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!
The energy consumption cannot be explained at all by electric screed heating. We had to do it that way as well and ended up with a cost of around €1500.
I once heard a story where the shell builders used portable electric heaters in the site cabin during winter. But 25,000 kWh… where else could that go? It can’t be explained by the usual construction machinery.
I once heard a story where the shell builders used portable electric heaters in the site cabin during winter. But 25,000 kWh… where else could that go? It can’t be explained by the usual construction machinery.
guckuck2 schrieb:
We had to do it the same way and ended up with about 1500€.Same here. Screed heating in autumn with electric heat generator, since the district heating station was defective. Final invoice was just under 1600 EUR plus connection, disconnection, etc.Miwi2009 schrieb:
Unfortunately, there is no reading error; I personally saw the meter showing over 25,000 kWh.What kind of meter exactly? Did you also see the initial reading at 0 kWh?
And even if the construction trailer was heated, that’s impossible.
We agree that this can’t be the case.
That adds up quickly. Most of the equipment requires a three-phase power connection. Just think of machines like plaster mixers, cranes, saws, electric heaters, lighting, etc. If they use electric fans to warm up the house over several weeks, you can imagine the consumption.
Especially since the construction company doesn’t have to pay for it. Still, overall it’s quite significant.
Especially since the construction company doesn’t have to pay for it. Still, overall it’s quite significant.
Durran schrieb:
That already adds up. Most equipment requires three-phase power. Just a plastering machine, crane, saws, radiant heaters, lighting, etc. If they heat the house for weeks with electric fans, you can imagine the consumption.
Especially if the construction company doesn’t have to pay for it. Still, the total amount is quite significant. Sorry, but construction machinery alone can’t explain that at all. Not even close. A plastering machine runs for about a week and not continuously, a crane only consumes power when someone is operating it plus a small amount of standby power. For a single-family house, that might add up to around 300 to 500 euros over the entire construction period, but not 8,000 euros. That’s a completely wrong scale.
Whether it’s electric heaters or an electric heating vehicle combined with underfloor heating doesn’t matter; both convert electric power directly into heat. Several comparable figures have already been mentioned.
25,000 kWh over an assumed 9-month construction period corresponds to 90 kWh per day or a continuous average load of 3.8 kW, 24 hours a day, for 9 months straight.
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