please anyone help huge gas bill

shabna

hi
we recieved gas bill for 350 pounds with dual npower...for a empty house ...as we were ona long holiday
the only thing is central heating which runs for 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours at evening at 17 -19 degrees thermostat...

still, 350 pounds is a huge lot of money to pay for gas lot. its like paying another mortgage...
is npower so expensive for such a hectic bill even with no cooking or is my meter faulty???

spiro

The first thing to check is what reading type has been used on the bill. Is one or both and estimated reading? If the end reading is an estimate this wont reflect the low useage because you were away. It may also be possible that is was an actual reading and the previous bill was estimated so you are playing catch up.

KimYeovil

Why would a heating bill be lower if no-one is there? You have the heating on six hours per day (as much as if you were resident). £350 for this winter, if for a quarter, is not at all high.

alleycat`

If you also take into account that NPower typically weight their usage to the higher unit prices in the winter months it isn't an unusually high bill (including price increases - colder winter than the last couple).

It will obviously depend on your tariff - boiler efficiency - if your previous bills were estimates - as per spiro (or if this one is an estimate and they don't know you've been away).

Also as Kim says - 6 hours heating is 6 hours heating. If you are in the house or on the moon makes no real difference.

Michael_Nottingham

shabna wrote: »

hi
we recieved gas bill for 350 pounds with dual npower...for a empty house ...as we were ona long holiday
the only thing is central heating which runs for 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours at evening at 17 -19 degrees thermostat...

still, 350 pounds is a huge lot of money to pay for gas lot. its like paying another mortgage...
is npower so expensive for such a hectic bill even with no cooking or is my meter faulty???

I assume the vast majority of that was for the gas heating?
If you are not in the house - surely all you should be doing is keeping the house warm enough to stop the pipes freezing? Otherwise you are just heating your local area as the heat will escape no matter how well insulated
My heating is normally set at 15 and timed for 2-3 hours a day - when I am there. If I go away I normally turn it down.

welshman10

Michael_Nottingham wrote: »

If I go away I normally turn it down.

Why not turn it off completely?

:huh:

Michael_Nottingham

welshman10 wrote: »

Why not turn it off completely?

:huh:

If the pipes freeze and then break it will create a mess and cost a fortune

I just leave it on enough to keep the frost off