How much do you spend on gas each day?

[Bobby Dazzler]

I moved house a couple of weeks ago and the amount I’m spending on gas has really surprised me. Each 24-hour period is costing £18 to have the heating on 21-degrees for just 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the evening, and to heat the water cylinder for just 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the evening.

Since prices shot up earlier in the year we have barely used any gas in our previous home as it was Spring/Summer, and so I don’t have anything to compare to. I’m left wondering whether it’s the new house, the increased cost of gas or maybe something not right with the meter or billing!

If it’s costing £550 per month now whilst the temperatures are still relatively mild, and heating only for 6 hours per day, then I shudder to think of the potential cost when temperatures fall and the heating is on for much longer each day. In the old house, the heating was on 24x7, those days are gone!

I know every situation is different, but I would be interested to hear how it compares to other peoples experience even if not directly comparable.

 

[clk320x]

Rob,

I’m not sure of your particular property and whether it would be suitable but I would look into getting a heat pump system fitted, alongside a decent battery storage system (allowing you to fill it up on ‘off-peak’ electricity or if budget allows a decent solar setup) Solar + battery storage is the future IMO.

 

[SpikyMikey]

It's obviously difficult to compare on a like-for-like basis, but in our semi in the tropical south-east with gas fired CH (3 year old system boiler) and gas for cooking we spend just over £1.00 a day on gas and around £2.80 on leccy. We haven't had the heating on yet and the water only needs to run for about an hour twice a day to give ample hot water for showers etc. We both work from home, so the gas usage will definitely go up once the colder weather sets in.

 

[Bellow]

How many radiators are you running up to heat BD?

 

[190]

At the moment my daily gas consumption averages 7 kw per day most of which is for hot water. That's approx. £1 per day. I haven't yet turned the heating on because the exceptionally mild weather doesn't require it. When the sun shines, I have a large area of south facing glass that will easily raise inside temperatures to 20 Deg C. Not a ray of sun today but it's still 17.5 deg which is warm enough with a jumper on.

It depends on the house. I once stayed in a holiday cottage that needed the heating on in the middle of summer because it was totally surrounded and shaded by trees.

 

[ChrisHGTV]

We’re not that far from your your figures to be honest, so ive been playing with settings. We’ve got 9 rads and two underfloor (wet) heating zones. The old part of the house is 1930’s but the rest is around 2008, and all new insulation etc was put in at that time. Ours is a large 4 bed detached, just 2 of us in it, with a brand new 30Kw system boiler and a megaflo. I know every house/family is different but I’d be really interested to know what settings etc people use. I.e how long you have hot water on for, heating temps etc. I’m sure there’s a fantastic business opportunity for someone with the knowledge to charge to optimise peoples house systems!

 

[JHS]

We pay £81.43/month on a fixed contract till October 2023 for gas and sparks, Currently about £85 in credit.
2 bed bungalow in windy Lincs. Combi boiler Gas hob leccy oven. We do not heat the bedrooms, keep doors closed and switch off lights etc when not needed. All standby appliances switched off overnight.

 

[SpikyMikey]

Mr Dazzler, have you checked the boiler flow temperature and do you know when it was last serviced?

 

[Ted]

Our gas usage.
3/4 bed 160 y/o cottage with gas aga on 24/7
The aga puts a gentle heat throughout the house so we only have a fire or put the heating on when it gets pretty cold.
2 baths and a shower every day heated by gas.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

How many radiators are you running up to heat BD?

Good question!
4x towel rails
9x medium
4x small
2x large
70-80m2 underfloor heating

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Mr Dazzler, have you checked the boiler flow temperature and do you know when it was last serviced?

Good questions.

A heating engineer (my brother in law) came out to make sure it was all safe just before we moved in and is coming back to service it. I suspect it hasn’t been serviced since it was installed in 2018-9.

Not sure regarding flow temperature - what’s the best way of checking?

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I am starting to wonder whether there’s a problem based on replies so far. We are having new meters installed on Saturday so it will be interesting to see if anything changes.

 

[SpikyMikey]

Good questions.

A heating engineer (my brother in law) came out to make sure it was all safe just before we moved in and is coming back to service it. I suspect it hasn’t been serviced since it was installed in 2018-9.

Not sure regarding flow temperature - what’s the best way of checking?

I think it depends on the type of boiler - certainly combis can be adjusted apparently:
Combi Boiler Flow Temperature Setting Advice UK

 

[ALFAitalia]

Our gas usage.
3/4 bed 160 y/o cottage with gas aga on 24/7
The aga puts a gentle heat throughout the house so we only have a fire or put the heating on when it gets pretty cold.
2 baths and a shower every day heated by gas.

Very similar to my running costs...but for gas and electricity........also 3/4 bed. Being right on the South cost helps and having lots of glass in the structure means it warms up fast in the day if its bright. We pay £165 per month for both fuels....was higher but as we were nearly £1000 in credit we trimmed it back a bit.

 

[BTB 500]

£18 a day for gas sounds a lot. Our monthly charge for gas is currently £103, so approximately £3.40 a day averaged over the year. Electricity is £36 a month at present, but we receive around £150 from the solar panels so our net energy cost over the whole year is roughly zero. We cook on a gas hob and have a gas Rayburn (Aga) with 2 ovens and the central heating/hot water boiler. In the summer the only gas we use is for cooking as we have solar water heating. In the winter we only have the hot water on for 45 mins in the morning, and that generally lasts all day. We have the central heating on as little as possible as that has no air thermostat - it runs continuously, with TRVs controlling each radiator. At the moment we put it on manually for an hour or two if we're in and the house gets particularly cold; in full winter it's generally programmed to be on for an hour or so in the morning and again in the evening. We have a log burner in the lounge which we use a fair bit in the evenings when it's cold - this is essentially free as the wood comes from trees I've cut down. The house isn't particularly efficient, being a mix of 18th century (solid floors & walls) with 1990s extensions (cavity walls). 6 rooms plus a toilet downstairs, 3 bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. 3 of us living here. Decent loft insulation and double glazed windows.

 

[Bellow]

Good question!
4x towel rails
9x medium
4x small
2x large
70-80m2 underfloor heating

It's down to the number of 'appliances' you have running I suspect.
Our (yours and mine) usage is similar over the past month in terms of time, but so far the number of radiators I've been using is 3-4 medium sized ones and with the thermostat a touch lower. £63 for gas over the last month - £2.10/day.
Two year old combi boiler (heats water directly - no tank) and old but capable radiators in a standalone house that is neither well or poorly insulated in a cold corner of the UK.
So, allowing for both your increased number of radiators, UF heating and towel rails relative to mine and your likely greater consumption of hot water (only me here), I'd guess your system is functioning as expected.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I think it depends on the type of boiler - certainly combis can be adjusted apparently:
Combi Boiler Flow Temperature Setting Advice UK

I believe it’s referred to as a “System” boiler, it’s definitely not a combi. There’s not a traditional cold water tank in the loft,

It’s an ATAG A320S boiler which I believe isn’t common for residential use in the UK.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

It's down to the number of 'appliances' you have running I suspect.
Our (yours and mine) usage is similar over the past month in terms of time, but so far the number of radiators I've been using is 3-4 medium sized ones and with the thermostat a touch lower. £63 for gas over the last month - £2.10/day.
Two year old combi boiler (heats water directly - no tank) and old but capable radiators in a standalone house that is neither well or poorly insulated in a cold corner of the UK.
So, allowing for both your increased number of radiators, UF heating and towel rails relative to mine and your likely greater consumption of hot water (only me here), I'd guess your system is functioning as expected.

That’a helpful; thank you

 

[Bellow]

I believe it’s referred to as a “System” boiler, it’s definitely not a combi. There’s not a traditional cold water tank in the loft,

It’s an ATAG A320S boiler which I believe isn’t common for residential use in the UK.

It's an ATAG here - i28C.
Temps are adjustable. Mine are water at 65C (eco setting so a very slight delay on delivery but less consumptive of gas than it trying to maintain an instant supply of hot water) and is on the hot side for the sinks but the shower needs it.
Heating is at 80C and when a radiator is on, it is with the valve fully open. No tanks - hot or cold.

 

[Rory]

We’re not that far from your your figures to be honest, so ive been playing with settings. We’ve got 9 rads and two underfloor (wet) heating zones. The old part of the house is 1930’s but the rest is around 2008, and all new insulation etc was put in at that time. Ours is a large 4 bed detached, just 2 of us in it, with a brand new 30Kw system boiler and a megaflo. I know every house/family is different but I’d be really interested to know what settings etc people use. I.e how long you have hot water on for, heating temps etc. I’m sure there’s a fantastic business opportunity for someone with the knowledge to charge to optimise peoples house systems!

Similar house, system and circumstances to us. Ours is all rads, no UFH.

Just got our October bill and gas was £115 inc VAT and standing charge. I noted our usage (90 cu metres) was 25% less than Oct 21, and we've since had a hefty extension (and the new boiler and hot water system).

I'm expecting the Nov usage to jump up considerably. Today the heating has been off since 9AM and two thermometers are saying it's 19C in my home office but I can feel the cold on my face!

I fitted a Tado system to all the rads during Sept. Still early days but I'm a bit dubious about leaving the unused rooms unheated - heat from the heated rooms is certainly lost to the unheated areas so there probably isn't the saving you might think and the lack of uniformity of warmth isn't so good from a comfort point-of-view.