High Gas usage. What can we do as renters?

siranderu

sandy700 said:

I am using approx 11 kWh a day at the moment for showers and hot water and cooking and don't consider it excessive.
Have been using that amount for the past 32 years in the summer when the heating is not switched on.

Works out about 4 kWh each for 2 showers and then the rest, 3kWh, for cooking and hot water for the dishes.

Maybe I was underestimating how much a shower uses then. I'm pretty quick but girlfriend loves to take her time so may have to start nudging!

Alnat1

 It might have been ok 32 years ago but price of gas has gone up a bit since then. Some people can't afford to use that much over summer.

We use 3-4kWh gas a day, 2 showers and hubby's shave.

[Deleted User]

siranderu said:

Maybe I was underestimating how much a shower uses then. I'm pretty quick but girlfriend loves to take her time so may have to start nudging!

Hi,

maybe you could coax her to shower with you, though, could end up taking longer.

Coffeekup

siranderu said:

2 of us living in a 2 bed bottom floor 1920s ex council flat/maisonette.

Gas cooking, heating and hot water from a pretty new A rated combi boiler. Hot water and radiator temperatures both set to 50C.

We used 9.99 kWh of gas per day for July and 51.15 kWh per day in January.

Obviously that January gas figure is large for the size of our household. I generally have the thermostat set to 17.5C in the day so it's never on in the summer and usually pops on in the morning in winter and then keeps it at that temp until about 11pm when it's set to 10C. I did start setting it back to 10C after my girlfriend left for work and then back up when she got back as I have no issues just wrapping up during the day but beyond that I'm not sure what we can do?

My strategy for winter is to seal the house as best as possible and to get a small compressor dehumidifier to help with drying clothes. I'm thinking I'll manually turn down the valves on the radiators in rooms that get less use (living room only in evening, kitchen set very low etc.) I'll do the external doors with adhesive draught strips and I believe there is a port for a vented tumble dryer that is wide open, so I'll cover that somehow.

But to be honest the real headscratcher is the summer usage. The heating hasn't been on for months so 10kWh per day for cooking, washing up and showers seems very high no?

I would say yes, with my daughter and I we average 3 - 3.5 kwh's a day from march to late October/early November or a 100 kwh's a month. We have a shower each a day 5 or so mins each and I use a hob or two once or twice a week.
We wash hands with the cold tap.
Hot water is set to 40*C which is scalding point for skin.
The boiler is a 24kwh combi.

The only thing I can think of is your boiler could be bigger a 30 or 36kwh combi?
Are you both are showering for a really long time?
Washing machine plumbed up to the hot pipe?
Set your thermostat to off.

siranderu

Coffeekup said:

I would say yes, with my daughter and I we average 3 - 3.5 kwh's a day from march to late October/early November or a 100 kwh's a month. We have a shower each a day 5 or so mins each and I use a hob or two once or twice a week.
We wash hands with the cold tap.
Hot water is set to 40*C which is scalding point for skin.
The boiler is a 24kwh combi.

The only thing I can think of is your boiler could be bigger a 30 or 36kwh combi?
Are you both are showering for a really long time?
Washing machine plumbed up to the hot pipe?
Set your thermostat to off.

I've reduced the DHW to 45 for now. I'd go lower but the shower seems to go completely cold no matter what if DHW is less than that. Will try to fix this soon as I think it's just the thermostatic cartridge is faulty.

The web page for the boiler says 24, 30, 36 kWh. I don't know which ours is.

Washing machine is cold feed only.

Thermostat is completely off.

Think it's all down to the showers now. Will try to get girlfriend to hurry up a bit (not likely to go down well ).

Chrysalis

Your summer usage is really high, and your winter sounds high as well.

You got the heating on during summer or something? Gas cooker?

My summer usage is 3 kwh most days (pilot light), and will go to 6-10 for days I heat water for bath/dishes.  It varies as its when I turn it off not consistent.

siranderu

Chrysalis said:

Your summer usage is really high, and your winter sounds high as well.

You got the heating on during summer or something? Gas cooker?

My summer usage is 3 kwh most days (pilot light), and will go to 6-10 for days I heat water for bath/dishes.  It varies as its when I turn it off not consistent.

No summer heating. I think it's all down to the shower and washing up. For the winter I think it's just poor insulation and 'boosting' the thermostat to help clothes dry.

Bark01

siranderu said:

Usage is from actual meter readings. I've requested a smart meter from Octopus multiple times over the years but they've never arranged an install.

There are shortages of meters and installers, but if you've been trying for years just raise a complaint and then raise and CEO complaint and then go to the ombudsman.

There is no way you should have to go to the ombudsman for this but at least you should get through to the people at octopus who will be able to give you an answer as to why they haven't got you a smart meter yet.

Coffeekup

siranderu said:

The web page for the boiler says 24, 30, 36 kWh. I don't know which ours is.

Washing machine is cold feed only.

Thermostat is completely off.

Think it's all down to the showers now. Will try to get girlfriend to hurry up a bit (not likely to go down well ).

Could well be down to shower's, my ex used to be in the shower and 45 minutes. I'd walk in the bathroom and it was a steam room and she wasn't even in the shower... Needless to say we had a few quarrels over that.

You may have a gas leak... Best time to figure that out is take a meter reading before you both go out for a good few hours and take another reading when you get back.

As for the boiler size ... Normally there is a pull down panel or a panel that opens with some kind of info/sticker label on it.