Gas Calcs Check Please

DNW_2

Both our gas and electric bills are astronomical (always have been high, but now ridiculously so) but before I do anything else, could someone please confirm that Swalec are calculating the gas correctly.

We're on an imperial meter (clearly says cubic feet on it and installation stickers from 1992) and this is how the bill is calculated according to the breakdown on the bill:

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No. Units used - 988

199 units x factor 100 x correction factor 1.022644 = 101036.83

101036.83 x conversion factor 0.0283 = 2859.34

2859.34 cu mtrs x calorific value 39.2 / conversion factor 3.6 = 31055.6 kWh

(Which in real cash terms equated to a bill of £1013.50 for 6 months Nov to May)

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Could a kind soul please confirm these calcs are correct based on an imperial meter.

Thanks in advance.

DirectDebacle

I would do it this way.

Units used 988

988*2.83 = 2796.04 cu mtrs

2796.04* 1.02264 = 28593.342

28593.342*39.2 = 112086.21/3.6

= 31135.058kWh

That is a lot of gas. Were you warm over the winter?

HappyMJ

DirectDebacle wrote: »

I would do it this way.

Units used 988

988*2.83 = 27960.04 cu mtrs

27960.04* 1.02264 = 285930.055

285930.055*39.2 = 1120847.7/3.6

= 311346kWh

That is a lot of gas. Were you warm over the winter?

Lucky you aren't calculating my bills....Do you want to check that?

vuvuzela

DirectDebacle wrote: »

27960.04* 1.02264 = 285930.055

No it doesn't

DirectDebacle

Yep. Couldn't amend it before you lot got in:D.

Now reduced it is still alot of gas.

HappyMJ

DirectDebacle wrote: »

Yep. Couldn't amend it before you lot got in:D.

Now reduced it is still alot of gas.

LOL gave you 10 minutes. It is still a lot and the tariff is quite high too but I have no idea what period of time it exactly covers. Could be 6 months or somewhere between 5 and 7 months.

DNW_2

DirectDebacle wrote: »

That is a lot of gas. Were you warm over the winter?

Even with Swalecs calcs, it's a lot of gas - and no, we weren't particularly warm That bill above was 31 Oct 09 to 05 May 10.

The actual usage over a longer period (30 Oct 09 to 02 Nov 10 was 1187 units and according to previous bills our average daily usage has reduced from 57.15 kWh in 2008, to 43.71 in 2009 to 34.64 in 2010)



Our house is pretty old (circa 1890) and has high ceilings, suspended void floors and un-insulatable cavity walls so downstairs is fairly cold all the time. Upstairs is slightly warmer but the only room that could be considered anywhere near warm is the bathroom.

Heating isn't on a timer, but the general thermostat is usually set on 15*C or lower although I do turn it up for a couple of hours in the evenings over winter and again for a couple of hours throughout the day as the house is often occupied all day due to shift working. All rads are doubles, <7 yrs old (as is the combi boiler) and have TRVs and the one in the unused bedroom switched off and door shut.

Water is all heated via the gas combi boiler (no baths for at least 2 years - showers only before anyone calls us smelly ) and the only other thing that uses gas is the hob (which isn't used all that often).

At the moment we're paying £147 gas and £129 electric per month with no arrears payments, but I did get a combined refund of around £900 in Dec so monthly payment certainly need re-adjusting and I can also shave some off if I switch suppliers - I just wanted to make sure Swalec had been calculating it correctly before I jumped ship.

DirectDebacle

I know what you mean.

I have a similar aged (1860) property. Solid walls, high ceilings etc and open fireplaces which I plug with newspaper. Until 3 or 4 years back I was using around 31000kWh gas and then renewed the insulation in the lofts (300mm) and that made a big difference. Reduced gas down to around 25000kWh p.a. now.

Boiler is conventional but pressurised system. No room stat, all controlled with TRVs. Have 18 rads but some are turned off in unused rooms. I considered internal insulation of outside walls but it would ruin the period features of the rooms, so am sacrificing further comfort and economy for the aesthetic reasons I purchased the property. Last 2 winters have been a bit tough though.

DNW_2

In a way it's good to know that we're not the only ones suffering from old cold house syndrome, you have my sympathy!


Our loft insulation was renewed when we first moved in about 8 years ago (not sure of thickness exactly, but around 250mm I think) but only half of the loft is actual loft space as such - the other half of it is actually a walk in/through room and separate bedroom which is where I suspect we lose quite a lot of heat through the roof itself. I think the only way to insulate this would be to pull of the lath and plaster and replace with insulated boards, but the cost of doing it is too restrictive at the moment. I know you sometimes have to spend money to save it, but the re-decoration costs on top of materials puts it out of our (now no credit cards) price range

This floor is only used every other weekend and remains 'sealed' the rest of the time with a thick curtain (can't get a door to fit without a bespoke one being made).

Internal wall insulation and ripping up and filling the floor voids are possibly two other ways we could cut the fuel bill - but again we haven't the money to spend in order to reduce bills.

Bah humbug. Wish we'd done it all properly to start with instead of just slapping a coat of paint up and thinking it'll be ok