How much energy do you use?

Andrea15

Big disappointment when the december bill came and it transpired that I used only marginally less gas than the previous year, despite the heating being (or so I thought) pretty much off, except for 1-2 hours early in the morning. OK, it is true that I am always turning the thermostat down, but this year I THOUGHT i had been particularly savvy but clearly not so.
My house is a late victorian cottage on two floors and a back extension. Three bedrooms and it has been insulated the best we can (talking about the old part of the house). New double glazing too. I have about 130 sqm.

GCH with combi boiler. 

Anyway, in 2021 I used the following for gas (cubic metres):

Oct - 57

Nov - 122

Dec - 181

In 2022

Oct - 42

Nov - 80

Dec - 162

Electricity has been pretty much constant at an average of 210-220 KWh per month.
Clearly, all the readings are up to date.

ariarnia

we actually used more! partly lifestyle reasons having an older person staying with us for most of the month and partly because it uses more gas to heat a house to the same temp when its colder outside. so even if you have the gas on less it could be burning more given the arctic week we had recently! 

lots of people posted there readings compared to last year here. and theres a link to how to see how much colder it was than last year in your area that you might find interesting and might help you feel less disappointed (if you think how bad it could of been if you hadn't been cutting back!). 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6414053/december-2022-4oc-colder-than-december-2021#latest

EssexHebridean

I’d say that you’ve done pretty well cutting use that far in much colder temperatures in December this year! 

Petriix

This is why I always roll my eyes when people make claims about the effectiveness (or otherwise) of changing behavior on energy consumption. It's pointless to compare one year with the next (or day, week, month, whatever). There are too many variables which confuse things. 

All you can do is minimise your usage by ensuring you don't waste energy heating (any part of) the house any more than necessary. If you're doing that then you can't do any better. 

Marvel1

Gas from 1st October 21 to 1st January 22 = 1068 kwh

Gas from 1st October 22 to 1st January 23 =852 kwh

Electric from 1st October 21 to 1st January 22 =386 kwh

Electric from 1st October 22 to 1st January 23 = 404 kwh

Last year drying clothes using the radiator and dehumiter on.  Now it's the only the dehumiter.

Only left the heating all day by accident when I went  to work, thought I pressed the off button but instead I pressed on.

Interesting, as I topped up first time using the card on the 31st December since March - so meters were running old rates until now.  £50 showing 1st Jan - when I put card in meter and today now £49.56, don't think they are backtracking.

Electric key not topped up since March either, will need to top up by end of the month though, be interesting to see if that does the same.

FreeBear

Andrea15 said: GCH with combi boiler. 

Anyway, in 2021 I used the following:

Oct - 57

Nov - 122

Dec - 181

In 2022

Oct - 42

Nov - 80

Dec - 162

Are those readings cubic metres, (100s) cubic feet, or KWh ?

If that is just 162KWh for Dec '22, that is pretty good going. Not so much if cubic feet.

Andrea15

Are those readings cubic metres, (100s) cubic feet, or KWh ?

If that is just 162KWh for Dec '22, that is pretty good going. Not so much if cubic feet.

It is KWh for electricity and cubic metres for the gas. I have now updated my opening post.

Krakkkers

Cubic ft of electricity?

Andrea15

Krakkkers said:

Cubic ft of electricity?

Huh? No, kWh. 

FreeBear

Andrea15 said: GCH with combi boiler. 

Anyway, in 2021 I used the following:

Oct - 57 - 600KWh

Nov - 122 - 1290KWh

Dec - 181 - 1910KWh

In 2022

Oct - 42 - 443KWh

Nov - 80 - 844KWh

Dec - 162 - 1710KWh

A little easier to compare with other people now

You have managed to reduce consumption by about 10% during December. Bearing in mind, we had a very cold week or two before Christmas which pushed everyones usage up. There are things you could do to reduce your consumption further, but it won't be a huge amount.. e.g. Use a programmable thermostat that allows for different temperatures throughout the day/week (possibly 5-10% saving). Turn your domestic hot water temperature down by 5°C (maybe another 5% saving). Reduce the CH flow temperature, aiming for a 50°C return temp (2-5% saving) - This last one only really works if your radiators are adequately sized to heat the property effectively at a lower flow temperature.

Andrea15

FreeBear said:

There are things you could do to reduce your consumption further, but it won't be a huge amount.. e.g. Use a programmable thermostat that allows for different temperatures throughout the day/week (possibly 5-10% saving). Turn your domestic hot water temperature down by 5°C (maybe another 5% saving). Reduce the CH flow temperature, aiming for a 50°C return temp (2-5% saving) - This last one only really works if your radiators are adequately sized to heat the property effectively at a lower flow temperature.

Didn't think of checking. I have now reduced the hot water to 40 (from about 47 - too hot anyway) and the heating from 57 to 50. 
The thermostat is pretty much always off, except the morning if it is too cold. Evenings are not so bad because you are cooking anyway.