New Boiler advice

Gemmzie

We are currently paying £147 a month for gas and electric (think it's around £96 electric) with Scottish Power one of their online plans.
We cook with gas and have a gas fire and central heating, rest is electric.

Is it possible that our very old (19 years) boiler is partially to blame?

BG quoted £3.5k for a new one :eek: Is this right? We applied for a Warm Front grant but apparently don't qualify as I'm the one who gets DLA and my names aren't on the deeds (it's my parent's house).

Just looking for money saving ideas :money:

Thanks

miss_corerupted

£3.5k for a new boiler!!! tell them to go away.

I had them to give me a quote last year and they said £1500 for the boiler. I found the salesman quite high pressure i really didn't like it.

Got a local corgi reg plumber to to it £600 condensing boiler fitted

Try and get a few quotes and ask friends/family for recommendations

Canucklehead

Good evening: British Gas has a well earned rep for huge quotes for new boilers...get at least 3 CORGIs in to quote, compare like for like if you want to replace your boiler. Your current boiler will be less efficient than a new condensing boiler but if you have the boiler and the gas fire serviced on an annual basis and you haven't had any problems with either in the past, stick with what you have. Take advantage of special offers on loft and cavity wall insulation instead. Visit the Energy Saving Trust for more info http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/proxy/view/full/2019/grantsandofferssearch

HTH

Canucklehead

david29dpo

Never have BG to do anything. Your can get a Worcester CC boiler for about £800-900. Have it fitted by a good local man for £300-400.

notbritishgas

Gemmzie wrote: »

We are currently paying £147 a month for gas and electric (think it's around £96 electric) with Scottish Power one of their online plans.
We cook with gas and have a gas fire and central heating, rest is electric.

Is it possible that our very old (19 years) boiler is partially to blame?

BG quoted £3.5k for a new one :eek: Is this right? We applied for a Warm Front grant but apparently don't qualify as I'm the one who gets DLA and my names aren't on the deeds (it's my parent's house).

Just looking for money saving ideas :money:

Thanks

Hi, If I read your OP correct you do not have too much to worry about your gas as your monthly amount is £51 (everyone would like to pay less though!)and you cook and heat with gas. I think it is your £96 electric that you should be looking at or have I missed something?

Gemmzie

I thought the boiler was electric run - the BG guy said it was probably expensive.

Yes, our electric is the more horrendous one but they seemed to think the two were related?

Terrylw1

Hi,

I think you need to consider the bigger picture, not just the boiler.

You need to look at whether you are overpaying on estimates rather than submitting quarterley reads to your Supplier.

You also need to look at all the appliances to see if you are just using a lot.

Gemmzie

We submit monthly readings online so it's definitely accurate.

How would we check appliances?

Cardew

Gemmzie wrote: »

We submit monthly readings online so it's definitely accurate.

How would we check appliances?

Aldi & Lidl sell power measuring meters from time to time for about £7: Maplin have them all the time - sometimes on offer for about £12.

Essentially you plug each appliance into the meter(which in turn goes into the 13 amp socket) it then tells you what power it is using over a period of time. This is especially useful for items that switch on and off(with a thermostat) like fridges and freezers.

If you are using £96 a month, and it is not some problem with your DD like paying back a debit balance, that is huge consumption probably over 12,000kWh a year(look at your bills) which is 4 times the average.

That sort of consumption must mean something is wrong - indeed several things - I would have thought. Is your immersion heater(if you have one) left on 24/7?

Terrylw1

Gemmzie - good, keep your bills that accurate.

Th point I made about checking appliances was because you are focusing on your boiler when it could be other areas that you could also save in. Cardew mentioned about the monitors which can be useful.

However, just working out what is using the power in your house will help you understand and cutback a bit if needed.

Gemmzie

Cardew wrote: »

Aldi & Lidl sell power measuring meters from time to time for about £7: Maplin have them all the time - sometimes on offer for about £12.

Essentially you plug each appliance into the meter(which in turn goes into the 13 amp socket) it then tells you what power it is using over a period of time. This is especially useful for items that switch on and off(with a thermostat) like fridges and freezers.

If you are using £96 a month, and it is not some problem with your DD like paying back a debit balance, that is huge consumption probably over 12,000kWh a year(look at your bills) which is 4 times the average.

That sort of consumption must mean something is wrong - indeed several things - I would have thought. Is your immersion heater(if you have one) left on 24/7?

Last quarter (August, September, October) we paid £167 a month combined and it ended up £131 in credit. They've reduced but only slightly because our usage is expected to rise over the winter months.

I thought something was wrong too! It just seems to high. I'll check the website and see what are using/paying.

I have no idea if we have an immersion heater, I don't think so, the house is only 20 years old.