At my wits end over my gas consumption

MillicentBystander

Apologies if I have missed an explanation but why do you need the hot water on for even 6.5 hours a day?

closed

2 imperial units in coldish weather sound about right, a quarter of that will be water heating, should come down to less than half a unit per day as it gets warmer, does depend on size of house/radiators/insulation/thermostat settings and outdoor temp.

Changing the thermostat from 16 to 24 is going to the other end of the spectrum, 20 is enough for most people. It should be whatever you find to be a comfortable temp, not plucked out of the air. If you're setting that high because it seems cold when the heating goes off after 5 hours, set it to 20 and have it on longer.

1 hour or less of water heating (using about 0.35-0.45 of a unit to get a tank upto 60 degrees C) should be enough unless you are running baths all day, if you have a tank thermostat, most of that 6.5 hours it won't be heating the water as it will be upto temp, so reducing the timings probably won't save a great deal, but will save something.

take readings hourly, and you'll see what uses what.

notanewuser

Housework*Fairy wrote: »

I've read the meter again today. It was last read on 11th April at 7041. Today it is 7055 so I have used 14 units in a week (average 2 per day).

Just to recap: Hot water is on for 6.5 hours a day now (was on constant)
Heating is on for 5 hours a day now set to 24 (was on constant at 16-18).
And we've used the gas hob for a couple of those days to boil spuds.

Does this sound right? Cos it still looks a bit high to me.

At the date the meter was read (11th April) I had used an average of 3.5 units per day from January when the heating was on all day every day....To say I have cut down on heating by 19 hours per day, and water by the same I haven't even halved the gas useage....

(PS - the boiler has stayed on so it hasn't been going off like it had been in January).

But your heating wasn't using gas 24/7 - only when the temperature dipped below what you'd set.

I don't know why you've kept your hot water on for 6.5 hours either - how many tanks of water do you need per day?

MillicentBystander

If you are heating your water up to a temperature so high that you need to cool it down with cold water to use it (for a bath, washing your face/hands, the dirty dishes etc) then you are wasting fuel. Simple as that, really...

paulmapp8306

DUTR wrote: »

Don't like the look of the standing charge rubbish, £5.40 per month for leccy and £7.50 for gas?
Have you plugged the consumption figures into a comparison site? As when I put my consumption figures in EDF doesn't feature on the 1st page or two.

My standing charges are 36p for electric and 38p for gas per day. However my unit prices are 10.3p electric and 3.4p gas.

I dont like standing charges - however when I switched in August it was the cheapest tariff for my annual usage despite the charges according to all the calculators. Actually I think there wrong, after monitoring what I have actually used. What I need is an electric tariff with no standing charge (as I have panels on the roof now and use my appliances around whats being generated) and a gas tariff with standing charges (as my heating/water and shower is run from the gas so I use a lot even in the summer).

At least I think so - I may be better off with no standing charges at all come switch time (October). Im monitoring my usage on an almost daily basis so I have really good figures to do the next comparison and wont rely on comparison sites. Ill use them to find the top 2/3 tariffs for each energy type both with and without standing charges, then do the in depth sums myself.

macman

Housework*Fairy wrote: »

I've read the meter again today. It was last read on 11th April at 7041. Today it is 7055 so I have used 14 units in a week (average 2 per day).

Just to recap: Hot water is on for 6.5 hours a day now (was on constant)
Heating is on for 5 hours a day now set to 24 (was on constant at 16-18).
And we've used the gas hob for a couple of those days to boil spuds.

Does this sound right? Cos it still looks a bit high to me.

At the date the meter was read (11th April) I had used an average of 3.5 units per day from January when the heating was on all day every day....To say I have cut down on heating by 19 hours per day, and water by the same I haven't even halved the gas useage....

(PS - the boiler has stayed on so it hasn't been going off like it had been in January).

Why? 24C is absurdly high. 19C-21C is right for most people. Each degreee you go up will add approx 10% to your heating bills. And have you sorted out the faulty thermocouple and adjusted the tank stat setting back to around 60C yet?

paulmapp8306

MillicentBystander wrote: »

Apologies if I have missed an explanation but why do you need the hot water on for even 6.5 hours a day?

Agreed, it does seem a lot.

I have mine on for 4-5 BUT thats because I only have 2 time periods available per day at present. As our shower is from the water tank not electric, I need to make sure we have a tank full in the morning, and another in the evening for kids baths/showers while still needing some in the day. I therefore have to have the heating on from 1 hour before we get up, until 1 hour after we have had showers (so 3 hours or so - 4 at the weekend when we dont know when well be up for showers) and then again mid afternoon for the kids.

If I had 3 times zones Id have it on 3 hours per day. Ultimately tanks take from 45 mins to 90 mins (depending on age/type) to be refilled/heated - BUT it its on a stat, it wont cost anything/much if you dont use the water even if you have the water on permanently. Tanks keep heat well - in fact modern ones hold usable heat for up to 48 hours.

paulmapp8306

macman wrote: »

Why? 24C is absurdly high. 19C-21C is right for most people. Each degreee you go up will add approx 10% to your heating bills. And have you sorted out the faulty thermocouple and adjusted the tank stat setting back to around 60C yet?

Again agreed. We like to be warm, and 21-22 is ideal good for us, but I turn it down to 20-21 as it saves quite a bit and the drop isnt that noticeable unless its really cold outside.

paulmapp8306

Oh - make sure your boiler is turned up FULL. Mine was on around 4 out of 8 when I moved into the house and I hadn't checked. After speaking to a heating engineer, its a false economy. You use more gas because although your not heating the water up as hot - you heating it longer to get the tank and rooms up to temp. Much more efficient to have the boiler up full, and let the tank and room stats tell it when to come on/off.

While you will use twice as much gas per minute when the boiler is on, it will only be on around 25% to 35% as long, and could save between 25% and 50% gas usage.

dogshome

Hi Housework*fairy
What is the history of your boiler?
I ask because there have been threads about unexplained high gas useage, where the problem was eventually traced to a boiler change, but the existing gas pipework in the house wasn't of a big enough guage to supply the new boiler.
This resulted in the boiler constantly cycling On/Off and consuming an awful lot of gas