Dodgy meter (or just too much gas)?!

notbritishgas

Sgt_Oddball wrote: »

Hi.

We moved into a new 2 bedroom flat last summer. Previously we lived in another (new, rented) 2 bedroom flat.

Now, we have just received a large bill (much larger than usual) and looking into the details it seems our gas usage is between 2 and 3 times higher.

Old flat: 50 units / month average
New flat: 125 units / month average.

The average was done with actual readings using 12 month separation for old flat and 10 month separation for new. For the most recent month we have used 200 units (m3) alone! This seems really excessive.

Has anyone else had problems with over-use of gas in new properties? I am suspecting the meter but am not sure.We have the heating on a timer (mornings/evenings, use gas for cooking etc.).

Please reply if you can help! Many thanks.

I still think this consumption is very low for someone with GCH, even though you work all day, I presume it came on in morning and evening and possibly all weekend? 50metric units equates to approx 550kwh per month.
This is not much more than I use in the summer just to heat the water for 1.25hrs a day.

If I was suspecting a meter it would be the one in your old flat,sorry.

espresso

notbritishgas wrote: »

50metric units equates to approx 550kwh per month.
This is not much more than I use in the summer just to heat the water for 1.25hrs a day.

However if it was an imperial meter 50 units converts to 1608 kWh or 19296 kWh per annum.

mech_2

I think for the properties as described (modern 2 bed flats) a reasonable average could be less than 10,000kWh a year (75 units per month approx). So the consumption in the new flat is possibly a little high, but there are simply too many factors to say what that could be caused by...

(For example... Are the heating controls the same? (TRVs, digital vs mechanical roomstat, boiler temperature settings). Were both of the boilers similar? The new regulations for boiler efficiency came in April 2005, could the new flat have been approved before that? Has the boiler been serviced recently? How about your neighbours' heating habits? Are any of the adjoining flats empty? How many of the walls are external walls? Which way do they face? How many south-facing windows do the flats have? How big are the windows? Are the curtains/blinds the same? How about draughts - could it be more draughty? How about ventilation? Over-zealous ventilation could be dumping excessive amounts of warm air out of the building. Is the outside of either building sheltered from the wind by trees or other buildings? What are the building materials? A largely concrete or brick structure will store lots of heat when the heating is on and release it when the heating is off and air in the flat has cooled slightly, whereas a timber frame building won't do this.... etc etc etc)

notbritishgas

espresso wrote: »

However if it was an imperial meter 50 units converts to 1608 kWh or 19296 kWh per annum.

True, however the OP seems to rule out the imperial/metric discrepancy.

All will be revealed when he/she posts the kwh figures.

freegenie

If you guys could help me over on MY thread please I'd appreciate it...
I cannot fathom this:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=879443

Thankyou

Sgt_Oddball

Hi,

sorry to hear about your situation freegenie - I am sure everyone who has seen this thread would be interested in helping you with yours.

As promised, here are the energy usages (kwh):

Flat 1:
26/6/07 - 21/6/06.
1256 - 634 = 622 m3.
Total gas energy used = 622 x 11.1 = 6900 kwh .....average over 12 months is 580 per month.

Flat 2
23/4/08 - 26/6/07
1721 - 467 = 1254 m3
Total gas energy used = 1254 x 11.1 = 13900 kwh .....average over 10 months is 1390 per month.

Annual consumption for Flat 2 (13900 extended to 12 months) is 16800 kwh!!

So we do appear to be using far more gas. The balance of opinion up to now has suggested that this level of usage is fairly normal - is this fair to say?

Do we have a problem with our gas?!

Thanks

mute_posting

Might have already being mentioned - perhaps your the meter at the old flat was faulty (and under-read)?

MP

Sgt_Oddball

This is a possibility but no more likely than the present meter being faulty and reading too much!

Is there an independent way of checking the meters?

mute_posting

I think you can have them independantly checked via the supplier - but if there is no fault you get charged for the 3rd party test AFAIK