phase of my Apprenticeship I lived in a house where you had to put money in a coin meter to get Electricity,there was no way Electricity was costing the amount of money we were putting into it,so the landlord was making a good few quid on us I reckon.

One cold night when I was tired of pumping 50p pieces into the meter I went and got me tools and rewired the Fuseboard so it worked without the coin meter!

We only had two months left in the house so we had free electricity for the two months 
We use to put a few coins into the meter when the landlord came to collect it so as not to arouse his suspicions...By the time his bill came we were long gone...

[the Deel Rover]

  good man Laoislad thats thinking outside the (meter) box 

[Minder]

You should have been an electrician LL.

[muppet]

You should have been an electrician LL.

[armaghniac]

this seems really expensive to me, went in to query it today because we turn lights and TV's off, unplug chargers etc

chargers are not a big issue, whatever Gordon Brown says. Do you the TV off or just put it on standby, the latter uses almost as much as having it on. But heaters are going to use more than most appliances, hope for mild weather!

Did you read the meter and how does the actual compare with the estimated reading?

[Mayo4Sam]

Downgirl it can also depend on the method of metering that goes on.
But like everyone else says its prob the electric heating.
Chargers use about 20% of their power on stand by.

[The Real Laoislad]

Ok, so as everyone probably knows by now, I am living in student accommodation, so we have a utility advance of €400 or something paid up front.

Got a statement of out electricity costs from start of September to middle of December, for a 4 person apartment it was €640, so breaks down to €160 per person...this seems really expensive to me, went in to query it today because we turn lights and TV's off, unplug chargers etc, very environmentally friendly (apart from the annoying housemate we always have to turn lights off after him).  The only thing that I can think of that would push the electricity up would be the heaters because they are electric, and perhaps the dishwasher?

Anyway went into her and she was like electric has gone up 17.5% and it said on the statement the Nov/Dec reading was only an estimate and I said can you not go down and do a meter reading and she said oh well there will be another statement in February we can give you an actual reading then.

So, point of the thread is, are we being overcharged?

Without a doubt the heaters will be the biggest power consumer along with showers and immersions,basically anything with a element will draw the biggest amps...

For example if you have lets say a 3.0kw heater which is a average heater size,it will be drawing around 13amps.
So say if you have one heater on for lets say 10 hours a day 7 days a week and Electricity is gonna cost you about  15c kw/hr it's gonna cost you €31 or thereabouts a week just for one heater..
So that would be about €120 give or take a month for just one heater..

Add that in to leaving lights and Immersion on or staying to long in the shower then you won't be long running up a high bill,though too be honest €640 sounds very expensive..
Have ye got a tumble dryer? they are also very costly to run

[thebigfella]

this seems really expensive to me, went in to query it today because we turn lights and TV's off, unplug chargers etc

chargers are not a big issue, whatever Gordon Brown says. Do you the TV off or just put it on standby, the latter uses almost as much as having it on. But heaters are going to use more than most appliances, hope for mild weather!

Did you read the meter and how does the actual compare with the estimated reading?

http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/detail/spec.dogroup=television&type=television&subtype=tftlcd&model_cd=LE40A656A1FXXU&fullspec=F

Power  Operation Power Consumption  240W 
Stand-By Power Consumption  < 1W 

I wouldn't believe anything you hear from Brown, Cameron or any of those Greenpiece idiots. Although I don't take Samsungs word for it either, surely some crusty dole-ite would have tried to prove these figures wrong.

I suppose it would also depend on your TV too, Plasma's use way more electricity than LCD when in operation. Couldn't see standby being much different.

[Tyrones own]

OMG ready to kill him...came home from a lab yesterday afternoon, to find he had turned the dishwasher on even though there were no dishwasher tablets (we had kept them in our rooms because his friends kept coming over for dinner and using all our clean dishes etc, so we were washing things as we needed them from the dishwasher), there were a load of his dirty plates and a pan left sitting, and he went home for the weekend so it would have been sitting there all weekend...can you imagine the smell??  Oh yea and he left the heating on.  Like if I hadn't have been here what would the place have been like on Sunday night??  I think I might do as you suggest muppet, hes really getting on my nerves.  I don't have time to be clearing up after him like.

I'd say the heating is the problem there alright.

[downgirl]

We always turn TVs off completely don't leave anything on standby, I always turn my laptop off at the plug as well, and always unplug chargers and my ipod speakers, the only thing I would have on a lot in my room is the heater and then the heated towel rail in the bathroom.  The other 2 would be pretty similar to me, not so sure about Rockwell boy, but if he leaves anything on in the kitchen we would turn it off.  And unfortunately we don't have a sky box to worry about 

As for the meter couldn't find it anywhere in the apartment so asked about that as well and apparently it's below in the carpark...I was thinking though would each apartment have its own separate meter or would it just be for the block and then they just average it between all the apartments? 

And no we don't have a tumble dryer or washing machine, there is a separate laundry, probably because they want to make as much money as possible as its €5 for a wash and tumble dry!