Need to reduce my gas bill

[Andy Cap]

It all sounds eminently sensible but the final bill is many times what I would expect. In a 3 bed semi, with an inefficient boiler, a not dissimilar heating pattern to yours and a unit price of 3.77p, my annual bill is hovering around £500, which many will say is too high. I really can't imagine where your gas is going providing the heating controls are working as you believe. My boiler never comes on at night for example and I've only noticed it once during the day, even during this cold spell.

I guess you need an expert eye cast over the system, to account for your present usage. Sorry I can't help more.

Andy C

[Mike Hibbert]

not at all, you have certainly made me think, so that's help in itself!

I have now disabled the optimum start, and have set the boiler to get the heating on at 6am for an hour, and then again at 4:30 until bedtime. So let's see what happens!

thanks for your input!

[unopened]

I know this sounds crazy, but the OP hasn't got a meter that claims to be measuring 100s of cubic feet, but is actually recording cubic metres, has he? Is it possible for the facia to be accidentally swapped e.g. when it's been recalibrated at some point? That would nearly triple the bill.

Sid

[Mike Hibbert]

It's an interesting thought! I'm not sure how I'd check that! I think it's unlikely though, the house is a 1920's bungalow conversion, and the gas meter looks very old, I could maybe see how it could have a metric facia, but not the other way round. That would mean someone had swapped the meter then put the old facia back on. Actually, come to think about it, seeing the mess they made of the water mains to the house it's a possibility. Any idea how to check it?

[Andy Cap]

You've already confirmed it's a 100ft3 meter, which is why the figure is multiplied by 2.83 to convert it to m3. The meter may be inaccurate of course. I'm not sure how often they are routinely changed, I think electricity meter are every 10 years. It would be worth a phone call to find out if and when it was done or is due. I think you would have to pay to have it tested, if it was subsequentlt found to be OK. But it may be worth it, to put your mind at rest and make further investigation worthwhile.

Andy C

[Mike Hibbert]

I have just had a look at it's a Schlumberger R5 meter, and says the following on the front

212ft3/h 0.71ft3/rev 1 pulse = 1ft3

Am I right in thinking that it may not be a 100ft3 meter then?

Mike

[Andy Cap]

I think we need an expert like Ed Sirett to come along or your supplier to confirm the measuring unit of this meter. Seeing as only ft3 are mentioned, I'd assume it's a 100ft3 meter but it must be worth checking. The 1 pulse = 1ft3 is apparently to do with an output socket on this particular meter.

Andy C

[Jules]

Do report back...

[John Rumm]

If he has a simple fixed burn rate boiler, then it ought to be possible to observe the meter reading for say 10 mins of burn and check that it is reading correctly.

[Dave Liquorice]

See if you can find a rating plate on your boiler, that should tell you the output if not the input power as well. Then see how much gas is recorded by you meter for a timed continuous run of the boiler. Then do the maths to see if the amount of gas consumed and the energy that should yield equals what the boilers plate says it should have over that period of time.

Very rough but should be good enough to show a possible 3x metering error.

[Dave Liquorice]

hum, July -> Dec 6 months 180 days(ish). 422/180 =A32.24/day...

I'm just green with the tiny little gas bills people are reporting here.= Last 2000l of oil was =A3720 that was delivered end of Nov and will run = out around the end of Feb. The 2000l before that cost =A31025 in April. At l= east the price does follow crude prices down as fast as it follows them up. =

B-) Then there is the lecky bill on top at just under =A31000/year.

[John Rumm]

To add another comparison, I just got my bill, and have used 278 units in the last 94 days - so that is about 3 units a day. Cost was a tad under £300. That's in a 5 bed detached house in an exposed location, solid non cavity walls, stone age boiler driving 18 rads, with bog standard tank stat (timer set to "always on" for hot water), and a prog room start that is set to 15 overnight, 19 through most of the day, and

21 for most of the evening. (cooking is electric)

In the summer the useage was 0.7 units / day, and coming out of the end of last winter 2.5 / day. The interesting one was the couple of months from Feb last year just after we moved in. We had the heating and water on 24/7, and I had not yet fitted the prog stat at that point - just manually adjusted the mechanical one as required. Consumption then was pushing 5 units / day. So it would suggest a bit of work on the system controls can make a significant difference.

[Brass Monkey]

I've just done a rough check on mine and it's around £4 per day, faaaaaaaaaaaaar too much. Admitedly I like it warmish so from around 7am until 1am we're usually at 20C average. This is running 7 out of 10 rads. So, the cavity walls are going to get insulated, the loft is getting extra as well, both loos are getting wall mounted fan heaters and only 3 rads will be on during the day, 4 in the evening. I'll be buggered if i'm paying £4 a day. Cheers for getting me to check mine.

[Dave Liquorice]

Oh Yus. Whe we moved in here the (single) room sat was in the total un heated utilty room and there where no tank stats. Putting proper controls on the two tanks and two zones of heating made a very noticeable drop in oil consumption...

[Owain]

IMO that's rather more than warmish. I'm not Mary Fisher and I don't like it cold, but 17-18degC is ample most of the time.

I have my heating on half an hour in the morning and half an hour in the evenings (on workdays) and that's okay most of the time - a quick blast of the gas fire if a boost is needed.

Owain

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Strange. My original was swapped for an electronic one some 15 years ago - then recently swopped for a new but non electronic type. I thought they all had to be swapped on a regular basis.

[TheScullster]

"Mike Hibbert" wrote

If you have a modern condensing boiler, these are designed to run at lower system temperatures, but this does require larger radiator surface area to achieve the heat input at times of high demand. If a conventional non-condensing boiler, then the operating temperature will be higher - recommend you check the boiler manufacturer's data and also look for Ed Sirett's central heating and boiler FAQs

Phil

[Brass Monkey]

Yes, until recently I always used gas fires and I think i'm gonna revert to them. Nothing like pulling up a chair and toasting yourself. At 17-18C i'm almost dithering :) Rads in the loo are almost pointless, invariably I go in there when they've been off for a while. Fan heaters on demand has to be better/cheaper.

[dennis]

You are using the equivalent of about 10 one bar electric fires continuously. I think you would notice the house being rather warm if you actually were. I think you need a check meter fitting to see if you really are using that much fuel.

[Dave]

Shouldn't that be the other way round?

Dave