Ridiculous gas usage, help!

keejoonc

Hi all,

I have just checked my gas meter reading to submit to EON for my first bill from them and was shocked at the amount of gas I've used.

I've moved into my flat last October and was initially with Scottish Hydro until I switched to EON. Between 21 Oct and 10 Dec 14, I've used 42 units of gas (ie. 0.84 units per day on average over 50 days).

I then switched to EON and based on my meter reading, I've used a whooping 195 units between 10 Dec and 3 Feb 15! That works out at 3.5 units per day on average over 55 days!

What is going on?!!? I can understand it being slightly higher as I have probably used more heating compared to when I was with Scottish Hydro but more than 4 times????

Can someone please help me understand why this might have happened?

I have a combi boiler and have it set to turn on for 30 mins in the morning on weekdays and typically use a couple of hours of heating in the evenings.

Could it be the on demand hot water feature of my combi boiler burning through all this gas? I never turn off the combi boiler completely. Only the heating gets turned off.

Absolutely shocked at the bill I'm about to get. Even when I had elec heating in my previous flat, I have never received a bill this big. I would appreciate any advice....

System

keejoonc wrote: »

Hi all,

I've moved into my flat last October and was initially with Scottish Hydro until I switched to EON. Between 21 Oct and 10 Dec 14, I've used 42 units of gas (ie. 0.84 units per day on average over 50 days).

I then switched to EON and based on my meter reading, I've used a whooping 195 units between 10 Dec and 3 Feb 15! That works out at 3.5 units per day on average over 55 days!

I assume that you are talking about cubic metres? 195 units equates to 2184 kWhs of gas. At my price, this would come to £72.69 plus the daily standing charge. This is hardly excessive for CH over what has been a relatively cold winter. I use gas for heating and hot water and, over the past 15 days, my gas usage equates to a bill of £34.06 or 5 cu metres a day.

Nada666

It was still warm in October and November. It didn't get cold until January.

Why wouldn't your usage increase three or four fold once your heating has to be used?

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.


As queried above I assume you have a metric meter(measures cubic metres - m3) If so I agree with the post above. 2184kWh for 8 weeks is low consumption in winter.


On a combi unless you are running hot water it will not normally* be using any gas; that is the whole point of a combi.


Were either of your original meter readings estimated?




* older combis have a pilot light that burns a little gas, and some modern combis have a small internal tank.

asifzk

Hi, can I ask a tangential question, you arriving at this kWh based on metric units, but if it were "meter units"/ Imperial (as I have) the conversion would be different.

On my bill it has the conversion as below, I've plugged in 195:

Meter Units used 195
Volume Conversion Factor (multiply) 2.83
Metric units: 551.85
Volume Correction (multiply) 1.02264
Calorific Value (multiply): 39
Convert to kWh (divide by): 3.6
kWh Used: 6,114

Can you see on your previous bills what they're using to convert, it should be there. Or look at your meter, does it show the figure is in "ft3" or "m3".

Cardew

Yes we both stated we had made the assumption that it was a metric meter. If it was an Imperial meter the kWh used would be 2.83 times higher.


The OP's concern was that consumption had increased fourfold(x 4.17) from 0.84 gas units a day to 3.5 units a day for the period prior/post 10 Dec 2014.


Certainly if the OP does have an Imperial meter, and has thus used over 6,000kWh in 55 days, that is high consumption and is looking at a bill of well in excess of £200

keejoonc

Thanks for all the replies.

Yes the meter readings are cubic meter based.

None of previous readings were estimates. I took the reading the day I moved in and provided a reading when the switch took place.

I'm surprised that this is 'normal' usage for winter. I lived in my previous flat for 2 years and it was all electric heating there and much older building too, but still never received utility bill this high.

I know it was warmer during October-December months but I used a bit of heating back then and still only put it on around a couple of hours a day so didn't expect such a huge jump in the bill. I guess it's bit of a fallacy that gas heating is cheaper.

I spoke to EON anyway and they asked me to take meter readings for the next 5 days to see if there are any issues with the meter.

System

There is no reason to suspect that the energy company has suddenly switched from cubic metres to cubic feet or vice versa. This seems to occur only when a meter is changed. I am still convinced that this is down to usage and the rather chilly January we have experienced. My gas usage doubled last weekend when the family came to visit.

WillowCat

In your previous flat did you pay for your electricity by direct debit? i.e. the same amount per month every month?

I use about 80% of my gas in the coldest three months of the year, but equal monthly payments make it seem not too bad at all.

Gas is much cheaper per kWh, but it is difficult comparing different properties due to differing heating requirements (insulation/drafts/house size etc) and how efficient any gas boiler is.

keejoonc

I paid by direct debit and it got adjusted when the quarterly bill came in.

I just rechecked all the numbers and I think there's something wrong with EON's website. When I submitted the readings it told me I owed them 185 quid even taking into account 70 quid odd direct debit they have taken from me. This is why I panicked, but by my calculation including standing charges, I should expect £145 bill for 59 days, which doesn't seem too crazy. I have gone back to EON website and for no apparent reason, it's showing my gas meter reading as 3835 instead of 3475 I submitted???? !!!!!!??

JJ_Egan

3.5 to 4 units a day is my normal gas usage for January 2015 .