GAS bill poll - just for interest! 3 bed semi

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SASSYJAX
SASSYJAX Posts: 103 Member
in Chit-Chat
This might be a bit of a funny one to put on here but I cant seem to find out if my gas bill is correct for my house, seems like a lot considering we never put the heating on hardly...hope you dont mind me asking...!!

Our gas bill seems loads and I cant work out why!

I live in a 1950 small 3 bed semi, insulated loft but no cavity to fill as its an old house. Double glazed, some new type some older.
I have the hot water on 1 hour am 1 hour pm.
I put the heating on for 1 hour am.
I put the flame gas fire on for about 5 hours a day at the mo.
Boiler is old though - about 15 years...this house we rent privately so the boiler isnt 'ours' as such.

My bill is about £300 per quarter.
This seems a lot to me - any one help me here?!!

Now when you are at home all day ( and my hubby is ill ) it is tough to be cold all day but we get no help with running costs for the heating, until you are 65!

I have tried everything to insulate this house, with even more plastic on the windows etc.
!!!
I do have a hot water bottle down my trousers all day too, so does hubby!

Replies

  • alimac92
    alimac92 Posts: 705 Member
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    Hi,
    I have a similar house, with an old back boiler running the heating system. My heating comes on for 2 hours in the morning and about 4 hours on the evening. If someone is home they advance the heating. My Son is at home most days with the cat.

    My gas & elec direct debit a month is £220.00 a month. I was just checking comparisons at this site its very good for money saving tips.

    http://www.moneysavingexpert.com

    I've switched providers before, last year the bills doubled. I need to sort this out too. :frown:
  • burner
    burner Posts: 72 Member
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    read you meter...

    take readings of your gas meter every week and ring the your supplier with the reading.

    How long have you lived there? maybe you have been undercharged previously and they are upping your payments to recuperate the difference. Ring them and querie it...

    but defo the best way to check you are not being overcharged is to read the meter weekly (coincide it with your weekly weigh in haha)

    then ring them every week with your reading - will make their estimate more accurate.

    hope this helps...
  • burner
    burner Posts: 72 Member
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    if your suppliers for gas and electric are the same too - try and see if you can combine them to recieve further discount - eon do this.

    sometimes if you pay by direct debit you make savings too...
  • SASSYJAX
    SASSYJAX Posts: 103 Member
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    Yup will do that, good idea, i did it a while ago and seemed ok, I just wondered if the costs seems ok before i throw my toys out of the pram - seems like a lot of money doesnt it?!! We are on such a tight budget I am scared to put it on!

    We arent behind with payments as I am always adjjusting it to just pay for what we use. We are with British Gas...they seem ok price wise even though we only have gas from them. I pay by DD and go online etc.

    I wonder if it is cos the boiler is old and inefficient too?!

    As we are in a rented property all the boiler etc is up to the landlord, and as we are rented we pay elec on a meter,,,grrr....which i know is higher rate too.
    Talk about kick you when you are down eh!

    I guess its about right then, seems like a lot! Not much more I can do oh well!
  • Nikiki
    Nikiki Posts: 993
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    I work for a bank and do home loans for people, and one of the biggest types of loans I do is energy efficient upgrade loans where we have a HERS test done (measures your homes insulation & the efficiency of all of your appliances) and lend money to the customers to upgrade whats needed. The top three things that show up on the report are:
    HVAC systems (heating & air conditioning)
    Insulation
    water heater

    the easiest and cheapest thing you can fix is insulation, if you want to have the test done it costs about $400 US, not sure of the conversion rate though...

    other things you can do are buy several small electric space heaters since electric is usually cheaper than gas. heat the house all day & night (i know that sounds counterproductive but if you turn it off completely the house gets extra cold & the heater has to work extra hard to heat it up, but if you keep it on low all day & night then it just has to maintain the temp. I have a programmable thermostat that I set to be warmer in the mornings & evenings while I'm home & awake and cooler while I'm gone or sleeping: usually 60*F while I'm gone & 65*F while I'm home) and last get a humidifier. moist air feels warmer to us than dry air so a humidifier may allow you to turn the heat down a bit.

    hope this helps, and sorry I don't know the conversions on the $ & temps!
  • Nikiki
    Nikiki Posts: 993
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    oh one more tip that I know may not help you now but for the future: I pay a little bit on my gas bill each month through the summer too so that it builds up a credit. I live in a small townhouse so my bill is less than yours anyway (sorry!) but I pay $30/month through the warm months and $40/month through the winter and at the end of this winter I should still have a credit. So when the weather warms up figure out how much you pay all year long for your gas and try to pay some of it during the summer :)

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