Is my annual useage High?

becksfaz

Last winter I joined MSE due to a huge gas bill in a new house we'd moved into.
I've now lived in this house a year and therefore have my annual useage - 26474kwh for gas and 3922kwh for electric..... Am I a high user?
I live in a (largeish) 4 bed semi (5 if you include the office) and there are 4 of us that live here. I only work part time (3 evenings/nights) so heating on all day (stat controlled). Any feedback appreciated. Thanks.

yangptangkipperbang

http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Media/FactSheets/Documents1/domestic%20energy%20consump%20fig%20FS.pdf

becksfaz

Jesus my gas is massive compared to this!!!! I can't do anything else to reduce my bills... No more ideas on how to bring it down.

Cardew

becksfaz wrote: »

Jesus my gas is massive compared to this!!!! I can't do anything else to reduce my bills... No more ideas on how to bring it down.

Obviously your gas is higher than average. However your 4/5 bed house is bigger than average.

You are home all day and heating is what uses most gas.

Do the 4 occupants bath or shower?

Cooking?

How old is boiler?

becksfaz

Me and Hubby always shower. The kids do both bath/shower. They are 4 and 10 months and so only a few inch of water in the bath. If my 4 year old wants a shower, he gets in with me or his Dad and if we fancy a bath, we usually put a tad more water in and get in the kids or allow them to use our water after (to save energy/water).
I do most of my cooking on the hob. I was under the impression it was cheaper to cook on gas hob than use electric oven(?)
We didn't install the boiler but when a gas engineer did service last year they dated it at 10 years old. Not efficient I'm guessing?
Last year I did have the heating on a lot (Sept - Dec) until my very big bill, but trying to do things different this year.
I've joined the 'put a jumper on club' and at the moment have only put the heating on when we need it (at the boiler) rather than having it on 'constant' or 'on timer'.
Our stat is in a large hall (no windows/natural light) and it would have a field day even in summer.
We have had some coolish evenings/mornings over last few weeks and have only flicked heating on one evening for 1 hour in total (which was Saturday when I felt unwell) so quite proud of myself so far!
I've made notes of the exact dates I took last year's meter readings so I can compare exactly for this year (though obviously aware outside temperature etc won't make my comparison like for like). I currently take weekly readings and record them on my calendar.
Any other tips or am I doing all I can?

Yorkie1

What sort of insulation do you have in your loft / walls / underfloor? Draughtproofing?

closed

Heating on all day, and all night?

One stat in one room, or trv's, and what are they set to.

For the last year, which has been mild, it's (gas) high.

becksfaz

Landlord installed cavity and loft installation but only upstairs (walls). Nothing downstairs. Don't know about underfloor. Don't know what you mean by draughtproofing? (Sorry)

The heating did start off by been on all day and all night (wronged advice) but then we just went to having it on through the day (6.30am-8.30pm).
We have a main stat in the hall which is set to 18.
We have TRVs on some rads but not on others. Bedroom TRVs are set to between 2-3. The lounge TRVs (2 rads) are at 4. No other rads have TRVs (which is a total of 9 rads without). I asked the landlord last winter whether he would install TRVs on other rads and he said no.

Right now, my hall stat reads 15. Lounge, playroom and 2 front bedrooms are at an OK temp as the sun has heated it up through the windows. My little girls room, however, at the back of the house is currently 13 and feels cold! Is it worth investing in a small oil rad for her? How costly are they to run? She is only 10 months and 13 is cool. I don't want to put heating on cos other areas are fine.

closed

you could turn down the rads in rarely/unused rooms manually, either completely off or down to a trickle, but always leave a couple fully open to avoid damaging the pump. Make sure they are all bled.

Draughtproofing is strips of foam on windows/brushes on letterboxes, to stop wind getting in. Not really needed on newer windows.

Ask landlord again, it's an investment.

becksfaz

Thanks Closed. We don't have office rad on as it's our, erm, junk room really. All other rooms we use. I have the playroom and kids bedrooms open to about half. One rad in our bedroom off (we have 2) and kitchen and downstairs toilet rad only open half too.
All the windows are double glazed so they will be pretty draughtproof I expect. Yes door has the brushes on too.
There's is no way he will do it. He is really tight! To be fair, it's of no benefit to him really so I knew it was a long shot when I asked last year.

Cardew

closed wrote: »

you could turn down the rads in rarely/unused rooms manually, either completely off or down to a trickle, but always leave a couple fully open to avoid damaging the pump.

Turning down rads to a trickle will not affect the temperature of the room - except initially when switching on. The water will go into the rad at whatever temperature the water is from the boiler. If that water is, say, 70C then the water in that radiator will be at 70C just the same as if the control was fully open.

That is the whole purpose of fitting TRVs so the air temperature in the room controls the flow of water through the radiator.