Gas Usage

[stockers]

Hi, I had a new central heating system installed in the summer. The house previously had nothing. We have 8 rads and a Worcester Greenstar 28i junior boiler. It works fine, the only thing is our gas bills are very high. we don't use gas for anything else and the boiler is only on for around 2 hours in the morning and 5-6 at night. I have just started to monitor the gas usage and want to know roughly how much gas my boiler should use in say 1 hour or over 1 daily cycle. I suspect I have a faulty boiler but need to have some sort of comparison.

Has anyone heard of this type of thing?
Thanks

 

[scatmanjohn]

Has anyone heard of this type of thing?

Yeh...i hear about it all the time at this time of year, just as the winter gas bills start to roll in.

How much was your bill?

 

[stockers]

about £85 for 1 month!

 

[Agile]

A gas bill is a charge for gas consumed!

The price of gas has trippled over the last few years and a smaller flat is now about £40 a month and a larger house £100 per month.

Get to grips with the current cost of gas!

The only way to compare consumption is to see the consumption in kilowatts.

There is also a disturbing habit of suppliers to over charge the monthly deductions as that aids their cash flow. Powergen were deducting £470 per month from me when the actual consumption was only £6 !

Tony

 

[namsag]

That amount is not excessive at this time of year. Used to get dozens of calls at this time of year, I must have a gas leak, my boiler must be broke, can you check next door are not connected to my pipes, etc etc and that was when gas was half the price it is now. I`m afraid if you want heat you have to pay the price. Try leaving the heat on all day with the roomstat at ten degrees when your not about that way the house is not having to heat up from cold most people say they find this cheaper

 

[scatmanjohn]

about £85 for 1 month!

What size house do you have?

Do you take baths or showers?

Do you have double glazing?

Do you have loft insulation?

Do you mean the bill is £85 per month OR the gas company want to take £85 off you each month?

 

[stockers]

Hi, I have done more calculations from checking my meter we use an average of 110 units a month maybe more.

I have checked the bill calculating the amount of units used and there price per unit. we used around 110 units a month which is about 3500 kilowatt hours. The fisrt 1691 @ £0.4959 = £83.85 + the rest, 1809 @ £0.2801 += £50.67 a total of £134.52
I am aware that there are cheaper suppliers than british gas, I am currently changing. That said I still think my gas usage is high!

What size house do you have? 3 small bed (terrace)

Do you take baths or showers? showers Electric

Do you have double glazing? yes

Do you have loft insulation? yes 200mm fitted about november

 

[big-all]

ok my thoughts

your boiler is capable of 28kw[units an hour] assuming its averaging 6 hrs a day at perhaps 35% max consumption thats 10kw x6 =60 kw a day at whatever your gas rate per kw is say 5p so thats £3a day x 30 =£90 a month

so looks ok at your consumption rates

have you tryed turning your radiator stats down to say 20 deg and 16 to 18 in the beds and hallway

try burning for an hour when you feel cold and turn off 2 hrs before you go to bed

 

[DIYheadache]

I have the same boiler installed in a 2 bed 80's first floor flat and my last bill came in at £110 for the quarter. Have trv's on all rads apart from bathroom and the lounge (where the stat is located). Stat is set to 19 or 20 and temp in bedrooms/hall set to roughly 18. Mainly take showers and the odd bath.

Yours seems to be about right fo the type of property.

Pete

 

[scatmanjohn]

I am aware that there are cheaper suppliers than british gas

They are the cheapest at the moment but that could change at any point.

 

[stockers]

1, I think I will trust u-switch when it comes to energy prices.
2 pete, thanks for the info. You have the same boiler as me, my house isn't large and my bill are about £135 a month not quarter. not sure it should be that different. + my boiler doen't power my shower. my god I am not looking forward to my next bill.

 

[scatmanjohn]

1, I think I will trust u-switch when it comes to energy prices.

Thats your choice but i would advise a bit more research.

Some companies pay them commision, some don't.

http://money.guardian.co.uk/utilities/story/0,,1969281,00.html