Monthly gas + electricity bill over £600 for 3 bedroom semi??

BUFF

That ought to be a condensing boiler I believe.
Do you know what the flow & return temperatures for the CH are (if they aren't set to allow the boiler to condense then you won't achieve the savings that they can provide)?

How long is the shower per day?

makara

Can the flow and return thingies be found from those little buttons on the front?  And if I press them there isn't any danger of me changing its settings accidentally? 

Or if you are asking if I happen to know those values, then no. 

What is CH? 

markin

If the is no old dial, Sometimes hidden in a cupboard, or newer display it must be controlled by an on board thermostat on the boiler, not the best way to run a house heating system, even less when you can't figure out how to adjust it as needed. And i hope the PCB issue isn't affecting it in anyway.
The flow temp should be set to around 50c as long as the house warms up, adjust in cold weeks. can you find the paper manual?

CH = central heating
DHW = Domestic hot water

makara

I did have the paper manual, not sure where it is now.

Display - there is a LCD tiny little display on there that seems to alternate between Pressure and Water Temperature and Central Heating temperature.

Is an ageing boiler (a decade or so in this case) less efficient?  In a similar way to how an older car seems to be less efficient with Petrol?  My old Escort used to do 300 miles on a full tank, which over time dropped to 250 miles...

Edit - both our Boiler repair guy / and a builder who we called for an estimate to move / rebuild our kitchen said if / when the kitchen gets re-built - no point moving a boiler this old - get a new one installed.  Not sure if they were saying this for efficiency reasons.

markin

It's not running it at a low flow temp that lets the water condense that makes it less efficient, And not having a separate thermostat can't help, Valiant is a good brand but at 10 years old if it needs moving anyway it makes sense to replace it. Average life span is 16-20 years.

Is the 2 computers running all day, They could be 2 to 3 kwh each.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xnl26qh5RXc

makara

markin said:

Is the 2 computers running all day, They could be 2 to 3 kwh each.

Did you mean "Coolers" there?  If so, then pretty much - especially my one (Cooler only, no heater)

On the note of Computers - I have a gaming PC with a 750 Watt power supply - I don't use it much for gaming these days, but it does stay on for long periods, as I am a Nerd

makara

I've advised my brother and mother of the seemingly higher than normal bills we are getting - they have started turning off lights that aren't necessary (e.g. kitchen tube light was pretty much always on - unless I turned it off) 

- as well as turning off their Air coolers if they move out of their rooms for any reason for a significant amount of time.

I also perhaps need to not have my LED strips left on all night - I don't like sleeping in total darkness, so have them on - although I googled, and it seems like LED strips use much less power than light bulbs, etc

makara

Also let my mother know that my nagging her to not have the Central Heating running all night in the colder months was for a good reason - as that has probably been causing the high gas bill - she has taken this on board...

markin

makara said:

markin said:

Is the 2 computers running all day, They could be 2 to 3 kwh each.

Did you mean "Coolers" there?  If so, then pretty much - especially my one (Cooler only, no heater)

On the note of Computers - I have a gaming PC with a 750 Watt power supply - I don't use it much for gaming these days, but it does stay on for long periods, as I am a Nerd

Computers, But the coolers could be around 1 kwh just in fan mode 75w x 14hrs.

markin

 LED strips are great, 1w a meter? The kitchen strip bulbs should be replaced quickly they could be a KW or 2 if they are 2x 80w. Check every bulb in the house they should all be led now.

Is the a thermometer is the house so you know what the room temp actually is?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ThermoPro-Thermometer-Hygrometer-Temperature-Humidity/dp/B08V1KXBQD/