Is this usage about right?

c-m

I'm just looking for a sense check really on gas usage/cost.

Details are as follows:

2 Sharing
Large 2-bed flat on 3 floors
Gas hobs (used ever other day)
Gas heating/water
2 showers a day
heating on for 6-8hrs a day

Quarterly usage (if agents initial reading is correct) - 9576khw

Total cost is estimated at £425

Compare that electricity usage:

Small over used 3-4 times a day
3 PCs never turned off
The usual hair dryer/straighteners used 3 times a day
Lights in multiple rooms 5 hrs a day

Quarterly usage 824Kwh - estimated cost £126

So taking all that into account, does that gas usage seem about right, or is it on the high-side?

Thanks

Yolina

I guess it does look reasonable given that you seem to have a lot of stuff on (particularly heating!) what about TV, washing machine etc... It does look like there's scope to reduce your usage if you're after smaller bills

There's just little me in my 2-bed flat (960sq ft) and my annual use is 6200kwh gas (7700kwh during a "cold winter" year) and 1500kwh electricity - I'm pretty much in all day and have a 20+ year old boiler, 20+ year old double glazing, I also haven't really got anyone on the sides (I'm only sharing the wall in my hallway) so mostly external walls and only have another flat above about a third of mine, the rest is roof... Having said that, I'm obviously rather careful with what I use - it's not really a question of money, I could afford to use far more, but I can't really see the point of doing so

c-m

Fair enough just looking for a sounding board really. I've not had such high gas usage before, but the new place is pretty large with single glazed sash Windows and 12ft ceilings. Add to that the cold snap.

I'll just have to keep an eye on it it seems.

Yolina

High ceilings + single glazing + probably not much (if any) insulation = ouch gas bill I used to live in a flat like that about 15 years ago and it was nigh on impossible to keep the place warm, heat would simply disappear just about as fast as the boiler created it...

c-m

My last place, had low ceilings and was small but had triple aspect single glazed windows. When the wind blew it would blow items off my shelves. I thought that was bad, but even though I have the gas on all the time it was just around £40 a month.

This place is odd. There doesn't appear to be any thermostat. You set the temperature of the water and the radiators and that's it. I've no idea how it knows when to heat up or cool down while its turned on.

Yolina

I haven't got a thermostat either...the TRVs control the temperature in each room just fine you could just get some cheap thermometers so that you can adjust the rad valves to give you the temp you want in each room.

High ceilings obviously mean a much lager volume to heat and because hot air rises it takes quite a bit more energy for the bottom part to reach a given temperature than in a place with lower ceilings.

c-m

It's a Siemens system, with twisty knobs on each radiator, I guess that somehow controls the temp.

I've changed to npower bill saver, which was borderline cheapest for my usage. Saving should be £380 ;-)

Just need to change the electricity now, BG, Sainsburys and EDF all seem to do credit record checks and I don't want anymore searches on my record right now.

sm9ai

You really need a room thermostat.

TRV work great, but really should be used with a room theromostat otherwise you will have one radiator on constantly (and hence the boiler). As you cannot have TRV on every radiator.

There are lots of different types of room thermostats, I use an Internet one, easily the best!

But also look at insulation, there are plenty of grants available and also turning down the TRVs on rooms that you don't use as much.

c-m

I'm in a rented flat, so there is nothing I can do re having the heating setup on a thermostat. Nor can I get involved in insulation.

The radiators are siemens and can be turned from 1-6, they are set differently depending on their location. In the bedroom for example that is over a celler, the radiator is on 6. In bathroom, it's just on 3.

The boiler is by Volker. Heating comes on from 7-9 and from 5-10, there are two knobs to change the water and radiator temperature, and a digial temp readout, which tends to vary from 35c when you initially tunr the tap on, to 67c.

sm9ai

Thats a shame - you could always ask for one. But I have lived in rental before and I know how difficult it can be to get things like this done.

If you look at the radiators you will find one that doesn't have a dial on it. Probably in the bathroom, this is because using the system you have one radiator must remain on permantly.

Also having them on max means they will never turn off.

Also bear in mind, they do not control the temperature of the radiator. Just whether it is on or off. If the room is cold, setting it to 3 will initially produce just as much heat as if it was set to 6. Only when it reaches the temperature for 3(say 20 degrees) it will switch off, where as if it is set to 6 then it will keep going even if the room is 30 degrees.

c-m

Ah never knew that.

I will have to check them all tonight. I've never come across this type of system before.