Gas usage sky high

GemBlueTopaz1984

Hi,

This question is being asked on behalf of my grandmother. She lives in a bungalow that has 10 radiators the combi boiler only services these radiators and hot water and a gas hob (not the shower as this is electric). She lives with her father so there is only 2 in the house. Her as usage last year was 29500 kwh she has a cubic m gas meter. This seems extremely high to me, she said she doesn't really use the radiators in the summer and maybe 6-8 hours a day in winter. I checked her reading from the 25th of nov to the 20 dec she had used almost 4000kwh. Is that even possible. All her readings were actual readings so the usage is correct, it just seems excessive. Am I wrong to think this? Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Gem

victor2

Yes it is possible, with two elderly people presumably in the house most of the day, and December was quite cold.
It must be a fairly big bungalow to have 10 radiators. Maybe the heating bill could be reduced by turning radiators down in little used rooms. Could be worth getting TRVs fitted to the radiators if they don't already have them as well.

good_advice

Hiya, old people feel the cold more and I would think they have the heating set at a high temp. all day long.

Second suggestion - check they are on the cheapest tariff by going on the comparison sites.

chanz4

are they also doubles

brewerdave

Perfectly possible - I looked at my usage over the same period approximately - we used 2500kwh and the heating was on for ~6 hours per day

macman

With 10 rads, I'm guessing that this is a 3 or 4 bed property-so can they not turn off (or turn down) the rads in the rooms that are not used? Fit a proper digital programmer (about £60) to enable more precise control, plus TRV's if necessary.
What about insulation? A bungalow has great roof area than a house, so the heat loss is relatively higher. Cavity wall and loft insulation are musts and not expensive, also double glazing if not already fitted?