First month of heating: reduced gas usage by 33%

FreeBear

ariarnia said:

markin said:

Ally_E. said:

[Deleted User] said:

Trying to make any usage comparisons with October last year is likely to lead to some very flawed conclusions. It is unseasonably warm. Our gas boiler has yet to come on.

If it is unseasonably cold next month, and I use double the amount of gas than the previous year what do these two months tell me? 

Yes, we are all looking for usage savings but even comparing one Winter season with the next needs to looked at through the prism of different Winters. The previous Winter was unusually mild.

If you read the OP carefully I also mention tracking the weather and average daily temperatures and October 2022 is colder than October 2021 in my area by almost a degree.

Has it been dryer this year? Could the house brick still be warmer from the heat waves?  A wet September would mean more water in the bricks, taking more energy to dry them out again.

would wet bricks also hold more heat than dry bricks? air holds heat less well than water. 

Wet bricks conduct heat quite a bit better than dry ones. So if it is cold outside, the heat inside will be sucked out through a wet wall.

A cold wet wall will also attract condensation which can lead to mould and in turn, health problems.

ariarnia

FreeBear said:

ariarnia said:

markin said:

Ally_E. said:

[Deleted User] said:

Trying to make any usage comparisons with October last year is likely to lead to some very flawed conclusions. It is unseasonably warm. Our gas boiler has yet to come on.

If it is unseasonably cold next month, and I use double the amount of gas than the previous year what do these two months tell me? 

Yes, we are all looking for usage savings but even comparing one Winter season with the next needs to looked at through the prism of different Winters. The previous Winter was unusually mild.

If you read the OP carefully I also mention tracking the weather and average daily temperatures and October 2022 is colder than October 2021 in my area by almost a degree.

Has it been dryer this year? Could the house brick still be warmer from the heat waves?  A wet September would mean more water in the bricks, taking more energy to dry them out again.

would wet bricks also hold more heat than dry bricks? air holds heat less well than water. 

Wet bricks conduct heat quite a bit better than dry ones. So if it is cold outside, the heat inside will be sucked out through a wet wall.

A cold wet wall will also attract condensation which can lead to mould and in turn, health problems.

thank you. sometimes i feel like a six year old reading a physics problem but there always someone on here who knows the answer 

SensibleSarah

ariarnia said:

 i'm trying to convince the pets having a door closed somewhere in the house doesn't mean there lost and alone and unloved. failing that i think were going to put pet doors on the internal doors! 

Ha - I feel your pain. I have 2 dogs and 3 cats and they are very much used to all internal doors being open for their free access! I have a dog flap on the back door that they all use, which also isn't great for keeping the heat in - but I'm not using heating currently so will cross that bridge when I come to it. More likely that I'll just change it to internal doors being ajar rather than wide open though. 

I'm a very low user (gas especially) to be honest - last 12 months use is just over 3000 kWh gas and 1600 kWh electricity because I've always rather put another jumper on than heat the house, but I will cave when temps get low and have the heating on for a few hours a day - usually Nov-early March. 

Spoonie_Turtle

SensibleSarah said:

ariarnia said:

 i'm trying to convince the pets having a door closed somewhere in the house doesn't mean there lost and alone and unloved. failing that i think were going to put pet doors on the internal doors! 

Ha - I feel your pain. I have 2 dogs and 3 cats and they are very much used to all internal doors being open for their free access! I have a dog flap on the back door that they all use, which also isn't great for keeping the heat in - but I'm not using heating currently so will cross that bridge when I come to it. More likely that I'll just change it to internal doors being ajar rather than wide open though. 

Our cat was fairly slim, could wriggle through the smallest of spaces, but if a door was ajar he would open it further - often wide open - before even attempting to go through.  So we would end up with them left fairly wide open anyway, or completely closed them if there was a human around to attend to his whims

EssexHebridean

pensionpawn said:

casjen said:

Heinzbean said:

Well done Alley_E

I started a similar energy saving plan.

I turned the flow down on the radiators. Just basically started at the closest rad to the boiler and opened that valve ¼ of a turn next rad ¾ of a turn etc.

Turned the gas regulator knob on the front of the boiler from 8 clock position to 5 o-clock position.

I don’t use the stat . I just turn the stat up for 20 minutes then turn it off.

This saves me money 62cf3 per month using the stat . Manual control 42cf3 per month.

My boiler used to use 0.3cf3 per 20 minutes now it uses 0.2cf3 for 20 minutes. That’s 33% difference. The hot water turned that down so its the right temperature not to add cold water.

I like the way I use my heating I know at 35.31p per Kwh it costs me £0.65p for a 20 minute blast .

Electrically I swapped all my older energy saving lamps (20w) for the newer led lamps (9W),

The kitchen fluorescent light I swapped the 58W lamp for a 20W Led lamp.

So effectively cutting my lighting bill by 50%.

I stopped using the old electric kwh hog oven. And bought a “instant pot duo”.This is 700w . The pot can steam a 3lb chicken in 24 minutes faster than the Kwh hog(2500w).

I turned off my second freezer that was a 25 year old freezer. What s the point of freezing food and never eating it. I don’t leave anything on standby apart from 5g modem which has an my Voip landline running on it.(might put this on a timer ).

When I make tea if its 2 cups I measure 2 cupful's exactly boil the exact amount of water.

Previously on a Sunday when the old cooker was used , extra freezer, old lighting etc it could be

10Kwh for that day. Now im down to below 5 Kwh .Yesterday 3.66 Kwh. Yes I am sad . While I am waiting for the kettle to boil in the morning I pop my head under the stairs and take a daily meter reading takes me less than a minute. No good trying to energy save without being able to check your results.

Meanwhile I look at my neighbour that uses a tumble dryer in the summertime and has every single

light on in the house .

 BIB   Why on earth does this have any relevance whatsoever to you.... Homes are to be enjoyed not stressing yourself to death hunting every nook and cranny to save a penny.. If that's your idea of living then good for you but passing judgement on another persons use of their house...isnt...

I tend to agree. There's certain 'low hanging fruit' like double glazing, cavity / loft insulation, solar panels / battery, a new more efficient boiler, Nest thermostat, curtains on external doors, switching off electrical equipment (with smart switches) overnight when you don't need them. Some of these wins are a large capital expense (with large savings) that take time to repay and others are low capital expense (with lower savings) with more immediate returns. I am a self confessed data junkie and it's a daily routine to check performance characteristics of my house / pension and tweak. I have a new Viessmann (wifi enabled) gas boiler which I can learn about and tweak flow / return temps and watch the modulation etc. I (sadly...) enjoy optimising systems however that was my early career and I'll never change. However I know that when I've found the optimal settings I'll kick back.

Lucky old you being able to consider all those things as "low hanging fruit". Aside from the Double Glazing which we managed get redone a few years ago now - the difference it made was astonishing but it was a BIG financial outlay and we were fortunate to be in a position to make it - every single one of the other things you mention there are not possibilities for us and many others. We cannot insulate for heat loss upwards as our neighbours upstairs would probably object to us replacing their flooring with insulation. Our walls aren't able to take cavity wall insulation as they have no cavities. We have no roof for solar, and no space internally for battery storage. It is impractical for us to have GSH installed in place of our existing electric heating, and so a thermostat, no matter how intelligent, is of no use to us. So often this stuff is seen and dressed up as being "things that anyone can do/should do if they are financially able" but in fact in many cases they're far from accessible to all. It's like all the chat about heat pumps - it's going to be interesting to see what happens if the time ever arrives when households are being seriously steered towards these sorts of system - not only does it come with the same issues around practicality of installation as GSH would, for us, we also have nowhere to safely and securely house the external "gubbins" either. 

I echo Ariania's comment about pinning "linings" inside unlined curtains by the way - we have done this with our unlined bedroom curtains and it made a big difference not only to the temperature of the room but also to the amount of light that comes in through them as we chose thin dark coloured fleece blankets for the task. When choosing new blinds for the bathroom and kitchen window's we've taken care to pick thermal types rather than ordinary blackout ones - they still have the effect of blocking almost all light aside from anything that leaks round the edges, and make an appreciable difference to the cold air coming off the windows. 

markin

Well internal/external insulation is either more expensive or more disruptive, same with a heat pump install, Isn't wall insulation a 20-30 year payback, and what is the payback on heat pumps vs Gas, if ever before they need replacing?

With solar/battery's, Windows, New Gas boiler its 5-10 year payback and easier to find that info or work it out.

chris_n

EssexHebridean said:

pensionpawn said:

casjen said:

Heinzbean said:

Well done Alley_E

I started a similar energy saving plan.

I turned the flow down on the radiators. Just basically started at the closest rad to the boiler and opened that valve ¼ of a turn next rad ¾ of a turn etc.

Turned the gas regulator knob on the front of the boiler from 8 clock position to 5 o-clock position.

I don’t use the stat . I just turn the stat up for 20 minutes then turn it off.

This saves me money 62cf3 per month using the stat . Manual control 42cf3 per month.

My boiler used to use 0.3cf3 per 20 minutes now it uses 0.2cf3 for 20 minutes. That’s 33% difference. The hot water turned that down so its the right temperature not to add cold water.

I like the way I use my heating I know at 35.31p per Kwh it costs me £0.65p for a 20 minute blast .

Electrically I swapped all my older energy saving lamps (20w) for the newer led lamps (9W),

The kitchen fluorescent light I swapped the 58W lamp for a 20W Led lamp.

So effectively cutting my lighting bill by 50%.

I stopped using the old electric kwh hog oven. And bought a “instant pot duo”.This is 700w . The pot can steam a 3lb chicken in 24 minutes faster than the Kwh hog(2500w).

I turned off my second freezer that was a 25 year old freezer. What s the point of freezing food and never eating it. I don’t leave anything on standby apart from 5g modem which has an my Voip landline running on it.(might put this on a timer ).

When I make tea if its 2 cups I measure 2 cupful's exactly boil the exact amount of water.

Previously on a Sunday when the old cooker was used , extra freezer, old lighting etc it could be

10Kwh for that day. Now im down to below 5 Kwh .Yesterday 3.66 Kwh. Yes I am sad . While I am waiting for the kettle to boil in the morning I pop my head under the stairs and take a daily meter reading takes me less than a minute. No good trying to energy save without being able to check your results.

Meanwhile I look at my neighbour that uses a tumble dryer in the summertime and has every single

light on in the house .

 BIB   Why on earth does this have any relevance whatsoever to you.... Homes are to be enjoyed not stressing yourself to death hunting every nook and cranny to save a penny.. If that's your idea of living then good for you but passing judgement on another persons use of their house...isnt...

I tend to agree. There's certain 'low hanging fruit' like double glazing, cavity / loft insulation, solar panels / battery, a new more efficient boiler, Nest thermostat, curtains on external doors, switching off electrical equipment (with smart switches) overnight when you don't need them. Some of these wins are a large capital expense (with large savings) that take time to repay and others are low capital expense (with lower savings) with more immediate returns. I am a self confessed data junkie and it's a daily routine to check performance characteristics of my house / pension and tweak. I have a new Viessmann (wifi enabled) gas boiler which I can learn about and tweak flow / return temps and watch the modulation etc. I (sadly...) enjoy optimising systems however that was my early career and I'll never change. However I know that when I've found the optimal settings I'll kick back.

 We cannot insulate for heat loss upwards as our neighbours upstairs would probably object to us replacing their flooring with insulation. Our walls aren't able to take cavity wall insulation as they have no cavities. 

Don't really see why you can't insulate, you can certainly insulate upwards by covering your ceiling with insulation, vapour membrane and plasterboard, same for the walls.

ariarnia

chris_n said:

EssexHebridean said:

pensionpawn said:

casjen said:

Heinzbean said:

Well done Alley_E

I started a similar energy saving plan.

I turned the flow down on the radiators. Just basically started at the closest rad to the boiler and opened that valve ¼ of a turn next rad ¾ of a turn etc.

Turned the gas regulator knob on the front of the boiler from 8 clock position to 5 o-clock position.

I don’t use the stat . I just turn the stat up for 20 minutes then turn it off.

This saves me money 62cf3 per month using the stat . Manual control 42cf3 per month.

My boiler used to use 0.3cf3 per 20 minutes now it uses 0.2cf3 for 20 minutes. That’s 33% difference. The hot water turned that down so its the right temperature not to add cold water.

I like the way I use my heating I know at 35.31p per Kwh it costs me £0.65p for a 20 minute blast .

Electrically I swapped all my older energy saving lamps (20w) for the newer led lamps (9W),

The kitchen fluorescent light I swapped the 58W lamp for a 20W Led lamp.

So effectively cutting my lighting bill by 50%.

I stopped using the old electric kwh hog oven. And bought a “instant pot duo”.This is 700w . The pot can steam a 3lb chicken in 24 minutes faster than the Kwh hog(2500w).

I turned off my second freezer that was a 25 year old freezer. What s the point of freezing food and never eating it. I don’t leave anything on standby apart from 5g modem which has an my Voip landline running on it.(might put this on a timer ).

When I make tea if its 2 cups I measure 2 cupful's exactly boil the exact amount of water.

Previously on a Sunday when the old cooker was used , extra freezer, old lighting etc it could be

10Kwh for that day. Now im down to below 5 Kwh .Yesterday 3.66 Kwh. Yes I am sad . While I am waiting for the kettle to boil in the morning I pop my head under the stairs and take a daily meter reading takes me less than a minute. No good trying to energy save without being able to check your results.

Meanwhile I look at my neighbour that uses a tumble dryer in the summertime and has every single

light on in the house .

 BIB   Why on earth does this have any relevance whatsoever to you.... Homes are to be enjoyed not stressing yourself to death hunting every nook and cranny to save a penny.. If that's your idea of living then good for you but passing judgement on another persons use of their house...isnt...

I tend to agree. There's certain 'low hanging fruit' like double glazing, cavity / loft insulation, solar panels / battery, a new more efficient boiler, Nest thermostat, curtains on external doors, switching off electrical equipment (with smart switches) overnight when you don't need them. Some of these wins are a large capital expense (with large savings) that take time to repay and others are low capital expense (with lower savings) with more immediate returns. I am a self confessed data junkie and it's a daily routine to check performance characteristics of my house / pension and tweak. I have a new Viessmann (wifi enabled) gas boiler which I can learn about and tweak flow / return temps and watch the modulation etc. I (sadly...) enjoy optimising systems however that was my early career and I'll never change. However I know that when I've found the optimal settings I'll kick back.

 We cannot insulate for heat loss upwards as our neighbours upstairs would probably object to us replacing their flooring with insulation. Our walls aren't able to take cavity wall insulation as they have no cavities. 

Don't really see why you can't insulate, you can certainly insulate upwards by covering your ceiling with insulation, vapour membrane and plasterboard, same for the walls.

the vintage style tent celings were supposed to help with heat loss. maybe time for a comeback  

EssexHebridean

chris_n said:

EssexHebridean said:

pensionpawn said:

casjen said:

Heinzbean said:

Well done Alley_E

I started a similar energy saving plan.

I turned the flow down on the radiators. Just basically started at the closest rad to the boiler and opened that valve ¼ of a turn next rad ¾ of a turn etc.

Turned the gas regulator knob on the front of the boiler from 8 clock position to 5 o-clock position.

I don’t use the stat . I just turn the stat up for 20 minutes then turn it off.

This saves me money 62cf3 per month using the stat . Manual control 42cf3 per month.

My boiler used to use 0.3cf3 per 20 minutes now it uses 0.2cf3 for 20 minutes. That’s 33% difference. The hot water turned that down so its the right temperature not to add cold water.

I like the way I use my heating I know at 35.31p per Kwh it costs me £0.65p for a 20 minute blast .

Electrically I swapped all my older energy saving lamps (20w) for the newer led lamps (9W),

The kitchen fluorescent light I swapped the 58W lamp for a 20W Led lamp.

So effectively cutting my lighting bill by 50%.

I stopped using the old electric kwh hog oven. And bought a “instant pot duo”.This is 700w . The pot can steam a 3lb chicken in 24 minutes faster than the Kwh hog(2500w).

I turned off my second freezer that was a 25 year old freezer. What s the point of freezing food and never eating it. I don’t leave anything on standby apart from 5g modem which has an my Voip landline running on it.(might put this on a timer ).

When I make tea if its 2 cups I measure 2 cupful's exactly boil the exact amount of water.

Previously on a Sunday when the old cooker was used , extra freezer, old lighting etc it could be

10Kwh for that day. Now im down to below 5 Kwh .Yesterday 3.66 Kwh. Yes I am sad . While I am waiting for the kettle to boil in the morning I pop my head under the stairs and take a daily meter reading takes me less than a minute. No good trying to energy save without being able to check your results.

Meanwhile I look at my neighbour that uses a tumble dryer in the summertime and has every single

light on in the house .

 BIB   Why on earth does this have any relevance whatsoever to you.... Homes are to be enjoyed not stressing yourself to death hunting every nook and cranny to save a penny.. If that's your idea of living then good for you but passing judgement on another persons use of their house...isnt...

I tend to agree. There's certain 'low hanging fruit' like double glazing, cavity / loft insulation, solar panels / battery, a new more efficient boiler, Nest thermostat, curtains on external doors, switching off electrical equipment (with smart switches) overnight when you don't need them. Some of these wins are a large capital expense (with large savings) that take time to repay and others are low capital expense (with lower savings) with more immediate returns. I am a self confessed data junkie and it's a daily routine to check performance characteristics of my house / pension and tweak. I have a new Viessmann (wifi enabled) gas boiler which I can learn about and tweak flow / return temps and watch the modulation etc. I (sadly...) enjoy optimising systems however that was my early career and I'll never change. However I know that when I've found the optimal settings I'll kick back.

 We cannot insulate for heat loss upwards as our neighbours upstairs would probably object to us replacing their flooring with insulation. Our walls aren't able to take cavity wall insulation as they have no cavities. 

Don't really see why you can't insulate, you can certainly insulate upwards by covering your ceiling with insulation, vapour membrane and plasterboard, same for the walls.

Absolutely - if we wanted to shrink our already quite small flat to an even smaller size, I’m sure we could, but back in the real world… 

silverwhistle

Another low user of gas here, less than 2000kwh per annum as I have a wood burner that does most of the heavy lifting and PV solar panels doing the bulk of the hot water via a diverter.

I've an inner terrace and my north facing lounge hasn't been lower than 18.5c so far this autumn, without heating. Could posters on these threads indicate where they are so we can take that into account when we think to ourselves "blimey, that's a lot!".

I'm in balmy (barmy?) southern Hampshire.