How we reduced our heating gas consumption by 25%

Meatballs

You are looking at £300 to get a diverter, maybe £200 for a cheap/secondhand one so the payback period is fairly long. And then install costs. You only get any payback in the months of the year you are heating. You could potentially wire a kettle to it in summer 🤣

The payback period is further increased if you factor in your SEG payment. When gas was at last year's prices it was usually cheaper to heat with the gas and export the electricity...

If your goal is to reduce CO2 it's an option but not really a money savingone.

paul991

as im still on fit after my  water is heated, mine  feeds a utility  socket  with a towel radiator in it but  gives  me the option to plug  a heater or any  device i want  to power for free

Spies

Just got my latest gas bill, looks like I used 1781kWh in the last month, unsure if that's good or bad, seems harder to quantify gas. 

Toki

Thanks. It does seem quite expensive to implement, may be better leaving out I think. 

Sorry to hijack the thread.

Screwdriva

Jan 2021 (Average Temperature 4.9 degrees Celsius. 3940 kWh used over 30 days).

vs. Jan '22 (Average temperature 6.3 degrees Celsius. 2644.5 kWh over 32 days).

Screwdriva

February 2021 (Average temperature ~ 6.6 degrees Celsius. 3306 kWh used over 30 days).

vs. February '22 (Average temperature ~8.6 degrees Celsius. 2333 kWh used over 29 days).


 

Screwdriva

As a point of comparison aimed at reducing the variable of milder weather this year, the average London temperatures in Jan '22 and Feb '21 were similar. Consumption was ~2500 kWh for 30 days in Jan 2022 (vs. 3306 kWh in Feb 2021). The result of the measures shared = a ~25% real world savings in actual consumption. 

This will be my last post with data for Winter 2022. With the massive upcoming increases to our tariff (43% electricity, 80% gas), we plan on manually switching on our immersion heater from 11-1pm when generation exceeds 2 kWh, to further minimize gas usage to heat our hot water tank using only our solar PV system. I'll report back on savings from this measure later in the year. 

This is going to be a costly (and painful) year for many. If you believe the above measures will help, please share them directly. Many will learn & adapt quicker with the collective wisdom of the MSE Green forum.

paul991

why  not  get  a  immersion divert er that way only excess  is  being  used

Screwdriva

paul991 said:

why  not  get  a  immersion divert er that way only excess  is  being  used

Valid question. I've read that they have really long cost recovery times especially when SEG is factored in. We have a Megaflo cylinder which should heat up well with manual operation of the immersion heater for 2 hours a day during excess hours. It's just a flick of the switch twice a day. 

paul991

yes  but  your problem will be with a 4 kw system a lot of the time you will be importing for a 3 kw immersion