USA Average usage 141 per day

[ukellie]

Please could someone advise - just received our bill and our daily average gas usage over 80 days (12th dec 2010 until 1st of March 2011) 141 KW i have compared this with our neighbour who is home all day and as a 4 bed bed bungalow her average over the same period is 56KW (we have a 2 bed bungalow) i had the heating on constant during the bad weather thermostat at 15 deg at night and when we are out at work 7am - 17.00hrs and stat at approx 20 deg when we are at home
Please could anyone advise if this seems high could we have a leak!!

 

[smillsey]

Could try look at your meter with all appliances off including any pilots....

But you would probably smell a leak

If you have the heating on from 5pm to 7am at 20 deg , then thats a LOT of gas.

 

[cr0ft]

It's difficult to give an exact answer on this. Is your house well insulated i.e. do you have loft/cavity wall insulation? Do you have a new, efficient boiler? Do you have thermostatic radiator valves fitted to your radiators? As smillsey says, are you running the heating all night? Most people run it until they go to bed then set it to come on half an hour or so before they get up. Don't mean to teach you to suck eggs, just trying to help!

 

[Bartdude]

I doubt very much that you have a leak,or that your boiler is faulty. I've had a few enquiries of this nature,usually regarding the customers oil use. The past 2 winters have been pretty extreme and heating has worked overtime,coupled with the high fuel prices that means big bills.

The trouble with an oil tank is that the fuel runs out and has to be re-filled,which results in a big bill,the customer can't believe they've used it all and they start questioning the boiler etc. Of course with gas it's permanently supplied and unless your monitoring it the bill can come as a surprise.

As croft says,looking at insulation and other measures is the key to lowering your bills,or put a coat on!

High energy prices are here to stay I'm afraid,we're going to have to get used to it

 

[ukellie]

Hi thanks for the responses just to clarify

all radiators except 3 (2 bathroom 1 hall ) have thermostats we were told that the 3 mentioned couldnt have thermostats on them!! we have 14 radiators all turned to approx 3 or below
we installed a brand new viewsman condensing boiler 4 years ago
only when we had really cold weather did i leave the boiler on constant (overnight, and while we were out at work it was turned down to 15 degrees ) so we occupied the house from 5.30pm - 9.30pm and weekends - i think we need to get the loft insulated and i dont know weather we have cavity wall insulation

I suppose my question is compared to my neighbours usage who has her thermostats set at 20 deg all day 7am -10.30pm and 15 deg through the night and her radiators do not have thermostats her daily average is 56KW she does have cavity wall and loft insulation would that make all the difference

i have had british gas out many times as the boiler sometimes will not switch off even though the control panel and thermostat is off my husband has to physically turn the boiler off, the man can never find anything wrong and this sometimes happens when the water and heating are on together we have been told its something we have to live with!! i am getting paranoid - any advice welcome

 

[doitmyself]

all radiators except 3 (2 bathroom 1 hall ) have thermostats we were told that the 3 mentioned couldnt have thermostats on them!! we have 14 radiators all turned to approx 3 or below

Do the bathroom rads get warm in the summer, when the heating is off or are they actually towel rails. If so that would explain why they do not have a TRV.

The hall rad will be controlled by the wall thermostat, so it does not need a TRV.

My neighbour ... does have cavity wall and loft insulation would that make all the difference

It makes a considerable difference. Use the Boiler Size Calculator for your house as it is (no insulation) and then repeat with loft then cavity insulation and you will see the savings you make.

The [BG] man can never find anything wrong and ... we have been told it's something we have to live with.

Then the man is incompetent.

Was the boiler installed by a Viessmann approved engineer? If so get him back and ask him to sort the problem.

 

[ukellie]

Do the bathroom rads get warm in the summer, when the heating is off or are they actually towel rails. If so that would explain why they do not have a TRV. - the rads only work when the heating is on

The hall rad will be controlled by the wall thermostat, so it does not need a TRV. thank you



It makes a considerable difference. Use the Boiler Size Calculator for your house as it is (no insulation) and then repeat with loft then cavity insulation and you will see the savings you make. thank you


Then the man is incompetent.

Was the boiler installed by a Viessmann approved engineer? If so get him back and ask him to sort the problem.

- The person that installed the boiler in our opinion was not the best!! a Viessmann approved engineer has been out a couple of times and not found the fault BG has been out 6/8 times The problem with it exceeding its temp is not consistent and can happen when non of the system is on or when all the system is on - so i guess some of the units can be attributed to the amount of gas used during this period which could be several hours if we are out or during the night if you have any suggestions re this fault it would be appreciated the cost of our current DD is £154 per month which is nearly double than 3 years ago - i am paranoid about our gas usage and forever checking the thermostat we have even considered changing the boiler

 

[GQuigley67]

dont use your heating during the night or when your out, have it on a timer for 30 mins before you wake up and if you can add more insulation to your house, alot of heat can be lost from a house that isnt properly insulated and the boiler then needs to work overtime, especially when its very cold outside.

 

[doitmyself]

Just a thought. Do you have a metric (cubic metres) or Imperial (cubic feet) meter? It will say on the meter.

If you have a metric meter, check your gas bill to see how they convert the "units" to kWh - there should be a formula on the bill. If the formula contains the number 2.83 (possibly labelled metric conversion factor), then the supplier is calculating the bill on the assumption that you have an imperial meter. Get on to them and ask for revised bills, going back as far as is necessary.

PS Which Viessman do you have - what KW is it?

 

[ukellie]

doityourself

the boiler is a vitodens 100 type WB1A 8-24KW gas fired condensing boiler

i have checked my on line bill and i cannot see a calculation the meter is new with the boiler so i guess it metric!! i will call them and ask the question - thank you

 

[SafeGasInstall]

is like my van the more I drive the more diesel it takes ,the more it stay in my drive the less it cost to run and the less I earn

 

[ukellie]

is like my van the more I drive the more diesel it takes ,the more it stay in my drive the less it cost to run and the less I earn

i am not convinced it is working correctly as in comparison with my neighbour who has a bigger home, is home all day and cooks with gas our usage is more than double hers so do i have a fault!!

 

[SafeGasInstall]

the only person to fined out will be your local plumber

 

[tamz]

all radiators except 3 (2 bathroom 1 hall ) have thermostats we were told that the 3 mentioned couldnt have thermostats on them!! we have 14 radiators all turned to approx 3 or below
we installed a brand new viewsman condensing boiler 4 years ago

(we have a 2 bed bungalow)

Thats some big 2 bed bungalow with 17 rads in it

I think you need to seriously look at insulation and maybe timing your heating better. Does your boiler have weather compensating controls? There are arguments for keeping the house at a steady temperature night and day but you need really good insulation.
Turn your heating off at night and spend about £3 on a hot water bottle

 

[ukellie]

we have 14 rads - in 3 rooms there are 2 and in bed/en suit there are 4 rads

we only left the heating on all night when the weather was really bad - i think we will take the advice and get insulation and see if that helps

ellie

 

[GQuigley67]

i have a 3 bedroom semi de-tached house and we have 7 rads and the house gets absolutely roasting, we have cavity wall insulation and the loft is fully insulated also.

 

[doitmyself]

doityourself

Who's he? I think you meant to write doitmyself!

i have checked my on line bill and i cannot see a calculation the meter is new with the boiler so i guess it metric!!

Was it a replacement meter or the first time you had gas?

Presumably the meter is outside in a locked cupboard, which you can't open without a key.

You said that your last bill was for 141kWh. What were the actual before and after meter readings?

I can work out from them which type of meter they think you have.

 

[ukellie]

Who's he? I think you meant to write doitmyself!


Was it a replacement meter or the first time you had gas?

Presumably the meter is outside in a locked cupboard, which you can't open without a key.

You said that your last bill was for 141kWh. What were the actual before and after meter readings?

I can work out from them which type of meter they think you have.

as far as i can remember we had a new gas meter installed but i may be getting mixed up with the electric meter has that had to be relocated !! my meter reading 24th sept 2010 - 11th dec 2010 was 8112 12th dec 2010 - 1st march 2011 was 11279

thank you for your help

 

[doitmyself]

my meter reading 24th sept 2010 - 11th dec 2010 was 8112 12th dec 2010 - 1st march 2011 was 11279

That does not make sense!

11279 -8112 = 3167 Units

If you have a metric meter, that is approximately equivalent to 35,200kWh

If you have an imperial meter, it is approx equivalent to 99,600kWh

But you say you were charged for 141kWh.

Most gas bills show how the number of kWh was calculated. If may be hidden on the back or at the bottom of the bill.

 

[gasmarc]

is sounds like you are using the heating alot ,I have never heard of people leaving the heating on all night especially when they are in bed

 

[tamz]

Depends where you live. It has been a bad winter for some. Mines was on constantly set at 22deg from last week in November through to start of February.

 

[SafeGasInstall]

 

[tamz]

sshhh lol

 

[SafeGasInstall]

Ok )))

 

[ukellie]

is sounds like you are using the heating alot ,I have never heard of people leaving the heating on all night especially when they are in bed

we only left heating on over night when temps were -15 not normal practice however we have been told its more economic to leave heating on constant and just adjust the thermostat ie down to 15 deg at night and while home is unoccupied - anyone agree

 

[tamz]

we have been told its more economic to leave heating on constant and just adjust the thermostat ie down to 15 deg at night and while home is unoccupied - anyone agree

Definitely not unless you have first rate insulation and even then it is arguable.
Try it for yourself. Take a meter reading and set it to a set back temperature for week then take another reading and set it to off/on times for a another week and compare the two. If the outside temperatures and weather conditions have been similar it will be pretty accurate.

 

[Bartdude]

Depends where you live. It has been a bad winter for some. Mines was on constantly set at 22deg from last week in November through to start of February.

Have you taken the bypass out and put the meter back now Tamz?

 

[SafeGasInstall]

Winter ain't over yet !

 

[tamz]

Certainly aint. Have you seen the forecast for Scotland for tonight? Up to 6". It is blowing a gale atm too.
Where's my hot water bottle

 

[Bartdude]

It's been lovely down here. The daffodils are out now too. I'll be needing the air con soon

 

[tamz]

It won't be long until our rain is a bit warmer lol

 

[GQuigley67]

hurricane hector is doing my head in at the moment