Oil Filled Radiator after £505 Gas Bill!

DebbieMum

I'm looking for advice.

In March we moved into this lovely RENTED 100 year old building, it has no double glazing and lots of large single glazed windows. There has been issues with the thermostat not working properly to the point we couldn't turn the heating down, some days it was as high as 25.5 degrees and I'd turn off the boiler to get the house to cool down. Problem has been reported to landlord, but thermostat still isn't working properly.

In December we received a shocking Gas Bill for £505 for just 3 months (we are with British Gas who fitted a new meter to the property in April 2012).

Does anyone know if I switched the heating off completely and only heat the room I work in (I work from home) with an Oil Filled Radiator, would we be using less electricity than we are gas? I.e. would it be cheaper to run one oil filled radiator than it would to have the heating on low?

We've asked for thermostat to be fixed.
The boiler heats water as needed (no immersion tank in the house) and according to the gas check the boiler is about 10-15yrs old and apparently it's not big enough for the size of house.

Advice would be appreciated, thank you.

closed

electricity is more expensive than gas per kwh, but it's cheaper to heat one room than a whole house. You could turn off the radiators in rooms not used (but always leave a couple on)

doesn't the CH have a timer?

DebbieMum

Hi Closed

Yes there is a timer, it's set for when my husband gets up at 5am to start work then to go off at 9pm. However I was thinking I could get it to go on at 5am until 8am (when I get 3 kids to school), then work in the one room with heater then put heating back on for when kids come back from school at 3.30pm until 9pm. It's an old building over shops, so it's large, old and airy. So I'm not sure if the Gas Bill is normal for this property or if the faulty thermostat has pushed up the gas bill.

good_advice

Hiya, you are on level with the average size house and winter 3 month bill of £530. Yours is not far out. Read it somewhere.

We have had the CH off for the last 7 days. No need for heating as the weather is so mild for January. You could do the same.
Have you a coal fire you could use?
I am also at home all day.

DebbieMum

Just to add, it's set to 20 degrees but I'm sat here wearing 3 layers of clothing with a fleece blanket over my legs to keep warm - hands are freezing!

Wywth

DebbieMum wrote: »

Just to add, it's set to 20 degrees but I'm sat here wearing 3 layers of clothing with a fleece blanket over my legs to keep warm - hands are freezing!

I think you should see a doctor

good_advice

I think it is to much sitting in one place, you need to move around and do a few choirs.
My house at the moment is 18.5C and I am fine.

dumbo

Instead of using the CH for your husband going to work, why dont you buy a timer for the oil filled radiator, I do this for my hubby & then he uses super ser in kitchen. You could also buy another oil filled radiator & timer & put in the other room you use. This saves using the CH so much, 5am to 9pm throughout the house seems too much. Just heat the rooms you use.

benjus

Do what you can to improve the situation with the windows - fit some draught strips, and maybe some "double glazing" plastic film.

Buy a thermostat yourself if the landlord is dragging their feet over fixing it. They are not expensive and are easy to fit (just cut the power to the boiler and connect the 2 wires). I'm in a rented property and bought a programmable thermostat for about £30 so that I can set different temperatures at different times. It's proved very handy.

How big is the property? I'm in a 150+ year old 2 bedroom conversion flat and spend an average of about £50 per month on gas (more in winter, less in summer).

DebbieMum

Wywth wrote: »

I think you should see a doctor

Sorry I didn't make myself clear, the property is huge, high ceilings, large rooms and desk is by one of these enormous sash windows. Hence the cold comes from the window but is really the only place I can have it as I share room with dining room table.

So unless you are moving all the time, ie not sat at computer, then rooms are never really warm. The themostat is way down the hall near the kitchen so I doubt very much it's 20 degrees in here LOL

DebbieMum

benjus wrote: »

Do what you can to improve the situation with the windows - fit some draught strips, and maybe some "double glazing" plastic film.

Buy a thermostat yourself if the landlord is dragging their feet over fixing it. They are not expensive and are easy to fit (just cut the power to the boiler and connect the 2 wires). I'm in a rented property and bought a programmable thermostat for about £30 so that I can set different temperatures at different times. It's proved very handy.

How big is the property? I'm in a 150+ year old 2 bedroom conversion flat and spend an average of about £50 per month on gas (more in winter, less in summer).

My goodness £50 a month is more reasonable. We are above shops, the property is huge (never thought about heating when we moved in) so there is a hallway on ground floor which is completely open to the 1st floor (our living area) and thermostat is positioned on in hallway at top of the stairs - it's always cold in hallway even through the summer as it has a stone floor, no sunlight and north facing. There are 5 rooms on the 1st floor and 3 massive bedrooms upstairs, so I think heating the whole place doesn't help and maybe the oil heater would be best option.