Boiler using excessive gas after service

[ed1178]

Just taken my monthly gas reading and shocked to see I have used almost 5500 kWh of gas since this time in November. 190 kWh per day. The month before I was using around 50kwh per day. I appreciate the weather has been cooler but 5500kwh in a single month is insane for a small, reasonably well insulated house. By my maths my boiler would have to burn flat out, non stop for something like 13 hours every single day to use that much, and clearly that is not the case. The heating turns on at about 8am and off at 10pm, stat set to 21 and boiler fires intermittently throughout the day, never more than a few minutes at a time after initial heat up.

I know my readings are accurate, I know I don’t have a leak so cannot fathom how I can possibly have used so much gas in a month. The only thing I can think of is a recent boiler service- could an error cause my boiler to be burning excessive gas? It’s an ancient glow worm ultimate, cast iron, non condensing, non modulating. Is it possible it could be out of adjustment and burning more than in should? I’m not sure if that’s even possible but if it is the heat would presumably simply be wasted out of the flue? Should I be asking the engineer who serviced it to return? The other thought is a faulty gas meter, but I understand this is very rare?

 

[gas112]

start at basics is boiler stat set the same as before

 

[big-all]

any estimated readings or possibly past low estimated readings now being matched with actual readings is this a possibility??

 

[ed1178]

start at basics is boiler stat set the same as before

yes, absolutely nothing has changed. TRV’s untouched, wall stat set to 21 all day every day (I work from home) and boiler stat set at around 75 percent of maximum.

 

[ed1178]

any estimated readings or possibly past low estimated readings now being matched with actual readings is this a possibility??

No, I read my meter religiously every month and all previous readings and bills are accurate. I have used 509 cubic meters of gas in 30 days, which is about 5500 kWh, a third or more of my usual total annual consumption. Even when I had a substantial 5 bed Victorian house with solid walls and leaky windows I didn’t ever come close to using that much in a single month.

At 180 kWh per day my boiler would have to run flat out for 13 hours to burn it all if it were burning at the proper rate- it doesn’t fire noticeably more often than previously, so I don’t understand where all that gas is going! It’s very strange…

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Disappointed, I thought this was gonna be a thread about someone's wife.

 

[Dereekoo]

(Incorrect) Gas advice deleted.



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[Harry Bloomfield]

Run your heating and read the gas used by your meter for a minute and then convert that into m3/hr, Divide by 0.9 to give the rough figure of kwh of heat inputted to boiler, how does this compare with boiler rating.

That assumes the boiler doesn't modulate. Better if it is checked with house and heating system running from a cold start, to ensure boiler is run at maximum output.

 

[BlueLoo]

Hi.

It is winter.

December/January > Colder> October/November

 

[Deleted member 267285]

That assumes the boiler doesn't modulate.

Tbf, OP has stated it’s a non modulating boiler.

 

[Dereekoo]

Hi.

It is winter.

December/January > Colder> October/November

He has acknowledged that in his post

 

[BlueLoo]

Gas leak?

Check your meter whilst the gas appliances are all off?

 

[BlueLoo]

Meters can only be checked/worked on by gas safe blokes, prepare to have this message deleted by the moderator

Eh, no. You can't check for a leak if you turn the meter off or the gas supply to the appliances off either.

Just turn off th eboiler and stop using the hob or cooker for a short time.
Better still, turn the heating off overnight and note the readings at dusk/dawn.

 

[fixitflav]

I have used almost 5500 kWh of gas since this time in November. 190 kWh per day. The month before I was using around 50kwh per day. I appreciate the weather has been cooler but 5500kwh in a single month

Hang on - since this time in November is 2 months, not one. And there have been some cold spells.
Did you mean 50 kWh for the previous month, not 500? Edit - ignore that, I was confusing the daily with the monthly (or 2-monthly) figure.

 

[milgo123]

If it were me, the 1st thing that I would do is contact the person/s who serviced the boiler, make them aware of your findings and ask them if any adjustments were made during the service that might account for the increased usage.