Gas Consumption: Does it sound right?

ShilliamB

Morning All,

I've just received my latest Gas bill and was wondering whether my recent consumption sounds right?

In the past 15 weeks my gas consumption has been a little over 24,000 kwh which means my bill is going to be around £650 for this period (I'm with Powergen on their EnergyOnline tariff).

I worked this out by using my current meter reading (taken by myself) and my last actual meter reading (also taken by myself). I then used the formula on my bill to work out the number of kwh used.

Even though the last 15 weeks covers the winter period 24,000 kwh seems REALLY high to me. Especially as I paid out to have my loft reinsulated and cavity wall insulation put in at the start of November last year (before my last actual meter reading was taken). Unfortunately most of my bills for the previous winter were estimated so it is difficult to compare the same period this year against last year.

Is it helps I live in a 3 bed detached house (built in 1960's) with my wife and 2 children. Gas is used to heat the house and also to cook. The heating/hot water is on from 0700-2230 7 days a week (because my wife & kids are at home everyday). We have a room thermostat to regulate the bolier and this is set at 23 degrees (but it is situated next to the back door so that doesn't reflect the general warmth of the house). The temperature gauge on the boiler is set halfway between Min & Max and the boiler itself is probably about 15 years old.

So...based on the above does 24,000 kwh seem abnormally high for a 15 week period? Do you think my Gas meter (which is 18 months old) could be faulty and I should get it checked out?

Any help/comments would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

Ben

f107btx

Is your meter imperial or metric?It seems to be an imperial meter calculation.You said your meter was changed 18 months ago.If it changed from imperial to metric divide by 2.83.

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.

Yes it does seem very high, but then the way you operate your system makes that inevitable.

A room thermostat set to 23C near the back door probably means that it is always demanding heat from the boiler. Your other rooms must be way above that temperature.

You really need to get thermostatic valves on your radiators which you turn down on the rooms not in use.

An old boiler is probably less efficient and your timings could be cut back.

However the real problem is that if your wife and children get used to the house at very high temperatures, and won't tolerate lower temperatures, then you are going to always have huge heating bills. There is nothing wrong with getting them to wear sweaters during the day.

ShilliamB

f107btx wrote:

Is your meter imperial or metric?It seems to be an imperial meter calculation.You said your meter was changed 18 months ago.If it changed from imperial to metric divide by 2.83.

...I think this could be it because looking at my gas bill they are calculating the volume I use in hcf whereas my new(ish) meter is metric (m3).

Spoke to Powergen and they are going to call me back on Monday to see if my bills are wrong. I think I should be due a refund for overpaying for the past 18 months.

espresso

Use this page to check your kWh conversion and then calculate the cost based on your unit price.

ShilliamB

Thanks for all the responses. I dug out my old Gas bills, fired up Excel and I reckon I've made a total overpayment to the region of £700.

I also worked out that my current annual kwh gas consumption is around 24,000 although I do suspect this will drop this year due to the aforementioned insulation work. I will also look into the suggestions Cardew put forward.

I'll let you know how I get on with Powergen. As well as trying to claim back the overpayment maybe I can try to get some compensation too (here's hoping!)