Three Bed Semi - Usage Comparison

CashStrapped

I assume you were just heating hot water in this period. How was the thermostat for the hot water set and how was it timed to go on and for how long?

CrazyRed

Hot water tank was set to 50C for three weeks of every month and 65C for the last week of each month.

Timer was set to one hour each morning and evening to reheat the tank and keep it hot.

We were also cooking during this period. Entirely possible that the heating may have been on for the odd hour's 'boost' as an when required.

snowscreamer

I will watch this thread with interest. Moved into a 3-bed semi from 2-bed flat this April. We had a new boiler installed for heating and hot water (changing from very expensive electric boiler (~12p/kWh) to an oil boiler (~6p/kWh).

I don't really have any figures for how much oil we have used yet [although I should go and check the level so I can get an idea!] but currently we are averaging 12.8 kWh/day on the electricity front. It has gone up 3 kWh/day since we installed a dishwasher (+ occasional use of electric heater in living room on cold evenings last month) but went down 6 kWh/day when we stopped using the immersion heater for hot water and switched to oil.
I think the house has cavity wall insulation (little holes in the wall outside) and it definitely has 270mm loft insulation. I'm interested to see what our central heating costs will be like when we switch that on. I will also estimate how much oil is remaining and see how much that is costing per day to do the hot water.

slipthru

House pretty much the same as yours op, except I have double glazing and an a rated combi boiler. We use 3-4khw of gas and between and 8-10kwh of elec a day over the summer months.

I'm home all day most all of the time.

snowscreamer

slipthru wrote: »

House pretty much the same as yours op, except I have double glazing and an a rated combi boiler. We use 3-4khw of gas and between and 8-10kwh of elec a day over the summer months.

I'm home all day most all of the time.

What appliances do you use slipthru and how often? I'm wondering how my electricity usage is 12.8 and yours only 8-10. Although we do have electric underfloor heating and electric towel rails in the bathroom (can't seem to work out how to turn these off!!) so maybe that is the difference.

CashStrapped

Interesting slipthru.

Obviously there can be a lot of variations comparing any house. This house is active from 7:00am untill 2am the next morning in some way. So do not consider my electricity use too bad when you consider three fridges, a freezer and a tv, desktop computer and at least one hot dishwasher cycle per day.

The gas use is confusingly high though. It is a gravity fed system with an old boiler. I have in the last year tried to be come much more efficient in using it. I was having it heat the water tank 3-4 hours in the morning and 3-4 hours in the evening (plus gas cooking) at that seems to equate to around 2.5 units per day in m3. This equates to around 25-28khw per day. I know the boiler is old but it cannot be that inefficient. Maybe I am over estimating the water tank heat up time and can reduce it to 1 hour in the morning and evening.

snowscreamer

CashStrapped wrote: »

Interesting slipthru.

Obviously there can be a lot of variations comparing any house. This house is active from 7:00am untill 2am the next morning in some way. So do not consider my electricity use too bad when you consider three fridges, a freezer and a tv, desktop computer and at least one hot dishwasher cycle per day.

The gas use is confusingly high though. It is a gravity fed system with an old boiler. I have in the last year tried to be come much more efficient in using it. I was having it heat the water tank 3-4 hours in the morning and 3-4 hours in the evening (plus gas cooking) at that seems to equate to around 2.5 units per day in m3. This equates to around 25-28khw per day. I know the boiler is old but it cannot be that inefficient. Maybe I am over estimating the water tank heat up time and can reduce it to 1 hour in the morning and evening.

Have you know the make and model of your hot water cylinder? If so if you have the manual (or find the manual online) you can see how long it needs to heat up to 60deg from cold. I guess they make assumptions about the temperature that the boiler heats the water going through the coil, but it's a rough guide. My water tank which is new and capacity of 180 litres takes 40 min to heat up according to the manual and consequently we have it on for 45 minutes a day in the morning right before we get up, and that is enough hot water for the day. If there were more than 2 of us then I might consider doing another 45 mins in the evening so there's a full tank again for the evening, but with 180 litres available I see no need to have it on any longer so far we have never run out.

northernsoul

Only able to report my last 6 weeks usage because I was on holiday before that. Only me in the house. Unemployed so home all day trying my best to keep costs down.

Weekly Gas usage is 12kWh or 1.8 kWh per day. Only usage is 1 deluge shower a day and sink washing every 2 or 3 days. A 5 minute shower uses between 1.6 kWh and 1.9kWh per shower (about £0.07 compared to £0.25 for a full bath). Washing in sink costs 0.08kWh or about £0.03. Given up using my 10 year old dishwasher as this costs £0.25.

Weekly electricity usage for the last 6 weeks is to me, disappointing, but I am finding it very hard to get any lower. My weekly electricity usage is 42kWh or 6kWh per day. Main users are Plasma TV (average 1.7kWh per day or £0.23 per day). My 12 year old fridge (about 1.3kWh per day or £0.18 per day). Thought about changing fridge as mine uses about 400kWh per year as opposed to about 150kWh per year for a new one, but it will take about about 6 years to pay back (saving £30 a year). 10 year old upright freezer uses 200kWh per year or 0.5kWh per day (£26 per year or £0.07 per day). Other low/very low usage items are Virgin Tivo box, combination microwave (using oven function and as microwave), AV amp, charging laptop/phone, and normal kettle, lighting, washing machine (A+ rated and only £0.05 per 40C wash). Can’t work out where all my electricity goes as it does not seem to add up.

slipthru

snowscreamer wrote: »

What appliances do you use slipthru and how often? I'm wondering how my electricity usage is 12.8 and yours only 8-10. Although we do have electric underfloor heating and electric towel rails in the bathroom (can't seem to work out how to turn these off!!) so maybe that is the difference.

I have the usual stuff, tv might be on 2-4 hours in the day and computers plus amps and speakers, all these things are on at some point but i don't really leave things on when not in use. oh plus i have a computer under the stairs which is on from 7am to 11pm but it only uses 40w an hour, The only thing i have that eats energy is an old freezer.

Sounds like your under floor heating and towel rails are the culprit.

snowscreamer

slipthru wrote: »

I have the usual stuff, tv might be on 2-4 hours in the day and computers plus amps and speakers, all these things are on at some point but i don't really leave things on when not in use. oh plus i have a computer under the stairs which is on from 7am to 11pm but it only uses 40w an hour, The only thing i have that eats energy is an old freezer.

Sounds like your under floor heating and towel rails are the culprit.

I imagine you are right. There is a small programmer unit for the underfloor heating near the electrics box which I have set to only come on for a couple of hours in the morning and evening at 20C, then 5C (which seems to be the minimum) at all other times. Hoping this means it will be off most of the time as it would rarely get below that. Was set to on all day at 32C when we moved in!!
I guess the cost of that is only going to go up as the mornings get colder...
The electric towel rails seem to be on all day every day (this was a pain next to our bedroom during the hot summer months!) and short of isolating it at the fusebox I think that is its only setting. I'll keep watching the meter readings and if it shoots up dramatically over the winter then I might have to think about getting a timer fitted to it if possible...