Heating woes...

[ExposureLab]

Hi guys,

I'm having a bit of a crisis. Our gas bills are twice/three times as high as our neighbours, with exactly the same type housing and insulation.

Last month my Gas bill was £105, and the heating was on for 6-8 hours a day.

The boiler is a HeatLine Monza 24, and was installed before we purchased the property.

I have recently installed a SALUS wireless RT500BC, and gone from mixer shower to Electric, so hope to see some change next month.

This is our first house, so would appreciate some advice about best practice for keeping costs down, or any suggestions on the first thing to think about to be sure our setup is running efficiently...

Thanks in advance

 

[dcawkwell]

No running around with T shirts and shorts on and the thermostat set at 21 degrees.

Thermostat 18 degrees and wear thick jumpers.

 

[Gasguru]

So you've replaced a shower that used water heated by gas to a shower that uses water by electricity.

You realise that per unit electricity is nearly 3 times the cost of gas.

And you've probably spent a few hundred on the shower, and most have a relatively short life.

So your gas bill will reduce marginally but your electric bill will jump up much higher.

You could have just screwed in a water flow limiter on the shower hose.

 

[muggles]

Increase your loft insulation, consider cavity wall insulation...insulate stuff!

 

[Dan Robinson]

Turn off the boiler, wear no pyjamas, keep warm in other ways and save the planet.

 

[kbdiy]

What period did the gas bill cover? My 3-bed semi, well insulated and double-glazed cost £320 in gas for the winter quarter (Nov-Jan) if that helps for comparison.

 

[ExposureLab]

Increase your loft insulation, consider cavity wall insulation...insulate stuff!

Loft insulation has been checked and is the regulation depth. Walls are solid so no cavity for insulation unfortunately.

 

[ExposureLab]

What period did the gas bill cover? My 3-bed semi, well insulated and double-glazed cost £320 in gas for the winter quarter (Nov-Jan) if that helps for comparison.

Period was one month and gas readings were submitted by me. It has been over £100 since November, but I guess compares well to yours. Ours is a mid terrace, circa 1870, with double glazing, adequate loft insulation and solid walls.

 

[ExposureLab]

So you've replaced a shower that used water heated by gas to a shower that uses water by electricity.

You realise that per unit electricity is nearly 3 times the cost of gas.

And you've probably spent a few hundred on the shower, and most have a relatively short life.

So your gas bill will reduce marginally but your electric bill will jump up much higher.

You could have just screwed in a water flow limiter on the shower hose.

I did consider this, but my showers are 2-3 minutes long, got a bargain on the shower and I fitted myself.

 

[Gasguru]

Doesn't matter, it's still gonna cost you more to run.

 

[kbdiy]

At the end of the day, it's been cold and fuel costs more than ever. What about your fuel tariff - are you on dual fuel/online billing/direct debit to get the best deal you can?

 

[ExposureLab]

At the end of the day, it's been cold and fuel costs more than ever. What about your fuel tariff - are you on dual fuel/online billing/direct debit to get the best deal you can?

I know that it's the same for everyone this year, but double the cost of my neighbour's bills?

We are on a dual fuel, online billing and direct debit deal...

 

[matt1e]

At the end of the day, it's been cold and fuel costs more than ever. What about your fuel tariff - are you on dual fuel/online billing/direct debit to get the best deal you can?

I know that it's the same for everyone this year, but double the cost of my neighbour's bills?

We are on a dual fuel, online billing and direct debit deal...

But your neighbors may cook with electric, heat water using electric, shower electric,not have the heating on as much,not have it turned up as much
how do your electricity bills compare?

 

[ExposureLab]

At the end of the day, it's been cold and fuel costs more than ever. What about your fuel tariff - are you on dual fuel/online billing/direct debit to get the best deal you can?

I know that it's the same for everyone this year, but double the cost of my neighbour's bills?

We are on a dual fuel, online billing and direct debit deal...

But your neighbors may cook with electric, heat water using electric, shower electric,not have the heating on as much,not have it turned up as much
how do your electricity bills compare?

It's a friend of mine, who lives a couple of doors down. He cooks with gas, his shower comes off the boiler, he has his heating on 2 hours more than us per day, and lives in exactly the same type of house as us.

Thanks for all of your input, I guess there isn't an obvious thing to check like I thought there'd be, it just seems strange as it's so much higher...

 

[matt1e]

It's a friend of mine, who lives a couple of doors down. He cooks with gas, his shower comes off the boiler, he has his heating on 2 hours more than us per day, and lives in exactly the same type of house as us.

Thanks for all of your input, I guess there isn't an obvious thing to check like I thought there'd be, it just seems strange as it's so much higher...

just a thought
the way you are referring to "him" makes it look as though there is only one person in his house
whereas your us of the word "us" implies there's more people in yours
so if that's the case.............

Matt