Boiler gas usage advise

Garyj881

Garyj881

Garyj881

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Joined
29 Sep 2006
Posts
2,164
Location
West Yorks
Hi Guys,

Seen a few threads like this before, so hopefully some gas engineers that can offer advice.

I have a Baxi combi that got installed around 10yrs ago, while not the most effiecient boiler out there, I'm a bit suprised how much gas I'm using.

Yesterday, Nearly £200 was taken from my account from Npower, I rang them to discuss and they said from between January and now I am £470 in debit. I pay £100 a month total for gas and electric.

They said yesterday that based on my usage I would spend a year -

£689 electric
£899 gas

I live a 2 bedroom terrace house with my partner and son, we have telly's on computers and can't argue at the electric really.

I am however worried about the gas. My oven and hob is gas therefor the only thing I use gas for is hot water, ie baths and washing up.

Surely this can't be right using this much gas just for baths etc..

Our boiler gets a service every year.
 
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unfortunately gas is expensive these days and those figures sound about right if a little on the high side.
 
Sounds like quite a bit, but it is of course both hot water and heating, so since it's from January, I would hazard a guess that most of the money is on the heating. Did you take meter readings every month to compare usage? How old is the house? is it insulated? Do you leave all the windows open and the heating on? Stand in the shower for hours on end?
I have a conventional boiler but since switching to a new one in January (previous one was over 30 years old), getting all the free insulation, getting a dishwasher, our gas bills have plummeted to about £550 / yr (2 bed 80s mid-terrace)

also bleh npower I would trust to get anything right so make sure the meter readings are correct... (they did some pretty random things to my account when I was with them)
 
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Yay, Npower! Got a letter from them 2 days ago saying they were putting my monthly DD up by £50... I only set up the account at the end of July!
 
Check your water temperatures. Better to run your heating longer at lower temperature than high and short. Your condensing part of your boiler needs low return temps to be efficient and achieving high temps is always less efficient as well.
 
Well my heating hasn't been turned on in over 6-7 months, and this is why I'm confused.

Based on this when winter comes and the heating is on through the day and night, I will be spending around £150 a month on gas alone.

The house is insulated, I did it myself a few years ago and it was built early 1900's.

Regardless this doesn't come into account as we haven't needed the heating on for the best part of the year! and with having an electric oven and cooker, it doesn't seem quite right.
 
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Have you checked meter readings? Think you need to scrutinise the meter take some daily readings and make sure the heating isnt get rammed up while youre at work.
 
Garyj881 said:
Thank you for pointing out my mistake, seriously thank you!
Click to expand...

Sarcasm aside it wasn't for you (although it's unfortunate that you get mentioned), it was a poke at all the other people likely to due the same. One day they will do it in front of somebody who matters when it appears on their CV.

It's by being that annoying twonk who points this out that just might make it stick in other people's heads, it's not as if this is a rare thing, this is every day on this forum that somebody thinks "advice" and writes "advise". If people associate "advise" with that prat bitslice then the world moves forward.
Every day I spell "because, field and friend" incorrectly, that's every single time, so now I know I have to fix it and it still annoys me that I can't do it right first time.

Everybody notices and at some level everyone judges, not everyone says anything. Personally I'd rather be corrected on something I may or may not know, than look daft in front of people I respect. I don't care why you wrote "advise', I care about you doing it in front of people that you like.
 
PlacidCasual said:
Check your water temperatures. Better to run your heating longer at lower temperature than high and short. Your condensing part of your boiler needs low return temps to be efficient and achieving high temps is always less efficient as well.
Click to expand...

what are good temperatures for the heating to be set at then?

you can run the hot water for a bath at low temperatures as otherwise by the time its deep enough its cold surely?
 
I am still worried I might have an issue with my current gas usage.

I am thinking about getting the boiler and pipe system checked.

Would I be able to run some home tests to compare?

Example I have a 10 year old Baxi boiler so not the most efficient I know, I have just put 10cm of hot water into my standard size bat and gone from -

Gas before: 23259295
Gas after: 23259468

Can anyone run an experiment and compare?

Clutching at straws here I know, but the gas is only used for baths, no cooking and as already mentioned, heating hasn't been on in 6-8 months.
 
we had our 10 year oil boiler changed for a newer combi one and yes we find we are using miles more gas.

i think its down to a few points.....

the max the water can be heated to is i think 70 degrees for a bath and comes out slower than it used to so by the time you have a decent depth bath, you need to top it up with yet more hot once your in it. my old system had a thermostat on it that went up to 100 on the water tank. The water tank was also very near the bathroom so the water was steaming the moment you started running a bath. You had to have the door open when running a bath or it was like a sauna. Now you can shut the door and hardly any steam so i know its cooler water thats now coming out the taps.

Same for central heating that also only has a maximum of 70 i think it is.

Takes a lot longer to heat the house up and to get the system warm in the first place.

Although its interesting to read thats some one said set the temperature lower for more efficiency. The heating perhaps but any lower on the hot water temp and it would be un viable..

Last year in the cold £30 a week was the max that was spent. we are on a payg meter so is "slightly" more and cooking is also done by gas.

Oh the electric has also gone up since using a combi boiler....

Its quite a good valliance system as well. Its a maisonette so no problem with insulation in the loft:D

Radiator reflectors behind each rad. Doors and curtains shut to keep warm in and cavity wall insulation
 
get a fanned over, gas hob.

insulate your home and buy a new boiler, get a baxi combi and it'll be a straight swap, cheaper to install.

fit a timer, room thermostats and TRVs..

we spend around 60 a month, gas and electric.
 
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£900 doesn't sound like far off the mark. In the last year we've moved from a flat to a 3-bed 1950's semi and we're using about that much gas now. Cold months were rolling in at about £165 when the heating was on all month.

I looked into a new boiler. Our old one is rated at 70% efficient and new ones about 95%, but only when run under ideal conditions, so don't expect a new one to hit that high all the time. Anyway, the point was a new boiler is quite expensive and you've got to decide whether you'll ever recoup the cost with a 15-20% reduction on your gas consumption. I found I could save more than that by switching to a high consumption gas tariff. Have a look on Uswitch etc, but DO make sure you know your gas consumption inside out before believing any of their 'savings'.
 
I moved into my own home in May.
The thick twonk at the call centre set me up for £30 gas £30 electric per month, saying that this was right for the house I was in etc.
I then find out in August that I am breaking even each month, even with the central heating turned completely off.
I have now upped my payments to £100 per month instead of £60, as I need to get some form of financial buffer as I will get bummed for gas usage in the winter.

Ring up your supplier as they constantly pee about with the price plans so I bet you are not on the best one.

OP: Check out the LED lighting thread as the bulbs only take 12 months to break even.
 
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