Hot water bill - why so high?

stateofplay

After a couple of fairly high gas/electric bills over the winter months, me and my partner have switched the central heating completely off. We use the boiler for heating the water for apx 1 hour per day and then switch off manually. We presumed this would result in a significant reduction to our bill, instead our bill for the last month has actually risen!

Apologies if this is a stupid question, but can anyone help to explain why this would be happening? I has presumed only heating water for a short period each day and shutting off the central heating all-together would lead to much reduced bills!

Also are there any tips regarding saving money on water heating? i.e. would it be more economical to heat for a number of hours, a couple of times a week, rather than daily?

(by the way we are living in a new build house which uses a new energy saving condensing ch boiler)

Thanks in advance!:)

closed

bill has risen, but has the (actual) usage - post the numbers based on actual readings and dates and check the meter and bill are both in the same units, ie imperial or metric

1 hour a day should be around 50p/day depending on tarrif.

is there a hot water tank, or is hot water heated on demand.

penrhyn

Have you got a thermostat on your water tank, if so what is it set to.

Whats stopping you from programming the hot water to come on for a couple of hours twice a day?
You can always check your weekly usage by taking a couple of meter readings and converting the volume of gas used to Kwh.

Wywth

stateofplay wrote: »

After a couple of fairly high gas/electric bills over the winter months, me and my partner have switched the central heating completely off. We use the boiler for heating the water for apx 1 hour per day and then switch off manually. We presumed this would result in a significant reduction to our bill, instead our bill for the last month has actually risen!

Apologies if this is a stupid question, but can anyone help to explain why this would be happening? I has presumed only heating water for a short period each day and shutting off the central heating all-together would lead to much reduced bills!

Also are there any tips regarding saving money on water heating? i.e. would it be more economical to heat for a number of hours, a couple of times a week, rather than daily?

(by the way we are living in a new build house which uses a new energy saving condensing ch boiler)

Thanks in advance!:)

The only reasons you have a higher bill this time could be that (a) you have been billed for more usage or (b) because the tariff has increased in price.

Any tariff price increase would be small in comparison, so you must have been billed for more consumption.

How do the meter readings you have been billed against compare to the actual ones on your meter at the time?
(i.e. are any meter readings estimates? If so, how do you expect the supplier to know you have changed your normal consumption if you've not told them?)

stateofplay

Thanks for all of your replies!

The figures have all been based on my reading of the outside meter. The only control for temperature is on the timer below the boiler, which only appears to allow temperature adjustment for central heating - which if off! Oh and the tariff is capped until Jan 14, so that should not be an issue..

My bill for the last 17 days - in which no central heating has been used and hot water only 1 hour daily - was £65 . That was based on 100khw electric and 1392khw gas.

It all just seems very strange that my bill has not dropped since the heating has been switched off??

penrhyn

Are you sure you are reading your meter properly. There is no way you could use all that gas running the boiler for a couple of hours each day .

Assuming a 30Kwh boiler, 2 hours / day for 17 days = 1020 Kwh.

That would mean the boiler is running flat out during all that time which seems unlikely.

You do have a hot water tank? Is it insulated, there should be a thermostat on it.

What is the make and model of your boiler?

stateofplay

It's the Potterton Promax SL.
Have double checked the meter reading and looked for a thermostat without any luck!

We are actually switching off the boiler once the water is heated.. Is it better practice to leave on continuously but just control its operation through the timer?

penrhyn

You have examined your hot water tank for a thermostat. They are usually mounted about halfway up...?

stateofplay

There is definitely no thermostat on the boiler but I am presuming the electronic timer acts as this? It is just that this only allows me to vary temperature for central heating..

(The immersion heater upstairs does - but again this is off)

closed

is your bill and meter in the same units, metric or imperial

the hot water cylinder, does it have a thermostat strapped to the outside, set at 60?

penrhyn

For the third time its on the tank!!!!.