Why is my gas use so high?

Gerry1 · 4 December 2019 at 7:37PM

LostCdn wrote: »

Gerry 1
Omg how do you turn the entire supply off???

There should be a lever close to the meter. In this example the yellow label confirms that you would turn the red lever to the vertical position to switch off the supply, e.g. if you smell gas or are going away when the weather is warm and there's no risk of any pipes freezing.

If the meter reading advances when the supply has been turned fully off then the meter is faulty.

Gerry1 · 4 December 2019 at 8:05PM

merchcon55 wrote: »

Given the size of your flat - while expensive - why not consider an electric fan heater?

Not a good idea except for short periods (e.g. getting up or going to bed) or where no other heating is available (e.g. a garage or shed). Full price electricity is about five times as expensive as gas. It's like having a bath using bottled water because there's a leaky tap and you've turned the water off at the stopcock.

The OP needs to find out what the problem is, not switch to a far more expensive fuel.

merchcon55 wrote: »

Yes they run at 3KW/hr on high (1.5KW/hr on low setting)

So that's 18KW used at say 15p/KW

It's important to get the units correct otherwise it gets very confusing.

It should be

Yes they run at 3kW on high (1.5kW on low setting)

So that's 18kWh used at say 15p/kWh

LostCdn · 4 December 2019 at 8:46PM

Gerry1 wrote: »

There should be a lever close to the meter. In this example the yellow label confirms that you would turn the red lever to the vertical position to switch off the supply, e.g. if you smell gas or are going away when the weather is warm and there's no risk of any pipes freezing.

If the meter reading advances when the supply has been turned fully off then the meter is faulty.

Thank you for this info, Gerry! Mine looks quite different and no red lever - and my meter is digital, so would I still be able to read the meter index if I manage to turn the gas fully off?

Thank you all ever so much for all your advice. I'm wondering, as this is my first time ever dealing with heat or gas or any of these issues, if I have understood correctly and if this would be the best course of action:

step 1 - to insist that the landlord provide me with a gas safety check certificate, and if he doesn't have one, to insist he get one ASAP. Would this include this whole red lever test stuff? Would they look at the thermostat as part of that test? Is a boiler engineer/test and a gas safety engineer the same thing? I apologize for the stupid question - I've never in my life before moving to the UK even seen a boiler

step 2 - to get the landlord to get the boiler serviced as it's past it's one year date, and he said he would do it when I moved in and hasn't yet, and keeps saying he's out of town and will do it when he's back
step 3 - I have switched suppliers but am waiting for that to happen on Dec 20. I will be out of town for the holidays but back to Glasgow on the 2 of Jan. I need to then get the new supplier to change the meter to a smart/credit meter. Will that then, in theory, mean that if there is a meter fault, then with the new meter this should be taken care of? Can I get SSE to change my meter even if I'm switching away from them soon?

I also noticed while putzing around that the radiator in the bathroom, if the valve thingy is at 3 (out of 5), the radiator remains cold, but the other radiators in the flat are hot. If I put the bathroom radiator valve to 5, only then it starts to heat up. Could I have found part of the problem?

LostCdn · 4 December 2019 at 8:56PM

mitbrille wrote: »

There must be something wrong with the flat, your numbers or supplier.

From your number, you had 25m3 of usage during 4 days. That adds up to 89p (usage) + £1.42 (day rate)
That's nowhere near to £11.

Bear in mind, I am not familiar with prepaid metres but according to your numbers there is an issue there. Call or email them and ask for an explanation. (Are they taking credits from your account from actual or estimated consumption?)

Back to your flat. Thermal plastic on windows, aluminium foil behind windows help but they won't make miracles. Do the walls feel wet or damp?

Can you look up the EPC rating of the flat?
EPC Register (Use your address): Google it. Sorry, I can't post links as I am new here.

What boiler do you have? Let's see how efficient it is.
Have you got thermostatic radiator valve on radiators?

Let's see what can be done to make your flat a home.

Okay so there is no EPC registered for my flat according to the link above....

Blackpool_Saver · 4 December 2019 at 9:45PM

Looks like your landlord is another hopeless case, have you got an actual tenancy agreement?

victor2 · 4 December 2019 at 10:11PM

Is it a flat that was part of a bigger house converted into separate flats? If so, there's a possibility you are supplying gas to another flat as well.

It needs a gas-safe registered engineer to look at it. Switching off the gas supply at the meter needs to be done by someone who knows what he's looking at. It could be a faulty meter or it could be that gas is going elsewhere - either by a leak or to another flat.

Gerry1 · 4 December 2019 at 10:28PM

victor2 wrote: »

Switching off the gas supply at the meter needs to be done by someone who knows what he's looking at.

Absolutely not !

If you suspect there's a leak it's one of the first things you should do.

victor2 · 4 December 2019 at 10:58PM

Gerry1 wrote: »

Absolutely not !

If you suspect there's a leak it's one of the first things you should do.

I should have elaborated...
In the context of this discussion, switching the gas supply off and presumably back on again should be done by someone who knows what they are looking it. IF it is supplying something else, which happens to be a lit stove, and you switch off the supply, the flame goes out and gas comes through when you switch it back on, which is not good news for the person using the stove if they don't notice right away. Lots of ifs there, so I kept it short, but I agree if you suspect a leak, you should switch off the supply immediately and if you smell gas, call the emergency number usually shown on your meter.

Blackpool_Saver · 4 December 2019 at 11:36PM

This has been going on for hours...

Have you got a tenancy agreement?
Contact the landlord again and insist someone comes out and does a gas safety check, don't be fobbed off.
Gas can be dangerous, there is either a problem because you have the boiler and the stat on too low, there is a leak, or your gas is being shared with others.
Whatever it is you need to be VERY FIRM and insistent.

bertiewhite · 5 December 2019 at 12:05AM

LostCdn wrote: »

I also noticed while putzing around that the radiator in the bathroom, if the valve thingy is at 3 (out of 5), the radiator remains cold, but the other radiators in the flat are hot. If I put the bathroom radiator valve to 5, only then it starts to heat up. Could I have found part of the problem?

They are Temperature Regulator Valves (TRV's) which are basically individual thermostats that can be used to regulate temperatures in each room so that you aren't heating the ones you aren't in very often.

My upstairs rooms are generally much warmer than downstairs in my house (like most houses I guess) so I've got them set to 3 whereas the ones downstairs are all on 5.

I think 3 means that the rad will turn off at 20 degrees and 5 is 30 degrees. If they're on 5 with the heating on but they're still cold then you can take the control knob off to make sure the regulator pin inside isn't sticking. I had this happen in my last house after the summer and had to give some of them a slight tap to free them off.

Why is my gas use so high?

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