Gas Meter - Speed

Killa_byte

MWT said:

Killa_byte said:

I had the same issue last year with the boiler pressure and explained to my gas engineer and he said not to worry.  he said its fine for it to lose pressure and to top it up.  he only said to worry if the pressure went high.  

If that is happening over the course of a year then OK, not ideal but not a big deal.

If it is happening over a week then it is a problem.

How quickly does it go down?

i'm having to top it up every month. 

Aylesbury_Duck

Killa_byte said:

elsien said:

It will spin at different rates because heating water uses more energy than having a ring in the gas hob on, for example. 

Are you sending in regular readings or is this off estimated figures. If it’s estimates it could be way out. 

Also depends on how well insulated your house is, amongst other things.

Shell have a graph on their website that shows the usage for each month over the year which you might find helpful. With the caveat that it’s only accurate if you’ve given regular meter readings. 

ah, i wasn't aware that the meter would spin at different rates.

my meter readings were submitted every month so its definitely not estimates.

my home is one of them 1900 homes that have high ceilings, i know my loft is well insulated as upstairs is always warmer than downstairs.  My dining room and kitchen is always the coldest part of the house but the reception room and living is generally warm.  maybe insulation is a problem but i though that wouldn't be the cause of the high usage of gas?

This is something to check.  Have you actually been in the loft to see how well it's insulated, or are you just assuming it is because it's warmer upstairs?  With the gas you're burning, I'm not surprised it's warmer upstairs but that doesn't mean you aren't losing a lot of that heat.

Killa_byte

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Killa_byte said:

elsien said:

It will spin at different rates because heating water uses more energy than having a ring in the gas hob on, for example. 

Are you sending in regular readings or is this off estimated figures. If it’s estimates it could be way out. 

Also depends on how well insulated your house is, amongst other things.

Shell have a graph on their website that shows the usage for each month over the year which you might find helpful. With the caveat that it’s only accurate if you’ve given regular meter readings. 

ah, i wasn't aware that the meter would spin at different rates.

my meter readings were submitted every month so its definitely not estimates.

my home is one of them 1900 homes that have high ceilings, i know my loft is well insulated as upstairs is always warmer than downstairs.  My dining room and kitchen is always the coldest part of the house but the reception room and living is generally warm.  maybe insulation is a problem but i though that wouldn't be the cause of the high usage of gas?

This is something to check.  Have you actually been in the loft to see how well it's insulated, or are you just assuming it is because it's warmer upstairs?  With the gas you're burning, I'm not surprised it's warmer upstairs but that doesn't mean you aren't losing a lot of that heat.

i have been in the loft and the whole loft is covered in insulation.  i'm not sure if the whole property has had wall insulation or anything but the downstairs i feel is never toasty warm unless i turn the temp up to 23.5.  But then the upstairs is way to hot but downstairs is just about right.

st3v31963

To give you some comparison, I have a similar Worcester boiler to yours, with a 15 radiator system.  My boiler water pressure (with the boiler off and cold) drops from about 1.8 bar to about 1 bar over about 6 months, at which point I top up.  I do have a very slight “weep” from a couple of radiator valves, which explains the pressure loss.

IMHO, if your system pressure is dropping to zero (thus causing the boiler to refuse to light, I hope) more frequently than every few months, then you definitely have a problem that needs investigation.  

The most likely cause is a leak from a radiator or valve.  If nothing is obvious, you could have a leak in the pipe work in a hidden area (e.g. under a floor) which could be causing the wood to be constantly wet, inviting rot, or stains on a ceiling.  Always check the pressure when the system is cold, and don’t be tempted to fill to higher than about 1.8 bar, as with the heating on the system could go over pressure (the red zone on the gauge), which could cause a sudden failure of a leaking joint and an “unexpected shower in the living room area” type problem :-)

If the leak is inside the boiler, then that could cause corrosion and boiler failure, with a subsequently large bill for repair/replacement! 

Killa_byte

st3v31963 said:

To give you some comparison, I have a similar Worcester boiler to yours, with a 15 radiator system.  My boiler water pressure (with the boiler off and cold) drops from about 1.8 bar to about 1 bar over about 6 months, at which point I top up.  I do have a very slight “weep” from a couple of radiator valves, which explains the pressure loss.

IMHO, if your system pressure is dropping to zero (thus causing the boiler to refuse to light, I hope) more frequently than every few months, then you definitely have a problem that needs investigation.  

The most likely cause is a leak from a radiator or valve.  If nothing is obvious, you could have a leak in the pipe work in a hidden area (e.g. under a floor) which could be causing the wood to be constantly wet, inviting rot, or stains on a ceiling.  Always check the pressure when the system is cold, and don’t be tempted to fill to higher than about 1.8 bar, as with the heating on the system could go over pressure (the red zone on the gauge), which could cause a sudden failure of a leaking joint and an “unexpected shower in the living room area” type problem :-)

If the leak is inside the boiler, then that could cause corrosion and boiler failure, with a subsequently large bill for repair/replacement! 

Now that you mention it, i did have a yellow-ish stain on the wall in the living room around 4 months ago but it was determined that the water was escaping from the shower so this was fixed by the builder using silicon.  Maybe it was a leak in the pipes too which wasn't checked. 

Also i do hear clicking/dripping sounds that happen when the radiators come on/go off.  i told the builder about this and he just brushed it off by saying its the pipes just expanding.  this sound was normal when you have copper pipes. 

[Deleted User]

If you are turning up the thermostat to 23.5C then you have a reason for your very high usage. Most homes are comfortable when heated to 20/21C. Once the home is up to the set temperature the boiler will modulate down, and then cycle on/off. The bottomline is that your high usage is the result of significant heat loss, and I suspect that the boiler is rarely off. High heat loss normally means you have drafts, and a lack of insulation. 

Continually topping up the boiler pressure is not a good thing to do. Top up water contains air bubbles, and air and water result in rusty radiators. Minor boiler and system leaks can be resolved by flushing the boiler with a cleaning solution, and then by adding a system sealant (look at the Fernox and Sentinel websites).

tim_p

Killa_byte said:

tim_p said:

So, what and when was the opening reading and what is it now - that will enable easy calculation of actual annual usage for the past year / x-months. 

i assume the opening reading was 6788, and today its on 9888 

So, as others have said it’s around 34000 kWh per year - which is very high. 

‘assume’ is a bit worrying though. 

Astria

Killa_byte said:

i never knew that the meter spins so fast when using hot water.  Both, partner and i, have stopped using hot water when washing hands etc.  I now use cold, even when rising dishes/fruit etc.

Take a photograph of your meter before and after washing your hands in hot water, yes the dial will spin fast when doing so because it takes that amount of energy to heat water from what could be ~ 5c at the moment in the ground to possibly 50c which comes out of the boiler, however you'll probably find that the cost of this doesn't even use a fraction of a unit, and typically costs about 3p.

leonj

It's no mystery with the heating set like that that your bills are so high, I would turn all the timers off and control it manually by temperature

Mineral1

Get the heating system fixed then revisit the cost issue after the winter. Unless you live in a barn, the abnormal bills are almost certainly a result of the boiler constantly working against the low pressure to achieve the temperature you've set. 

Id get a good plumber booked in now as there is always a wait at this time of year.