Confused by extraordinarily high gas usage

sazzlelondon

Hi my elderly parents live in a small 3 bed semi detached house. They don't use the central heating much, they have a gas cooker, and they do like wash-up in the sink rather than use the dishwasher. These things don’t seem like things that would use a lot of gas, however their metre readings seem to suggest an annual average of 29,000 kwh. They have a cubic feet meter - i’ve ordered a smart meter to be installed later in the month. I’ve ask the enegry to test the existing meter which they said they’ll consider after i submit daily readings for a couple weeks so they can get more accurate readings. The boiler has had some issues and Dad will get that replaced next month. Any other things we should consider to ensure the readings are accurate and usage is lower?

SPOWER

Seems to me you have everything covered.

Ultrasonic

You could check to see if the meter is recording an increase to the reading during a period when no gas is being used in the house.

sazzlelondon

Ultrasonic said:

You could check to see if the meter is recording an increase to the reading during a period when no gas is being used in the house.

Do you mean not even use hot water for a day and see if its still ticking up?

MWT

Doesn't have to be a full day, just turn the boiler off for a couple of hours and don't use the cooker then see if the gas keeps going up... (if the boiler has a pilot light then take care).

Ultrasonic

sazzlelondon said:

Ultrasonic said:

You could check to see if the meter is recording an increase to the reading during a period when no gas is being used in the house.

Do you mean not even use hot water for a day and see if its still ticking up?

No, just say an hour maybe were the boiler doesn't fire up and the gas cooker isn't used? The meter reading shouldn't change but if you find it does you could do some very quick sums as to what this would add up to over time.

FreeBear

sazzlelondon said: They have a cubic feet meter - i’ve ordered a smart meter to be installed later in the month.

When the first bill comes in after the meter is changed, make sure it is using the correct conversion factor, else you'll find the usage some 3 times higher.

Had this issue when I had a smart meter installed, and it took quite a few months and a change of supplier to get it sorted. Strongly suggest you take photos of the old meter as it is being removed, and also the new meter.

Oh, and if there is a hot water tank, turn the thermostat down to say 55°C.

Ultrasonic

FreeBear said:

sazzlelondon said: They have a cubic feet meter - i’ve ordered a smart meter to be installed later in the month.

When the first bill comes in after the meter is changed, make sure it is using the correct conversion factor, else you'll find the usage some 3 times higher.

Only 3? There are just over 35 cubic feet in a cubic meter?

MWT

Ultrasonic said:

FreeBear said:

sazzlelondon said: They have a cubic feet meter - i’ve ordered a smart meter to be installed later in the month.

When the first bill comes in after the meter is changed, make sure it is using the correct conversion factor, else you'll find the usage some 3 times higher.

Only 3? There are just over 35 cubic feet in a cubic meter?

Yes, but you report cubic feet in units of 100...

Ultrasonic

MWT said:

Ultrasonic said:

FreeBear said:

sazzlelondon said: They have a cubic feet meter - i’ve ordered a smart meter to be installed later in the month.

When the first bill comes in after the meter is changed, make sure it is using the correct conversion factor, else you'll find the usage some 3 times higher.

Only 3? There are just over 35 cubic feet in a cubic meter?

Yes, but you report cubic feet in units of 100...

That makes more sense then .

badmemory

You may find that washing up in the sink uses more energy to heat the hot water than using a dishwasher would.