Stupidly high gas usage

SandA

Hello

I have had a good look at my bills the last few months and realised my gas usage is stupidly high. We live in a 2 bed terrace, 3 of us (OH and 8 month old), use bath and shower (apparently the shower is gas?), gas hob and gas oven (although we have invested in a halogen oven this month so use that instead most of the time) and our gas bill is £110 per month!

We barely have the heating on, perhaps we did over Christmas, however in the last month we have had it on maybe 3-4 hours per day. Does this seem normal?

I also noticed that before we moved in, between June-Aug, we only came occasionally at the weekends, and used the hot water and maybe put the heating on for an hour or so occasionally, not much at all. But the gas charge for that was £60. I think this is abit high considering the very little gas we used.

May I also add, we go away probably 1 weekend in each month, so the heating is completely off during this time.

So I really need advise on how to get this down. I currently pay £80 per month and I owe them around £180. I can't really afford to put up my direct debit but will happily keep it at this rate through summer to pay of some outstanding debit.

I have a combi boiler and I was advised to keep the hot water on all the time because it would cost more to re-heat it everytime I needed to wash the pots / have a shower etc, is that true?

I haven't seen any difference in not using the oven unfortunately, however it can't be any more expensive then my oven which takes 2x the amount of time to cook food then required, its rubbish.

Thanks

victor2

Firstly, look at your bills and check if readings used are actual or estimates. The bill will indicate, usually next to the reading.
Then look at your usage in kWh, not the cost. It is ultimately the cost you are concerned about of course, but that can be influenced by previous debit balances, seasonal variances, and a host of other things.
If you have a combi boiler, it provides hot water on demand, as you turn the tap on, and not from a separate hot water tank. If you have, and are using, a hot water tank, you don't have a combi boiler.
Unless you have an electric shower, it will be using water heated by the gas boiler.
If the bills or statements from your utility company show annual usage of gas and electricity in kWh, then that is a good starting point to identify if your usage is reasonable.

macman

Post your actual kWh usage. Your DD levels tell us nothing about your actual usage.
As above, you don't have a combi if you have a hot water tank. And the advice you have given is entirely wrong. The longer you leave it on, the more it will cost you. Do you leave your kettle boiling 24/7 in case you want a cup of tea? No.
If your usage is £110 per month but your DD only £80, then you are building debt at the rate of £30 pm, on top of the existing £180 debt. With debt already present, you need to pay more than your actual monthly usage to reduce the debt. If you don't address that issue, then at the next read you will receive a big catch-up bill and your DD will soar.

SandA

I have an energy tracker I have just found on my eon account.

My average usage per day this month is:

75.34kwh

Electricity is 7.07khw


Does this sound reasonable?

According to the tracker, I have used more this month then any other, which I struggle to believe. I put the heating on for 3 hours a day.

My OH does sometimes come in from work and put it on for another couple of hours, although this isn't everyday.

He uses the shower for 5 mins a day, I have a bath. I suppose I have made a habit out of using only hot water in my baths, and emptying it abit, adding more hot water etc. Suppose this is where the high usage is from? But would it cause such a high amount of gas to run a bath like that?

Edit: Btw, I don't have a water tank, I just have the option to keep the hot water on all day by the boiler, would it be wise to continue like this, or turn it off when not in use? Also, my father is an electrician and advised me that if I turn the boiler off and on (I have a button on the wall in my kitchen) it would cause something to go wrong with the boiler?

Thank you

macman

Post your annual kWh figures, one month's usage in winter isn't really telling us anything, as it's been a very cold period. But those figures are not particularly high for the winter, about £3 a day for gas and £0.84 for electricity. So around £120 per month-close to your £110 estimate. Once spring comes, your gas consumption will plummet. So I don't think your billing is particularly high, once you sort out the debt.
To repeat, a combi only heats the hot water on demand when you turn the hot tap. No water is stored in the boiler, unless you have one of the modern combi's with a small hot water reserve. In which case switch of the storage function, as it costs you money. Make and model of your boiler?
The other factor you haven't mentioned is insulation. Loft insulation, CWI, double glazing?
PS: a halogen oven will cost approx 3 times more to run per kWh than your older gas oven, though it is more efficient.

SandA

Gas (average per day)
Sept: 12.34kwh
Oct: 39.97kwh
Nov: 57.12kwh
Dec: 66.90kwh
Jan: 69.08kwh
Feb: 75.35kwh

Electricity:
Sept: 8.27kwh
Oct: 7.83kwh
Nov: 7.93kwh
Dec: 8.66kwh
Jan: 9.35kwh
Feb: 7.05kwh

SandA

macman wrote: »

Post your annual kWh figures, one month's usage in winter isn't really telling us anything, as it's been a very cold period. But those figures are not particularly high for the winter, about £3 a day for gas and £0.84 for electricity. So around £120 per month-close to your £110 estimate. Once spring comes, your gas consumption will plummet.
To repeat, a combi only heats the hot water on demand when you turn the hot tap, no water is stored in the boiler, unless you have one of the modern combi's with a small hot water reserve. Make and model of your boiler?

I have only lived here since August, I have posted all my figures above.

I'll go check my boiler now, one mo

Edit: Cant find a model number but the boiler is 'Mains, Combi Eco'.. The only number I can see is 47-46-70-1, not sure if it is relevant at all.

It just seems high for what we use. This is my first home, perhaps I have just been niave about my usage.

victor2

Your usage looks reasonable.
Unless your combi has a pilot light and/or a reservoir, there is no problem (or cost) leaving it on for hot water continuously. All you'll wear out by switching it on and off as required is probably the switch itself though.
February was particularly cold, so your boiler has had to work harder.
Showers are generally considered to require less hot water than a bath. If you want to compare the cost, read your gas meter before and after a shower and bath (on similar days weather-wise), make sure nothing else is using gas and that the heating is off, and convert what the meter shows to kWh, then cost. I doubt if you'll see a huge difference.

Lovelyjoolz

I think that your useage does seem high. And it's odd that your useage seems to be going up every month - what are you doing different now as opposed to December which could explain the 12% increase in useage?

I live in a 1930's detached bungalow, so we don't get the benefit of warmth from houses either side like you do in a terrace. Hence, my heating is on for a minimum of 6 hours every day. More at the weekend because I'm a cold soul . Both OH and I like long hot daily showers which are fueled by the boiler. I can be in the shower for 30 minutes at a time because my very long hair takes ages to wash. My main oven is electric (bloody terrible thing!) but my hob is gas and there's always something simmering away on it.

My average useage in the same period as you (Aug-Feb) is 18.3 Kwh per day. That's less than a quarter of what you're using!!!

If your bills are showing actual, rather than estimated readings, I would be looking to get the meter tested.

Cardew

In the 6 coldest months of the year you have used approx 9,650kWh gas so below average - the average is 16,500kWh pa.

Electricty use is approx 1,480 for 6 months, so again below average which is 3,300kWh pa.

SandA

I have told OH that we are making major changes because each month my outstanding balance is creeping up.

I do have a feeling my baths have done this, this is something I have started to do recently, I probably run the bath of pure hot water for 40 mins a night, which can't be good. I will opt for showers instead. Have also dropped a degree in the morning (it was set at 19 for 2 hours while OH got up for work), if i do not see a difference in the next month, I will get my meter tested. How would I do that?

Thanks