Overly high gas meter reading compared to useage

rallylass

Hello,
I am hoping someone can offer me some advice.

I live in a 1 bed flat (bedroom, living room, bathroom and kitchen) and I have got a combi boiler. I use gas for cooking, heating and hot water. I am only in my flat most evenings and some weekends.

I have recently had my monthly payments for gas and electricity increase from £54 to £117. This was because my account for fuel use was still in debit even after the summer. So I looked into it further, checked that the bill was done on actual readings rather than estimates, and it was. I then checked that the readings were correct to what I had record of, and they were.

I then took my bill and usage chart to my dad, to ask for advice...
The electricity use is fine, the problem lies with the gas. It is ridiculously high. When my dad compared my gas usage with his it was practically the same for the same time period. However...
My mum and dad live in a 4 bed detached house with a combi boiler. They use gas for heating, hot water and cooking. They are both retired and they are at home most of the day so the heating is on as needed (quite a lot as my mum feels the cold). They both have showers in the morning and often dad will have another in the evening after a run. They always have a cooked meal using the cooker in the evening.

What I don't understand is how can my gas usage possibly be the same as theirs? I hardly have they heating on and it certainly hasn't been on over the summer at all. I don't cook every night and I don't have as many showers or baths as my mum and dad.

How much gas should a 6 minute shower use roughly? (I know this varies, but a ball park figure would but helpful)

How much gas should boiling/simmering 2 eggs for 6 mins use roughly?

Any help any advice is welcome.

Thank you

Heather

spiro

Posting money is not helpful you need to post kwh figures.
The obvious thing to check is that the meter serial number on you bill matches that on your mete and that both the meter and bill are based on the same units. Gas meters can be imperial (ft3) or metric (m3), show check what is stamped on the meter and whats on the bill.
Are your previous bills also based on actual readings?
Average dual fuel is about £1200 pa and you have been paying £648, which is possible but without knowing your annual consumption only you will know.

dogshome

As spiro has advised, there are 2 types of Gas Meter and it is not unknown for a supplier to confuse them when billing

An Imperial meter is marked ft3 whilst a Metric is marked m3, so check yours to see what type it is
Next check a bill to see which one you are being billed for: Divide the Meter Units used into the number of Kwh charged - If the answer is close to 11 you are being billed for a Metric meter, but if the answer is close to 31 you are being billed for an Imperial meter
If the billing method doesn't match the meters mark, get onto your supplier asap

KTF

Define "ridiculously high".

As above, you need to post the actual usage to get any meaningful replies.

matelodave

Try reading your meter weekly and recording the consumption, then you'll be able to see what's being used. If it looks ever so high then try turning everything off over night and see it the meter moves, if it does then something or someone else is using it or you've got a leak somewhere.

Just quoting dd payments doesn't help anyone analyse what your problem might be - as said, check what sort of meter you've got (metric or imperial) and make sure the bills accurately reflect your consumption.

rallylass

Thank you everyone for your help and advice. I have checked that the meter serial numbers on my bills match my meters and I have checked that they have been read correctly (metric).

Since Jan 2013 to the end of Sept 2013 I have used 1274 Kwh of electricity and 9770 kwh of gas.

Upon reflection, I have realised that I was probably being under charged and now I am having to make up for it.

I have thought about the building I live in too, in terms of the number external walls and likely amount of insulation and have come to the conclusion that the usage is correct and I now need to make sure that I am on the most suitable tariff for my usage.

Thank you everybody.

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

rallylass wrote: »

Thank you everybody.

Thank YOU for coming back. Not every first-time poster does.

matelodave

It's still a good idea to read and record your meters regularly and send the readings to the supplier once a month and then hopefully your bills will reflect your consumption and you wont get any surprises. It will also help you identify how you can economise a bit, possibly by turning stuff off, adjusting thermostats and timers so they accurately reflect your lifestyle rather than heating water or the house when you aren't there - a programmable thermostat would help there, they are ideal when you've got a combi boiler. Try having shorter showers and even turn the hot water temperature down a bit especially if you have to use a lot of cold with it.

techno12

You're using a high amount of gas.

I live alone in a 2-bed flat with an old non-condensing combi boiler (permanent pilot light) and gas CH, and use around 8000 kwh per year. My heating has been off since March though, and it's still far too warm to consider switching it on again, but everyone has different tolerances to cold

I started taking monthly readings earlier in the year, which is very useful. I'm using pretty much bang on 20 metric gas units per month (most of that being the pilot light I think). This will balloon once I start using the CH again - will be interesting to see by how much...

NowRetired

gas CH, and use around 8000 kwh per year.

8000 a year!


I used more than that from 1st Jan to 1st April 2013.