What’s an appropriate electric bill size?

[sally1996]

Recently started paying for my own electricity bills in Ireland for the first time (previously in flat shares with bills included).

House is a very small single-story terrace, BER G, no gas only electric, only me living here, work from home 3 days out of 5, travelling away 1 week per month. I’ve used the electric more in the past 2 months than I would normally due to guests and site work. Electric is set up to be on a standard rate rather than anything with an evening saving.

All considered, is €100pm the expected electric bill for this situation? Or should I be expecting higher or lower? Trying to nail down my budget in this new house world.

 

[aines123]

@sally1996 I think you should be aiming higher. BER G is not at all efficient and you are losing most of your heat through windows/doors etc. For context I live in a detached bungalow with solar panels and mine costs over €300 for 2 months and that doesn't include heating.

 

[tentmaker17]

@aines123 Seriously dude?? How many panels have you got, out of interest? That seems crazily high. We live in a detached dormer with panels and haven't paid an electricity bill since April, when they were installed

 

[aines123]

@tentmaker17 I haven't got the battery installed yet so the panels are only heating the water for now.

 

[tentmaker17]

@aines123 Ah I see. And are you exporting anything to the grid once the water is hot and the current(geddit?) house demands are being met?

Would highly recommend getting the battery, esp if you have a smart meter and a cheaper night rate. We charge ours overnight at 8c per unit and export to the grid at 24c. No brainer really, hopefully energia will keep that plan for years to come

 

[aines123]

@tentmaker17 Oh trust me, its in the planning stages. I'm saving up as fast as I can. I have a smart meter and at the moment I have free electricity on Sundays as that's when I do all the jobs that accumulate over the week. I've only just changed to that plan from an ordinary saver plan so I can't tell yet how much of a difference it will make. Hopefully a lot! I need to get more panels up too as currently (yes I got that!) I wouldn't have enough to power the whole house. I moved here in 2020 and have been slowly chipping away at getting the house remodeled and stuff so it will just take time.

 

[tentmaker17]

@aines123 ah yeah i hear ya. We're here 6 years this year and chipping away at things too - you can't do it all together unfortunately. The solar setup last year was a game changer, its saving us a fortune. Plan on combining that with an EV this year so hopefully that works out well

 

[aines123]

@tentmaker17 It's definitely on the to do list but it's not next, there are a couple of other things that really need to be done first. I bought a hybrid 2 years ago and it has made a huge difference as I do most of my driving in short distances but after another couple of years I'll go completely electric.

 

[sally1996]

@aines123 I don’t mind that it’s BER G, I’m working to improve it over the next years. What I’m not sure on is if the amount I’ve spent on electricity these past 2 months is reasonable for being one person, because I’ve never had to own an Irish electric bill before

Edit: reread and does that suggest I’m paying below expected rate, if yours is higher for bigger house but better rating? Cos if so, sounds like I’m in the money?

 

[aines123]

@sally1996 Where are you getting the €100 pm figure from?

 

[sally1996]

@aines123 The bill I received today - before applying the government credit, the usage cost for 1st Dec to 1st Feb was €202, so roughly €100pm

 

[aines123]

@sally1996 Was the bill estimated or meter read?

 

[sally1996]

@aines123 Meter read if I managed to submit it in time there. Submitted it about a week ago, bill received in today’s post

 

[aines123]

@sally1996 It will say it on the 2nd page of the bill actual or estimated. If it was meter read then I think you are doing incredibly well as I also used to live in accommodation like yours 10 years ago and was paying about that much. With the recent price hikes paying €100 per month is pretty good going.

 

[tentmaker17]

@sally1996 If? The bill will tell you if its a proper reading or estimated. 100pm sounds low for a BER G where the only heat source is electric

 

[legrandvn]

@sally1996 Ours was 814 for two months but with the discount it was 614. We have five people in the house. Two working from home.

 

[tentmaker17]

@legrandvn Jesus that's very high

 

[legrandvn]

@tentmaker17 It is. It has increased significantly since two people move in so we're looking forward to the two of them moving out soon so the bill will go back down.

 

[xinmenow]

@sally1996 For two people in a BER D2 two bedroom apartment my last two month bill was €617 for all electric heating. So €100/month for a G rated house is unbelievable value

 

[dale_r]

@sally1996 Seems reasonable enough,you have probably 20 euro month standing charge,which leaves you with what 2.60 euro a day which includes heat at the coldest time of year.generaly I'd find that the bill is 1/2 maybe 1/3 less in summer.

Big ticket items are things that produce heat,showers rads,kettles.dryers.cookers.

Laptops + screens I found negligence enough.buying my own coffee not so cheap

We had an aupair for few months over summer and her extra use showers,cooking,TV heat probably was about 50 quid extra per month.

If your not in contact shop around for a better tariff even if you are there is just like a 50 euro breakage fee.