Concerned: Average gas units per day very high? Single/1 bed flat

torncurtain

My supplier is SSE (Southern Electric), my use is apparently (according to meter readings) on average 3.75 units (kWh) per day for a 1 bed flat, in a block of flats.

TL;DR: Bills are very high, need help knowing what to do next as waste reduction is already in place, as best it can be. Single occupant, no other occupants. Gas used for hot water and heating only. Boiler is new (under 1 yr). Is my use average, or considered well above average? Disabled, and on very limited income, very concerned and require advice to lower use/bill. Houses of 4 & 5 occupants use less units than I do, how could this be? As I'm already mindful of use, what can be done to determine the cause of such a high use rate? Could there be a problem with the meter, boiler, someone else using my gas, anything else? Advice welcome, happy to answer questions if necessary too.

The cooker is electric. All gas is used for heating and hot water, only. Maximum 1 x hot shower per day (average 5mins), 1 X hand/sink dish wash per day, heating used in bursts with programme to maintain 17-19 degrees c during winter and daytime in property use, occasionally will bump the heating by an hour or 2 if really cold and property never reaches above 20 degrees Celsius. 2 x per month deep clean, which would use a maximum of 2 warm water buckets for mopping, windows, and other surfaces. Other cleaning that would require hot/warm water is done daily, but conservatively with a damp cloth. The property is fitted with double glazed windows. Curtains closed most of the day if cold outside, with the exception of 1 window which has its curtains open for daylight then closed when dark. Draft excluders are used across windows, and door.

Had a gas leak, reported it, pipe was external and refitted. Spoke to National Grid, they've said the leak would have no bearing on meter/consumption. Was away for 6 weeks, therefore reduced use of gas during that period of time. Also without gas for nearly 2 weeks while repair being done. Making almost 2 months of significantly reduced gas use.

My bill comes in very high, much higher than a friend's house which has 5 residents. The unit rate/cost is roughly the same as theirs, according to their bill their use is less than mine, which I'm finding unbelievable. My charge/overall cost per month has changed, based on actual meter readings, it was with an actual meter reading and projections £30 per month, with this new meter reading and projections it's £78. I've asked for an explanation, and I've been told that's what the meter says.

I'm disabled, I live alone, and I'm extremely concerned. The supplier (SSE) have said that they might stretch the payments out over 18 months, but this doesn't resolve the consumption issue. I've called my housing association to ask that the new boiler that was fitted less than 5 months ago and serviced in October 2016 be examined again and the radiators be bled. I can do the latter/have someone else help, but I'm somewhat reluctant given what's at stake (the mounting costs I'm incurring, that I can't afford). The forward projection would put me in a very precarious position each month.

What is the average use in units (kWh) for a single 1 bed of a similar property type? What are others paying per month (single or otherwise)? What can I do to better my situation? Does anyone have any advice for me? If there's no problem with the meter or boiler, what else can be done?

Thanks for the advice in advance. :money:

SpotlandRules

1 Bed, 1 Person, ground floor flat, near Manchester

Smart Meter Readings for gas in kW, since June last year

June: 120
July: 120
August: 120
September: 140
October: 514
November: 960
Dec: 740
Jan: 796
Feb: 573

For June - May, I am looking at around 5500 kW.

Robin9

Can you clarify what you mean by meter readings and 3.75 kwh / day please ?

Gas is different to Electricity as regards meter readings. For Electricity you use the meter reading as it is ; for Gas you need to multiply by approx 11.2 assuming it's a modern cu metre meter.

Are these ACTUAL readings or ESTIMATED ? Prepay ?

dogshome

You don't specifically say so, but it seems the Gas Leak repair involved a change of meter.

The % increase in D/Debit payments is in the region that would happen if your old meter was an Imperial model and the new one is Metric, but the supplier has failed to recognise the difference when billing

Look at an earlier bill and divide the Kwh charged by the meter units used - If the answer is appx 31.5, the old meter was an Imperial model
The new meter will be a metric model with cm3 marked on it - Do the same check as above - When the Kwh charged is divided into the meter units used the answer should be appx 11.2
If on the new meters bill the answer is 31.5, you are being overcharged by 183% - Get on to the supplier immediately

torncurtain

dogshome: Unfortunately, no there was no new meter installed/change of meter. Assuming this means that this avenue of investigation wouldn't work? There was a new meter installed when I moved in, from a pay as you go/pre-pay meter as I couldn't access it to this meter I have now. I queried the cost when the first bills arrived, based on ACTUAL meter readings, at that stage it was £30 DD. They are now saying based on ACTUAL meter readings it's £78, and will go up if my consumption continues to +£100. At the rate, my bill will be £1386 for the year.


What I can add is that after speaking with them today, they're saying this figure has been backdated. Over the course of 2016, they failed (there were attempts made by me to have them take a meter reading) to take an actual meter reading. However, I still believe my use seems excessive, especially comparing to someone else's. Regardless of overall cost, the use over a period of time matching actual readings seems high - I may be incorrect. On the flipside, over £1k per year, seems steep!


I'll attempt to locate previous bills and try what you've suggested, if you think it's still worth it given the info above. However I don't think it will given there's been no actual readings for some time.

torncurtain

SpotlandRules: Thanks kindly for your thorough response, I'll use your use and compare it to mine. Thanks!

torncurtain

Robin9: I don't know if this is a modern CU meter, only that this I'm using the numbers that are on the meter and the bill. Yes, they're actual. Recently actual. The gas supplier is saying that's how much I'm using per day, these are figures that were given to me based on a conversation I had with them when I received my latest bill.


I believe part of the confusion has stemmed from them not taking an actual meter reading, I can't see the meter (due to disability and it's proximity) and therefore someone normally comes to do a reading. In short, it's a big mess. I'm not concerned with laying blame on SE, or not taking any responsibility myself, I just wish to have this resolved and look to find a solution. Thanks!

Robin9

Thank you for the update - hopefully you can find some bills.

My queries re the metre reads or kwh is that 3.75 kwh / day is that it is amazingly small. Its about 10p (about 35p when you include standing charges and VAT)

torncurtain

Robin9: np, I'm not sure I'm clarifying much I must admit.

Hmm, that's the figure that was given to me. Another figure that was given to me, today was the difference between 2 meter readings, 6 days apart. The units totalled 23, so 23 units over 6 days. If I'm right, please correct me if I'm wrong, using a metric meter and converting units to kWh that would mean I'm using 42.90 kWh per day, which would be grossly over what SpotlandRules uses. The equation I'm using is:

Taking the total units (23)
Multiply by volume correction factor (1.02264)
Multiply by calorific value (39.4)
Divide by kWh conversion factor (3.6)

The bills that I have are very confusing, they're unclear, and when I asked today for clarification I simply get a sales pitch and fast talking. An example of the confusion would be, and to try to answer your question with this confusion, it would appear according to the bill in front of me, over the course of 184 days I used 1161 units or 12,994.12 kWh! But when speaking to the agent, they said to disregard the bill because it's closer to 3.75 kWh per day. Going back to my previous paragraph, it would actually appear based on a reading taken over 6 days that it's closer to 42.90 kWh per day.


None of this makes any sense. I think they have the conversions wrong. I think it's 3.75 units per day, not kWh. I believe that if I am using 42.90 kWh per day, it's possibly extremely steep and something isn't right. And I don't think the 1161 units or 12,994.12 kWh over 184 days is accurate either, otherwise that would be closer to over 6 units per day, not 3.75.

Aside from the bills being confusing, there's obviously a problem with the information being relayed. If 12,994 kWh of actual use is being used over 184 days, I've failed to understand how 3.75 kWh per day for 184 days adds up to 12,994 kWh.

And, comparing my usage to SpotlandRules usage, and assuming the 12,994 kWh is over the duration of my time with SSE (this is what I believe is the case, from looking over the bills I've found) which is roughly 20 months, that would mean my annual use should be closer to 7,796 kWh per annum and yet my bill states my estimated annual use is 9,869 kWh (I understand this is an estimate, however the £ for this estimate from them I'm being told is £78 now but it will increase, whereas other gas suppliers are closer to £30 per month flat rate per month).

TL;DRIn light of this information, if it is informative at all, my next question(s) would be: is 3.75 units per day (not kWh) or 6 units per day, excessively high? Is 2.90 kWh per day excessively high? Should I pay £80 to have my meter checked for faults?

I'll come back with fuller details; does anyone have any additional advice? I do believe that I may be being either overcharged, or something else isn't right. I seem to be using a lot of gas, for a small property, the heating is on during the day which may account for the higher costs but it's only on for a few hours during the day and a couple of hr in the evening. I must be doing something wrong. Any and all help, welcomed. Thank-you.

CashStrapped

3.75 units per day is pretty good in my opinion, especially in winter. It sounds like low use on a modern boiler.

This has been mentioned above in passing. But....do check your meter and confirm the meter is measuring in m3 and not ft3. If it is an modern meter, your supplier may have incorrectly recorded it as a ft3 meter and applying the wrong conversion factor.

To put this in perspective, in winter my old ancient boiler can chug through 10-12 units per day. A quicker conversion is to multiply the units by 11.2.

So I can use up to 112kwh per day when the temperatures drop! (my boiler is old but very reliable, it has not broken once in 40 years of use)

Yours sounds like normal use to me. Six units per day would/could be normal too if the temperatures drop low.

What you need to focus on is the tariff, the boiler controls and ways you can reduce your use.

For example, do you have

1) A digital thermostat (rather than an analogue dial one)
2) TRV valves
3) Draught proofing
4) When was the boiler last serviced
5) Do the radiators all get hot. Are they evenly hot over their surface? Or are there cold spots? If so, they may need flushing.

torncurtain

SpotlandRules wrote: »

1 Bed, 1 Person, ground floor flat, near Manchester

Smart Meter Readings for gas in kW, since June last year

For June - May, I am looking at around 5500 kW.

First off, wow. If what I'm blowing through is accurate, you're my gas saving hero!

If you don't mind me asking, do you have some heating on during the day/work from home, so the gas is being used during daylight hours for even a few hours a day? do you think the meter has helped you make better decisions/have you used less gas since it was installed? And, lastly do you think you limit your gas use even if you lose out to save a few pence?

I ask because I'm trying to determine if I really am blasting through the gas consumption, or if there's something wrong elsewhere. I don't mind being cold in my flat, and will layer clothing. But I'm in during the day time, with the heating on in bursts.

All the same, thanks for your help and the figures. It certainly puts things into perspective. I may just have to get a smart meter. :cool: