High gas usage

WORRIED_MAN_2

Moved into a new home 5wks ago. First 18 days gas bill £149/63 cubic metres used. Next 18 days 150 cubic used. no smell of gas, 4hrs average use. What could be wrong?

macman

Where did you get those bill figures from? 63 cu m is approx 716kWh. At 4p per kWh, that would cost you about £28, plus a daily standing charge if on an SC tariff.
So where does £150 come from?
40kWh per day average in winter with the heating on is hardly high consumption. It's less than the typical UK property uses on an all year round average: i.e. with the heating off for 6m of the year. Your usage has presumably doubled in the last 18 days because it's got very much colder, but it's still not unduly high. About 94kWh per day, or £3.80.
You can expect to use 80% of your annual gas total in the coldest 2 months.

jalexa

macman wrote: »

You can expect to use 80% of your annual gas total in the coldest 2 months.

Yikes:eek:. Are you behind the dodgy Edf DD calculations? The industry "Standard Profile" predicts 27.4% for the two highest consumption months combined (Jan & Feb).

daveyjp

The amount of gas used in that four hours depends on how large the house is and the thermostat setting.

macman

jalexa wrote: »

Yikes:eek:. Are you behind the dodgy Edf DD calculations? The industry "Standard Profile" predicts 27.4% for the two highest consumption months combined (Jan & Feb).

I think that the statistic I was grasping for was 80% of your heating costs over the coldest 2 months. Not gas usage such as cooking and hot water, that should not have too much seasonal variation.
The standard profile you quote sounds to me far too low, purely based on personal experience of winter quarter usage

macman

PS: after a PM it transpires that the OP is talking about a bill for LPG, not mains gas. Which makes his figure rather more believable.

jalexa

macman wrote: »

The standard profile you quote sounds to me far too low, purely based on personal experience of winter quarter usage

Maybe but it is the industry standard profile and is what is used by suppliers who are open about it (e.g. OVO and E.ON). The highest to lowest month ratio is 5.75:1 so there is no doubt the profile reflects heating.

It's a hard enough job policing supplier's direct debit calculations using the official data. If individuals want to argue that 80% over 2 months applies, then fine, but an unintended consequence might be even more extreme "payment shock" than some suppliers currently demonstrate.