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The Daily PollNEW STATISTICS HAVE revealed that energy usage in Ireland has dropped by 12 per cent in just three years.
The study did not examine the reasons for the decline but Europe has seen consumption drop since the financial crisis took hold in 2008. There is also greater evidence of awareness around environmental and sustainable issues.
In today’s poll, we’d like to find out if your pattern of energy use has changed – and why.
Have you tried to reduce your energy usage?
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A €399 Airtricity gas and electric bill made me very aware of energy usage. With the help of a hot water bottle I got it down to €99.
How did you heat the hot water bottles? Heating water uses a LOT of energy!
I find Airtricity bill estimates are crazy. Jump up and down the whole time.
I was ripped off by airtricity ,
My brother was had by Airtricity. He was away for the whole month of August 2011 and received a bill for approx €300 for a 1 bed apartment. He had nothing electrical plugged in as he knew he’d be away. He contested it but they basically said your lying and took it from the upfront payment..
I also got ripped off by Airtricity but got refunded a grand sum of €500 in the end. It took about a month of harassing them about how my bills were coming in higher than an industrial unit would and we both work all day so the usage would be minimal. I had to break it down into toddler lingo for them and threaten legal action. A bill for just under €700 for two months was a tad ridiculous.
Switched back to Electric Ireland and have now gone with the prepay for both and am finding it much better.
I too have had issues with Airtricity, taking money out of my account with no solid reason (bill was already paid). Their estimates seem to be double what they would be.. Bloody useless..
I try to make sure lights/tv are turned off when not needed (as well as the immersion etc). It is mainly for cost reasons though, electricity is a fuppin rip off.
Electricity prices were increased, to get competition into the sector according to regulator. I think he studied at Bertie Aherns school of economics, inflate everything and have the customer pay!
Ah Jayus Lauren you mentioned the immersion, how we will have Des Bishop on telling us his immersion so called jokes.
same here but… when you have the misfortune to share with an Irresponsible flat mate that forgets all that and of course no surprise… ALWAYS the last to pay their share, it becomes a big problem. When the bill arrives you get the “oh dear surely its a mistake, how comes its so high?” eh HELLO! Some really careless idiots about.
As soon as the gas/electric bills arrive at the end of January we see a huge increase in demand for attic insulation, the average bill has “gone through the roof” in recent years with all the price increases. Never a better time to insulate
Ok, nice advert there.
Do ye use Hemp Insulation?
It’s it amazing how all increases come in during the winter time when heat and electricity are needed more !!!
LED light bulbs all the way :)
How are they for light compared to energy saver?
Better, IMHO.
better for light after they warm up. crap for the first two minutes.
No competition, energy wise, e.g. 1 or 2 watts with an LED bulb as opposed to 12 watts with a CFL.
They are not for everyone though, since they emulate natural daylight and the colour of the light isn’t quite right. Also the light tends to be directional, so the shadows the lights cast is a bit weird.
The technology is improving though.
Also if your house is hit with an power surge, it can fry the electronics in an LED bulb, unless you’ve got a circuit breaker or some other protection mechanism in place on your house’s electricial circuits.
Yes, i have cut down of use and put in energy saving devices. But i Not seeing any economic saving in this. Seem to me price have just go up. While the consumer uses less energy. Another Big Profit scam as fair as i can see.
And the Regulator approves of increases not sought !
Its supply and Demand – the company has to make a profit – so if u use less – u must pay more . Thats Capitalism .
Electric Ireland or ESB charge extra on your standing charge if you do not use a lot of electric they call it low usage. If you go on their website they encourage people to go green and show you how to cut the electric bill, but the snag is if you cut down you usage you ay extra on the standing charge they do not highlight this big con.
It is supply and demand.
The company demands payment and you supply it.
Got to make you laugh “environment reasons” I’m living in the Middle East at the moment where they use AC’s 24hrs a day, drive 5.7litre petrol cars and abuse the use of electricity as its dirt cheap. In Ireland and probably the rest of the world we are pzzing into the wind in relation to the environment while this goes on!
Although that is a fair point to make, it is also important to say that if everyone took that attitude we would be heading up shitcreek a lot faster than we already are!
The problem is, in the US, where consumers massively reduced their reliance on the electricity grid by using renewables, the companies all started to add a new charge to bills for ‘low usage’. Expect the same to happen here soon – another government approved rip-off.
Use the clothes line now all the time, took the plug off of the clothes dryer, waste of money
A household or any business will save 10% in their bills with just good house keeping…
1) turning of all unnecessary electrical devices, using natural light as much as possible..
2) ensure that you are getting the best electrical tariff of esb/airtricty/bord gais etc..
3) ensure the house is airtight, this is done with insulation attic/external walls /double or triple glazing windows/ draft proofing door…
4) then you can look at installing efficient technologies like bulbs/sensor lights/solar charged night lights out front….
5) then decide on thermal/electrical solar panels, heat exchangers/ geothermal/ micro wind turbine..its important to determine the pay back on these items i.e money saved on bills and the initial capital cost…sales reps will swear by their products but i wouldn’t spend money on these expensive items without doing the first few steps!!
Iv a masters in energy management by the way! :)
David can that masters of yours find me a way around storage heaters in an apartment? They cost a fortune and we’ve no other option!
Have you tried wearing a jumper.
You must have a masters too! Unconventional but I’ll give it a shot!
u need help from ur entire apartment block on this one …storage heaters are so inefficient its not even funny. A district heating system for a apartment block is a great way to get around that. One big boiler in the basement heating the entire building just like what happens in a hotel. the problem is how to fund such a project.. if the apartment block is owned by one person the tenants could do a power purchase agreement with the owner on the hot water…pay as you go for heat ..you personally would save huge money on the heat..the owner would have to spend money on retrofitting the building with rads/boiler but the owner would make nice money back after a few years then its all profit..if the apartments are owned by individuals you would have to sell the idea…but you could organise a co op on the idea i did work on this before it works in theory, a couple of contractors on existing housing estates loved the idea..but were scared shitless cos they feared not getting money out of people …who are currently struggling to pay bills as it stands…
ted, if ya could give me an ideal of ur annual electrical bill on that storage heater, plus number of apartments in the block i could give ya a better idea..iv done this calculation before
just to give idea how district heat would add up,
average heating bill for storage heater and hot water €1000/annually per apartment
take 50 apartments per block
50 x €1,000 = 50,000 apartment block bill annually
cost of Boiler €25,000
cost of Rads and plumbing per apartment €1,000 x 50 = 50,000
Total cost of investment €50,000 + €25,000 = €75,000
boiler running costs estimated @ 20% of original heating bill = €10,000 per year
year one €75,000 + €10,000 running cost = 85,000
annual savings €40,000
simple payback €85,000/€40,000 = 2.125 years
makes sense..in Denmark 85% of all buildings are heated by district heating systems…have a nice day
In older apartments storage heaters should be wired to a night time esb meter which is at a lower rate.
There are more Eco friendly storage heaters on the market , dimco supply a few different kinds. Your idea of district heating is good but it I’d say its a bit too late for ted.
I think your estimates on the heating and water are probably quite close to what we pay, the two bills during the winter are about €700 and I think it’s about 90% because of the heating. The rest of the year it’s just the hot water that is on so I guess it would easily make up another 3/400. Is such a district heat option even possible to retro fit, I can’t imagine how they would go about it other than running pipes around the outside the buildings and creating an awful mess. Also is there such a system ever used in apartment blocks in Ireland? Final question how would they bill people other than the management company including it in their management fees for the year or could they meter it?
there is one district heating system in Ireland but its a housing estate in Tipperary but it was a new build , no company in Ireland has done one to an existing apartment or estate as its much cheaper with a new build. I have all the suppliers lined up from a couple of years ago.. its not that much work.. bring pipes up via the stairs, create a loop on each floor at the ceiling level so it can pass over doors..have T pipes into each apartments. pipes can be covered with a suspended ceiling. all you have to do is dismount the storage heater and connect the new rad and connect to the Emerson tank…the banks are interested in the idea but they need letters of intention from potential customers.. its best if it was metered… f**k the management company they can just about look after the bins…its a gold mine if someone would take the risk..I would do it myself if I had a few bob to invest..
p.s im a quantity surveyor as well..haha
i forgot that my figures are for a boiler. if you are on the gas line you could install a CHP plant,(combined heat and power) that will produce electricity and heat at the same time. costs about €50,000 more but also creates electricity that can be sold on the the esb… ur situation sounds interesting. if u want to go any future on this ill help u out free of charge if ya like.. u could email the journal to get contact details….
Every single light bulb in the house is energy saver, also have a electricity monitor…great little gadget!
Worked out that leaving my computer, printer, external harddrives just plugged in….not actually switched was costing me 30e a year! 30e a year for not even having it switched on!
Switch off whatever I can at the plug now!
Where did you get that monitor
Electric Ireland appliances is an app that with help you gage how much a particular appliance is costing you to run monthly Ex A 2000 watt fan heater on max for 7 hours a week will cost you between €40-€45 every two months
I think the Green party or the Green tax party as they are known ruined the environment debate introducing carbon taxes at the very start of the recession. Most people reduce usage because they cant keep up with their bills. In a way the carbon tax is probaly working due to the fact people cant afford the increases.
Yeah absolutely, I just do it to save money. That whole global warming? I don’t “buy” into that *snicker snicker*
Constantly turning off lights & tv after my wife and kids Drives me mad, espically when the bill (€300-400) lands in the post.
Take out the main fuse, in the fuse box and see how they cope without electricity?
It is refreshing to see the public being more energy efficient. From our own research it is mainly due to financial reasons, but also people are wanting better bang for their buck. We are a sustainable heating company based in east Galway and have seen a stark increase in popularity in Wood-Pellet systems and Solar. Mainly due to their operating costs (can be as low as €0.16/hour) and also convenience, it can be timed to automatically turn on/off and only needs to be cleaned/ash emptied every 5/6 weeks. It is carbon neutral and offers an efficiency level of >85%. It is up to us all to be more efficient and to do our part.
are you guys using much woodchip from willow? big push on farmers to grow the crop but i dont know any figures on the up take…
Hi David, the vast majority of our pellet supply comes from a combination of Balcas and Leinster Pellets as we want to support Irish, but both of these companies use willow so I know that Willow is in demand as a result alright.
Took out power showers and put in standard pumped, changed from oil to stove heating 12 rads, changed to bottled gas cooking from electric last month so ‘expecting a drop’
Have yet to find a clothes drier solution…any suggestions welcome….The clothes line mmm weather is crappy…..
A clothes horse in the bathroom is the best I can offer
I use 3 clothes horses in one room, it means I only need to have done heater on. Condensation can be a problem, a friend of mine bought a dehumidifier. She claims that clothes dry very quickly, needs to be in a small room. Ideal for a box or utility room
*one heater on
I have two clothes horses upstairs in a front room best to dry clothes, maybe dry in a day.
Buy a small polytunnel. Great for drying clothes and growing organic veg ;)
Roy, Have a look at the Dimplex Clothes Air Dryer. How it works- Place the blower flat on the floor with garments hanging over the unit. The room air is re-circulated towards your laundry reducing drying time with no added heat. The warmer and better ventilated the room the more effective the drying time. Very low running cost at less than €0.01 cent per hour. 25 watt.
I switched to a pre pay power company about 12 months ago and it’s the best move I ever made it has nearly halved my bill because I am now more conscious about lights etc being left on for no reason. Also listening to people talk about the bill at the end of January it was great knowing mine was prepaid
Maybe with all the business closing has something todo with it, but I personally think household electricity is rising with more and more people using electrical appliances and devices.
Got all of house pumped with insulating and attic insulated before the government cut the grant in half ..best decision ever .Heaton use too have too be on most the nite .now it’s hours tops and ur opening a window .well recommended
Was that cavity wall insulation or that cosy home thing?
Cavity wall yes ..the wrap around insulation costs a fortune ..and would look out of place as my house is in middle row, so would stick of further than rest by bout 4·5 inches
Luca, you can’t pump insulation into walls of a timber frame/super warm home. Air needs to circulate around the timber or otherwise it will get damp and rot. My friend has one of these houses and enquired about insulation and was not told this by the company. Fortunately, I was told when I had my insulation done and was able to tell her. Insulation companies have been known to insulate the walls of these houses. My friend told me her neighbours had their house insulated.
ESB themselves have printed material that will tell you all appliances use avg 25% of their full power when left in StandBy mode, chargers left plugged in etc. how many appliances do the childer have in their rooms these days….?
No more power shower, No Usage of Dishwasher in my house
@Jason Dishwashers can eat electricity, don’t be fooled. Depending on how you heat your water washing your dishes in the sink can be a lot more efficient, if you just put the immersion on the Sink setting for 15 minutes this can be considerably more efficient that a dishwasher heating water to a high temperature several times over the course of a cycle.
If people don’t already check estimated bills with the actually reading on the meter I’d say check it. Got a shock bill of €245.00 for gas last week. It was estimated so checked the meter and I was overcharged about €130.00. Bills aren’t always right, I try not to use it much but I have a 1 year old so have to keep her warm.
Hi Id just like to add a comment here, the biggest energy usage for small business is lighting. If they consider doing an upgrade on their lighting to energy efficient lighting and proper controls up to 75% savings can be made in some cases. To give a simple comparison if they use T8 58Watt fluorescent tubes in their existing fittings and change to fittings with T5 14Watt tubes that is a saving of 44Watts per tube or 75%. Add this up for every tube and every light you can now see the savings that can be made. Start introducing automatic controls and further savings can be made.
I’ve been trying to persuade politicians to set up a scheme for people to buy solar hot water systems on the never-never and be able to pay them off on their utility bills. Got nothing but PFOs, so far.
This is how the first storage heaters (the first central heating in Ireland, and a good deal at the time) were installed – half the country bought storage heaters and paid for them over a couple of years on their ESB bill at the time.
Solar hot water systems cost around €4,000 for a typical semi-D, including the evacuated tube panels (made in Ireland by Kingspan), a big specialised immersion and the plumbing. Too much for anyone to pay in one lump in current circs, but an easy enough deal if you could pay over a couple of years – then have your hot water free for most of the year. They reduce the cost of hot water by 60%, typically. And they work really well in Ireland.
Is this a precoursor to something really bad we don’t know about yet????
Google Energy saving tips, while on here complaining!
Both environmental and cost reasons.
I have led lights in use mostly, just occasionally cfl. Wood burner with gravity fed radiators ( no pump) used most of time. Oil range boiler used about an hour a day. The two heating systems are totally separate.
Cavity insulation and dry lined plasterboard insulation.
But whatever savings are made the prices will just be increased to maintain utilities income.
Whatever about wasting money …The green argument was completely blown by the news that we produce “excess” electricity at a macro level in this State !
Leave all the lights on, never turn off anything and that way you will help to use up the finite resources of fossil fuels ! they’re going to buy and burn them anyway …so enjoy …… if the bill gets a bit hairy …go to Vincent and paul …they’ll sort you out
yours faithfully,
Jonny O’brien
Emeritus profhisser of e-con -comics , Robin Hood university , cyber st., space (outer)
I try that all the time of course of crazy bills….. well I try also to teach my daughter to turn off the lights and have only the small light on, turn computer off all these small things… now I am moving and I am getting a stove… you simply got to and its good for the environment too…
My electricity and gas bill for December and January was a whopping 610 Euro, 2 and a half times what it normally would be, the direct debit cleared most of my pay check out of my bank account and had me living on barely anything for 2 weeks .Therefore, we are being extra careful/miserly with energy usage,wearing extra clothes etc., plus shopping around for better value.Another rip off this government has foisted onto its people …heating is now a luxury, as is cooking, having lights on, watching t.v………basic living is now a luxury.
I understand your issue with high energy costs but how is it the government’s fault for what you used?
have your say