help - extortionate gas bills

dutch123

Before winter takes hold, I am trying to sort out how to reduce gas bills.

Over the year from AUGUST 12 - SEPTEMBER 13 we used 63,000 kwH of gas for water & heating which cost about £2400/year and it's hurting... included in this consumption was a 2nd boiler (which hasn't been on since May because it only does heating in a ground floor annexe)

All radiators have TRV's fitted and we also put wall thermostats on the ground floor and middle floor.

Over the summer months, the boiler has just been heating water and has averaged £80/month cost for gas.

the main boiler is a Potterton Suprima 100 which is 12 years old but I've been told it was 'top of the range' in its day. Obviously by today's standards it wouldn't be A rated. It is a big house over 3 floors (3000 sq.ft) and last winter was cold

Would it be sensible to change boiler to a more efficient one? Or to combine the 2 boilers into one? Or is £1400 a year for just heating (over the cold months) to be expected?

spiro

You say the house is large but make no mention of the level of insulation. Does it have:
1) Cavity wall insulation?
2) Double glazing?
3) 12" of loft insulation?
All of the above can have a big impact on your consumption.

[Deleted User]

The easiest way to reduce gas bills is.. turn temp down to no more than 65 degrees and put some wooly jumpers on..Is that a bit extreme ? . I go in houses all day reading meters and can t believe how soft and pampered most people are, they want their houses like tropical hot houses and swan around in T shirts and shorts on the coldest of days. Insulate yourself , not the whole house

mirabelle

dutch123 wrote: »

Before winter takes hold, I am trying to sort out how to reduce gas bills.

Over the year from AUGUST 12 - SEPTEMBER 13 we used 63,000 kwH of gas for water & heating which cost about £2400/year and it's hurting... included in this consumption was a 2nd boiler (which hasn't been on since May because it only does heating in a ground floor annexe)

All radiators have TRV's fitted and we also put wall thermostats on the ground floor and middle floor.

Over the summer months, the boiler has just been heating water and has averaged £80/month cost for gas.

the main boiler is a Potterton Suprima 100 which is 12 years old but I've been told it was 'top of the range' in its day. Obviously by today's standards it wouldn't be A rated. It is a big house over 3 floors (3000 sq.ft) and last winter was cold

Would it be sensible to change boiler to a more efficient one? Or to combine the 2 boilers into one? Or is £1400 a year for just heating (over the cold months) to be expected?

I have 17 rooms in my house over ground, middle and top floor and shut off rooms we don't use in the winter. If you are not in them its not worth heating. I have a wood burner/multi fuel burner in the sitting room and burn taybrite which is much hotter than logs and much cheaper as the price of logs is now high as more people are using wood burners. I got rid of my Potterton Suprima boiler as they are well known for circuit board problems and we now have a condensing boiler. The house is insulated in the loft and attic but not in the cavity walls because it was built in 1890. My annual bill for both gas and electricity last year was £1,700 . The biggest saving for me was having the multi fuel burner installed 5 years ago and this year I have not had to put my heating on yet. Your boiler using £80 worth of gas over the summer for heating water is amazingly high. My usage is £20 per month and I use it to heat 1 tank of water every day which is for showers, washing machine which I have on every day and have a gas range hob for cooking and I cook everyday. I would definitely change the boiler.

MillicentBystander

mirabelle wrote: »

I have 17 rooms in my house over ground, middle and top floor and shut off rooms we don't use in the winter. If you are not in them its not worth heating. I have a wood burner/multi fuel burner in the sitting room and burn taybrite which is much hotter than logs and much cheaper as the price of logs is now high as more people are using wood burners. I got rid of my Potterton Suprima boiler as they are well known for circuit board problems and we now have a condensing boiler. The house is insulated in the loft and attic but not in the cavity walls because it was built in 1890. My annual bill for both gas and electricity last year was £1,700 . The biggest saving for me was having the multi fuel burner installed 5 years ago and this year I have not had to put my heating on yet. Your boiler using £80 worth of gas over the summer for heating water is amazingly high. My usage is £20 per month and I use it to heat 1 tank of water every day which is for showers, washing machine which I have on every day and have a gas range hob for cooking and I cook everyday. I would definitely change the boiler.

But how much would 'changing the boiler' cost? So many people just never take into account the capital expenditure when calculating 'savings'. Our (normally intelligent) friends spent £2500 replacing their inefficient, working and safe boiler and then proudly claimed they were saving £100/yr on their gas bill. They were dismayed when I told them it would take 25 years to get back the cost of the fancy new boiler (and of course I very much doubt the fancy new boiler will last anywhere near that long). Before replacing working items the OP needs to look at other, less drastic and expensive measures of using less fuel.

macman

As already suggested above, the first thing to do here is to improve the insulation.

dutch123

thank you ... all comments have been very interesting...

a little more about us... we are a family of 5 with 3 teenagers - strangely there's no bath in the house so it's just showers for the hot water - and at the moment all the teenagers like showering everyday (long may that last!). I leave the water on constant as was told that was the most efficient way.

We do have a gas oven as well...

The top floor has 3 bedrooms which have eaves cupboards that wraparound. All are insulated tho' the air that comes from under the cupboard doors is cold.. (novelty draught excluders have been purchased to limit this).

The house is circa 1970 and all windows are double glazed. Previous owner was a boiler engineer and he quoted 'you'll never be cold in this house' when we bought it last summer! He didn't mention at what price that would come at!

comeandgo

In Scotland when you buy a house you get told what it costs to heat the house - I take it you dont get that in England?

maisie1234

We have a house 3700 sq feet including the garage and loft insulation. Our boiler is 12 yrs old. Our bills are £3.5k per year. We have three bathrooms and the heating is on twice a day and then often all day when its really cold.

dutch123

maisie1234 wrote: »

We have a house 3700 sq feet including the garage and loft insulation. Our boiler is 12 yrs old. Our bills are £3.5k per year. We have three bathrooms and the heating is on twice a day and then often all day when its really cold.

It's nice to know we're not alone! Is that just gas or gas & electricity.

MillicentBystander

dutch123, are the showers electric or hot water fed?