Gas bills

Tahiti

I'm after some guidance please.

I'm on an Energy Online scheme with Powergen, but I've just got my latest bill through. It's over £200 for 9 weeks gas usage.

The house is a 4 bed link detached with fairly new double glazing and loft insulation (aside from the hatch door which we will be doing shortly). We've only lived here for a short time, but I'm quite shocked by the costs.

The gas fires the central heating and hot water (traditional boiler rather than combi) and is on a timer to come on twice daily (for 90 mins in the morning and 5 hours in the evening), and the thermostat is never above 19 degrees.

Does it sound reasonable to have a £100 per month bill just for gas based on this usage? Any ideas of what could be going wrong or what we are doing wrong?

I would really appreciate any guidance that you could give.

Thanks!

Cardew

Firstly is either the initial meter reading for the bill or the final reading for the bill estimated?

Secondly although on the high side, £200 for 9 weeks in mid winter is certainly not excessive. Perhaps you could check with your neighbours and see what they use?

Double glazing does not have a huge effect on insulation, but loft insulation does if it is thick enough. I assume you have cavity insulation?

Also the effect of the setting of your thermostat will depend on where the thermostat is situated. Many have it in the hall and 19 degrees there usually means much higher temperatures in the lounge. To accurately control the temperature in your rooms you need Thermostatic Valves(TRV) on each radiator.

tanith

Tahiti it does seem high to me, but there are a couple of ways you can cut down... I used to have my heating/hot water set to come on for around the same times as you but have cut mine down quite a lot. The hot water is fine if its on for an hour in the morning and evening.. plenty for 3 people... and to be honest its been such a mild winter we hardly had the heating on in the evenings for most of December , so instead of having it on the timer in the evenings I turn it on manually if I feel the need ...... I have only had to have it on for 2 or 3 hrs in the evenings that its been cold enough....

I have a 2 bed semi so the house is much smaller but my power bills are £55 for gas and electric....

Tahiti

Thanks for the replies.

The readings are based on what I confirmed in December against what I confirmed in February so unless the meter's reading wrong, they're unfortunately correct.

I'm not techy but the temperature gauge is in the lounge rather than a hallway, and the house is never what you would call hot - it's just warm enough.

As for cavity wall insulation, I have no idea whether it's got it or not. Any ideas how I could find out?

Gal

What temperature is your hot water tank set for as well - Should be 60 degrees.

Does you water tank have a jacket for it as well?

As Cardew has mentioned about cavity wall insulation you might have a certficate if you bought the house with the documents, if your unsure you can call powergen and ask to speak to there energy efficency team who will advise you on how to reduce your heating costs (Cavity wall is part of that as well).

blackshaw

Hi Tahiti,

Just had our bill and I am frantic too...!! - 4 bed detached house, again fairly modern - and the bill for Gas only is £267.80 :eek: - the heating, the hot water and the hob in the kitchen are the only things we have run off gas.

I only switched provider in November (currently have Atlantic), but looking at changing again if I can to Powergen Online Extra Saver, or I could spend the winter months in Tenerife - that would save me a fortune :money:

dc

Your bill seems around average for winter, depending on when your house was built. eg. mine for a large 4/5 bed semi, built 1971 was £367 for last years quarter Nov/Feb (12 weeks) mainly due to certain family members tweaking stat up from 21 degrees, and an old inefficient cast iron boiler.
We had cavity insulation installed and this year the bill was £275. I know it has been milder, but when you take BGs price hikes into consideration, it virtually paid for itself.

If your house is around 20 years old or so, there will not be inbuilt cavity insulation. If it had been retro fitted, I would have expected a certificate/guarantee, saying it was, to have come with the sale. You can usually see if an older house has had it installed, because they externally drill 1" holes every metre or so in all directions, but quite cleverly match the mortar so in most cases you have to look closely.

Loft insulation should be at least 8". I dont think the hot water settings would have a great effect on the total bill. But again good insulation is the route to saving money.
You should not go by the price you pay, but by the units you use, as this winters prices have been the highest ever. Each house is different, and the differing bills are more to do with outsde temperature and lifestyle choices. ( occupancy and comfort). So start by keeping a daily eye on your meter, and how fast the little dial goes round.

PS Leccy used to be an old penny a KWh now it is around 2 shillings, that is 24 times as much.;)

Tahiti

Gal wrote:

What temperature is your hot water tank set for as well - Should be 60 degrees.

Does you water tank have a jacket for it as well?

As Cardew has mentioned about cavity wall insulation you might have a certficate if you bought the house with the documents, if your unsure you can call powergen and ask to speak to there energy efficency team who will advise you on how to reduce your heating costs (Cavity wall is part of that as well).

Reference temperature settings, I really don't know. How can I find out? The water tank has a jacket, but the problem with the hot water is that the "control box" for the heating automatically turns the water heating on at the same time as the central heating. If you try to switch it off, it turns the heating off too

On the basis that we don't have a certificate, a call to Powergen it is. Thanks for the guidance!

blackshaw wrote:

Hi Tahiti,

Just had our bill and I am frantic too...!! - 4 bed detached house, again fairly modern - and the bill for Gas only is £267.80 :eek: - the heating, the hot water and the hob in the kitchen are the only things we have run off gas.

I only switched provider in November (currently have Atlantic), but looking at changing again if I can to Powergen Online Extra Saver, or I could spend the winter months in Tenerife - that would save me a fortune :money:

Blimey! I guess I'm getting a reality check here. Thanks!!

dc wrote:

Your bill seems around average for winter, depending on when your house was built. eg. mine for a large 4/5 bed semi, built 1971 was £367 for last years quarter Nov/Feb (12 weeks) mainly due to certain family members tweaking stat up from 21 degrees, and an old inefficient cast iron boiler.
We had cavity insulation installed and this year the bill was £275. I know it has been milder, but when you take BGs price hikes into consideration, it virtually paid for itself.

If your house is around 20 years old or so, there will not be inbuilt cavity insulation. If it had been retro fitted, I would have expected a certificate/guarantee, saying it was, to have come with the sale. You can usually see if an older house has had it installed, because they externally drill 1" holes every metre or so in all directions, but quite cleverly match the mortar so in most cases you have to look closely.

Loft insulation should be at least 8". I dont think the hot water settings would have a great effect on the total bill. But again good insulation is the route to saving money.
You should not go by the price you pay, but by the units you use, as this winters prices have been the highest ever. Each house is different, and the differing bills are more to do with outsde temperature and lifestyle choices. ( occupancy and comfort). So start by keeping a daily eye on your meter, and how fast the little dial goes round.

PS Leccy used to be an old penny a KWh now it is around 2 shillings, that is 24 times as much.;)

Thanks for the tips. The loft insulation is about 6" thick. Your last comment made me smile!

So in summary, I need to get over my tightfisted nature, and accept that it's reality. Then I need to check out cavity wall insulation as the next step. Thanks! I was just hoping the meter was reading wrong :rotfl:

Gal

Tahiti wrote:

Reference temperature settings, I really don't know. How can I find out? The water tank has a jacket, but the problem with the hot water is that the "control box" for the heating automatically turns the water heating on at the same time as the central heating. If you try to switch it off, it turns the heating off too

On the basis that we don't have a certificate, a call to Powergen it is. Thanks for the guidance!

Should be a thermostat on your hot water tank. - The programmer just controls the times that your water and heating come on.

Any Problems the EE team at powergen can go more in depth for you.;)

Tahiti

Thanks for the help.

greyteam1959

Reference temperature settings, I really don't know. How can I find out? The water tank has a jacket, but the problem with the hot water is that the "control box" for the heating automatically turns the water heating on at the same time as the central heating. If you try to switch it off, it turns the heating off too

Hi
If you move the tank jacket to one side slightly and look at the copper cylinder about halfway down usually at the front you should see a 2 inch square box strapped to the tank.There will be a little dial on this with some temperature settings on it.Have a look at what it is set at should be around 60 or so if not adjust it.Water as it come out of hot tap should be hot but not scalding.
Make sure that the strap if there is one is tight if not it will give a false reading.
Answer to second point......you have to have hot water for heating you cant just have heating.