Confused by extraordinarily high gas usage

Ultrasonic

badmemory said:

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

Not if there is hot water sitting in the tank that can be used without requiring more to be heated later as a result. 

sazzlelondon

Ultrasonic said:

badmemory said:

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

Not if there is hot water sitting in the tank that can be used without requiring more to be heated later as a result. 

Its a combi boiler... and my mum did say she hear's it set off when she does the washing up, so its soemthing to think about! 

sazzlelondon

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.

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.

I have looked up the conversion calculations earlier this week. Our meter is cubic feet so they use the 2.83 multiplier. Ie 10 cubic feet x 2.83 (and then all the other parts of the subsequent formular). Is that the right figure?

badmemory

I have a combi too & it seems to use more gas to heat hot water than it does to run the central heating.  I do use a lot of gas as I have heating on all the time, thermostatically controlled obviously.  Currently on 23.5 deg, that's room temp not the thermostat.  I only use half their usage.  Are they using gas fires rather than the central heating?

Ultrasonic

sazzlelondon said:

Ultrasonic said:

badmemory said:

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

Not if there is hot water sitting in the tank that can be used without requiring more to be heated later as a result. 

Its a combi boiler... and my mum did say she hear's it set off when she does the washing up, so its soemthing to think about! 

Ah, I nearly covered that too but guessed from your post that it was an old boiler and therefore not a combi. The latter may well still be cheaper than a dishwasher too I'd have thought, since it uses gas rather than electricity.

And yes, the boiler will fire up every time any hot tap is turned on.

Ultrasonic

badmemory said:

I have a combi too & it seems to use more gas to heat hot water than it does to run the central heating.  I do use a lot of gas as I have heating on all the time, thermostatically controlled obviously.  Currently on 23.5 deg, that's room temp not the thermostat.  I only use half their usage.  Are they using gas fires rather than the central heating?

I have a combi too which I love as it helps me keep my gas usage far lower than I could if I was heating a tank of water every day. As I live on my own the latter would always be more than I need.

23.5 degrees sounds rather warm but maybe you're someone who particularly feels the cold. I haven't needed my heating on yet this year but I'm comfortable when rooms are much cooler.

FreeBear

sazzlelondon 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.

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.

I have looked up the conversion calculations earlier this week. Our meter is cubic feet so they use the 2.83 multiplier. Ie 10 cubic feet x 2.83 (and then all the other parts of the subsequent formular). Is that the right figure?

Nope. You need to multiply the cubic feet by 100, not 10.

badmemory

Ultrasonic said:

23.5 degrees sounds rather warm but maybe you're someone who particularly feels the cold. I haven't needed my heating on yet this year but I'm comfortable when rooms are much cooler.

Somewhat older with joints that ache more the colder they are - also sitting on a hot water bottle.  Getting older can be a pain (& expensive) but it is way way better than the alternative!

[Deleted User]

sazzlelondon said:

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.

Hi,

do you have actual readings 12 month apart or more recent, to give an idea of usage?

Is it an old dial type meter? Easily misread, photie please.

You may be charged for testing the meter if it is found to be correct.

MWT

FreeBear said:

sazzlelondon 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.

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.

I have looked up the conversion calculations earlier this week. Our meter is cubic feet so they use the 2.83 multiplier. Ie 10 cubic feet x 2.83 (and then all the other parts of the subsequent formular). Is that the right figure?

Nope. You need to multiply the cubic feet by 100, not 10.

Careful… if they report in units of 100 cubic feet, it is correct to multiply that by 2.83 to convert the reading to cubic metres. 

You never multiply the the cubic feet by 100, you just give the reading from the meter down to the 100’s.