Desparate for advice re high Gas usage!

nadine12

Can anyone help? My last bill for gas was extremely high - £540.33 for 8th Jan to 22nd April. We used 1491 units in the period of time (in cubic meters) so the equivalent of 16602.83 kWh.
We had the meter installed new on 30th January 2009 and in that time have used a total of 4121 units which to me seems extremely high!!! I gave them last meter reading on 20th April, which was 3996, and between then and today it is now on 4121. It has not been very cold in the last 20 days so heating has been on maybe hour in the morning and couple of hours in the evening!!
We have a combi boiler, so gas for heating and water, and also gas hob but not oven. We also have a thermostat so obviously it clicks off when it gets to a certain temparature (set to 20 at mo). I cook on the hob maybe once a day, and run the bath once or twice. Oh yeah and its a 3 bed semi detached house!
Can anyone advise if this seems very high?? I am worried now as they want to increase my direct debit (already paying £103 per month for gas and electric).
Thanks!

Rince

Hi, we used approx 15000kwh from Jan to apr, which is high but it's a large house, so I would say yours is very high for a 3 bed semi.

Check your bill and see if they've done the conversion to metric when you're already on a metric meter. On your bill, where it has your gas units then converts it to kwh, there is a calculation on the right hand side to say how they've worked it out. Does it say number of cubic meters of gas used ? or does it have a conversion. If it has a conversion then it's worng. (Note there is another conversion of about 1.02264 which all gas provides use to convert it into kwh which is used whether you have imperial or metric meters)
Hope that makes sense !

savemoney

I used from 26th October 2009 to 1st February 2010 10,024kWh bill came to £300.07 3 bedroom semi with two adults and two kids, gas cooker, CH only

Now billed monthly
2nd Feb 2010 to 24th February 2010 2,832kWh £82
25th Feb 2010 to 25th March 2010 2,138kWh £64

nadine12

Thanks both, I think the conversion is done correctly -
1491 units x correction factor 1.02264 = 1524.75 cu metrs x calorific value 39.2/conversion factor 3.6 = 16602.83 kWh

The meter definitely says m3 on it.

But considering the average annual usage for a 3 bed house is apparently around 20000 kWh, I can't understand how this can be so high? Initially I put it down to such a cold winter, but considering we have used 125 units in the last 20 days, when it has not been on much, I am worried!

savemoney

On my bill my meter says m3 too

Metric units used x calorific value (39.9838) x Volume correction (1.022640) / to convert to kWh (3.6) = ????

=SUM(F14*40.0413*1.02264/3.6) I used that equation in my spreadsheet to work out correct bill

F14 being units used

The 40.0413 figure can vary occasionally due to utility company

savemoney

This is what I used last year Jan 2009 to Dec 2009 (12 months

16946.38 kWh

16205.62 in 2008

maria6259

savemoney wrote: »

I used from 26th October 2009 to 1st February 2010 10,024kWh bill came to £300.07 3 bedroom semi with two adults and two kids, gas cooker, CH only

Now billed monthly
2nd Feb 2010 to 24th February 2010 2,832kWh £82
25th Feb 2010 to 25th March 2010 2,138kWh £64

can i ask who your gas supplier is as it seems cheaper than mine!
Thanks

Cardew

nadine12 wrote: »

but considering we have used 125 units in the last 20 days, when it has not been on much, I am worried!

125 units is approx 1,400kWh and should cost £40 to £45.

That isn't particularly high for 20 days

savemoney

British Gas essentials tariff but I believe there online tarrif is around same I also submit meter readings monthly and get billed monthly. There is a bonus payment from them on 13th month of £30 I think

maria6259 wrote: »

can i ask who your gas supplier is as it seems cheaper than mine!
Thanks

dogshome

Hi nadine 12 - From the figures in your post, in the 445 day period from 20 Jan 09 to 20 Apr 2010, your meter recorded 3996 units which on your Metric meter is appx 44,755Kw

Adjusting this figure to a 365 day year, your annual consumption comes to app 36,700Kw which depending lifestyle, family size and insulation levels, is roughly twice the average for a 3 bed semi.

The chances of your new meter being faulty are remote, but not impossible. You can ask your supplier to fit check meter, but they will want an upfront fee for this which you only get back if your meter is indeed faulty.
However you can do a rough check yourself with the bills you had for a full year prior to the new meter being fitted If you have not kept these ask your supplier for copies - they have to provide them
Unless there has been a huge change in your family life between the old meters bills and the new meters bills, your Old meter and New meters gas consumption in Kw should roughly
match each other season-to-season and year-to-year.
Note On an Imperial meter each unit recorded equates to roughly 31.5Kw, whilst a unit on a Metric meter is roughly 11.2Kw, so when comparing the bills, ignore the meter units and only compare the Kw being charged for
All the best