ᐅ Excessive Electricity Consumption in Single-Family Home Construction – Experiences
Created on: 16 Jan 2022 20:55
M
Miwi2009
Hello everyone,
I built a single-family house with a general contractor, and according to the construction contract, I am responsible for the electricity costs during the building phase. After about 9 months of construction, a staggering 25,000 kWh were consumed. This corresponds to approximately €8,000 in electricity costs. In my opinion, the main drivers were the heating program for the screed as well as various heaters and drying devices that were used in the house for some time.
I wanted the general contractor to cover part of the electricity costs (€4,000), but unfortunately, they are unwilling to negotiate and refer to the contract. My logical argument would be that, as a layperson, I would expect a usual electricity consumption or costs for a single-family house to average between €2,500 and €3,500, depending on the season and other factors.
Has anyone had a similar experience or any suggestions on how to get the general contractor to share 50% of the costs?
Thanks in advance!
I built a single-family house with a general contractor, and according to the construction contract, I am responsible for the electricity costs during the building phase. After about 9 months of construction, a staggering 25,000 kWh were consumed. This corresponds to approximately €8,000 in electricity costs. In my opinion, the main drivers were the heating program for the screed as well as various heaters and drying devices that were used in the house for some time.
I wanted the general contractor to cover part of the electricity costs (€4,000), but unfortunately, they are unwilling to negotiate and refer to the contract. My logical argument would be that, as a layperson, I would expect a usual electricity consumption or costs for a single-family house to average between €2,500 and €3,500, depending on the season and other factors.
Has anyone had a similar experience or any suggestions on how to get the general contractor to share 50% of the costs?
Thanks in advance!
User0815 schrieb:
If you say the system hasn’t been properly handed over yet: but it’s already somewhat configured and running in “normal mode,” and it hasn’t been running on the electric heating element for months, right? The outdoor units are definitely running; I just can’t tell when the electric heating element switches on.
schubert79 schrieb:
Have the meter checked on the temporary construction power supply. There are independent authorities for that. That was also the lawyer’s first opinion, but they said a non-calibrated meter is quite unlikely.
It feels like there is something wrong with the heating system, or it has been running for too long.
KingJulien27 Sep 2022 19:14And are you also sure that the heating element only supported the heat pump during the screed program? Or is it possible that the entire program ran only on the heating element?
In that case, at least according to the calculation by @dertill, it would fit quite well.
In that case, at least according to the calculation by @dertill, it would fit quite well.
Reggert schrieb:
Just as a side note:
Our Vaillant 75/5 pump has now consumed 2140 kWh during the screed drying process for a 100 m² (1076 sq ft) KfW55 bungalow, and before that, we had an astonishing 27 kWh over the site power box in 6 months.Oh no. Please provide reasonable and accurate figures. Thank you,NikSindi schrieb:
yes, I have an iSFP, it shows the primary energy demand for the house as 37 kWh/(m2a), which would be 13,690 kWh?
expected final energy consumption 9,350 kWh/a
I have no useful energy ;-) Primary energy demand is just a theoretical value; you won’t find it on any bill or meter.
Final energy is the electricity consumption for heating and hot water, excluding household electricity.
Primary energy = Final energy × primary energy factor (electricity = 1.8)
so in your case 9,350 kWh/a × 1.8 = 16,830 kWh.
The 37 kWh/(m²a) value does not refer to the 370 m² floor area, but to the energy reference area/useful floor area An, which is calculated slightly differently.
An = 1/3 × Ve with Ve = heated volume including exterior walls.
For you, that should be around 455 m² if I’m not mistaken, because calculating backwards:
16,830 kWh/a ÷ 37 kWh/(m²a) = 455 m².
This should be shown on page 1 of your energy demand calculation.
Useful energy would then be the heat demand that your heat pump must provide to the house after accounting for environmental heat from the heat pump, so roughly 37,000 kWh.
Your energy consultant should be able to explain this to you since they calculated it. They should also explain any discrepancies, so definitely document everything first. This will be useful for you and also as a basis for discussions with your HVAC installer and consultant.
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