Gas consumption figures- how many kWH?

Anglichanin

My estimated gas consumption, according to my supplier, is 20,000 kWh per year, yet if I look at last year’s meter readings on my supplier’s website I’ve used 1,608 kWh of gas since this time last year. Can someone explain that discrepancy please?

I have a detached house and run my gas boiler (24W) for perhaps 5 or 6 hours per day in winter, less in spring and autumn.

Also, is the cost of running my 24W boiler actually £2.40 per hour if my gas now costs 10p per kWh, or will it actually cost less than that as it won’t be constantly firing as my room thermostat cuts it out at the chosen temperature and I have the dial on the boiler at perhaps 65% ?

[Deleted User]

You need to convert your meter readings (listed in m3) into kWh as you are comparing different quantities.

[Deleted User]

Check your actual meter: does it show that the meter records usage in cubic feet or cubic metres?

Does what is shown on the statement agree with what is shown on the meter?

How are you calculating the 1608kWh of gas. Gas meters and their indexes show the volume of gas used not kWh. Your bill will show the conversion that has been used.

Heating your home with gas will use a lot more than 1608kWh/ year. If your meter records volume in cubic metres then a meter index difference of 1608 equates broadly to 18,000kWh/year.

All boilers modulate down as the house reaches its set temperature. You are not using 24kW every hour. This smart meter graph shows how my usage drops as my home heats up.

Your usage of c. 20000kWh/year is very high. You need to look at the obvious things: one, what room temperatures are you setting; what boiler flow temperature have you set; insulation and heating controls.

I have a 4 bedroomed house with the heating on at 19C from 7am to 9pm. We used less than 7000kWh over the last 12 months. That said, we have had a very mild Winter: let us hope that it is the same this year.

wild666

My weekly average is 28.85 but putting it in summer/winter terms it's more like 8 kWh per week in summer and 55 kWh in winter. 
The yearly figure is around 1650 kWh but I use a hot water bottle in winter and only have the heating on for a couple of hours twice per week. 
I've set the boiler to 40 degrees for water and 50 degrees for heating and the thermostat is set at 17 degrees, the reason the water temp is so low is because I never use hot water and boil water when needed.

[Deleted User]

Are you sure the numbers you are reading from the supplier’s website are in kWh?  I don’t think they are - I think they are in meter units.

Your 1608, if that’s in m3, would equate to over 18,000kWh. Add a bit for this winter likely being colder than last and the 20,000kWh they estimate makes a lot of sense.

Anglichanin

Thanks everyone for your useful replies.
My supplier’s website does actually list the units as kWh- my reading for 1st Oct 21 is listed as 31944.0 kWh and for yesterday is listed as 33552.0 kWh. I guess they have the wrong units written down and that I wouldn’t get far insisting I only pay for that quantity of gas😉
Just checked the meter itself and yes, the units there are cubic metres, so thanks to everyone for explaining that.
I’ve never seen the point of agreeing to the constant calls from my supplier to install a smart meter until now- I had one in a past house and never saw the benefit but with bills as they are I need to keep a closer eye on consumption. Thanks for that useful graph, Dolor.
At present we have one thermostat in our kitchen, which is almost always colder than our front room. I suppose I need to find the optimal position for it in the house and the optimal temperature to set it at.

[Deleted User]

Seems it was an entirely reasonable assumption for you to make, thinking it was kWh when the numbers were labelled as kWh.

When you just checked the meter, was the number near enough the 33552 to confirm that it is actually m3 readings you see online?

Anglichanin

I submit my readings manually so yes, the 33552 on the site exactly matches the reading I entered yesterday, once the supplier’s website had become accessible after collapsing under the strain of people submitting readings on 30th Sept in response to their email requests.

[Deleted User]

Anglichanin said:

Thanks everyone for your useful replies.
My supplier’s website does actually list the units as kWh- my reading for 1st Oct 21 is listed as 31944.0 kWh and for yesterday is listed as 33552.0 kWh. I guess they have the wrong units written down and that I wouldn’t get far insisting I only pay for that quantity of gas😉
Just checked the meter itself and yes, the units there are cubic metres, so thanks to everyone for explaining that.
I’ve never seen the point of agreeing to the constant calls from my supplier to install a smart meter until now- I had one in a past house and never saw the benefit but with bills as they are I need to keep a closer eye on consumption. Thanks for that useful graph, Dolor.
At present we have one thermostat in our kitchen, which is almost always colder than our front room. I suppose I need to find the optimal position for it in the house and the optimal temperature to set it at.

Are you sure? Most gas bills follow this type of format:

Note consumption in metric units and the unit to kWh conversion table bottom right.

macman

Readings for gas are never in kwh, they're in either cu m or 100's cu ft, depending on your meter. Either way, they're measures of volume. On the bill, you'll only see one figure for kWh, which is the basis on which billing is done after conversion of volume to energy. So not sure what you are seeing on your online account, but it can't be kWh's. Post a screenshot?

Ally_E.

Octopus use historic data for the property for the last 5 years to estimate yearly consumption. My estimated usage is 8,000kW/h higher than actual usage as previous owners of this house had the heating on more, also with octopus.