FIRST HOME/FIRST GAS BILL- advice needed please!

A question about : FIRST HOME/FIRST GAS BILL- advice needed please!

Hi all,

My wife and I have moved into our first home. It's a 3 bed new build, mid terrace. It's well insulated and we have the gas central heating on a few hours morning and evening.

We've had a current bill through and I wanted advice on the amount of gas we've used- in 24 days: (Our gas and electric are supplied by E.ON)

ELEC Ј24 - That's OK.
GAS Ј65.40 - about 1500 kWh.

Does this gas seem a little high? It was more than I expected, however i'm not sure if that is just because it has been a cold month and the boiler has been working overtime.

Do you think will it drastically reduce over the warmer months?

And one more question (sorry!) - it looks like it will be cheaper for me to switch. However when I put in my estimate of how much gas I use, I only have this month as a marker, but I believe it will be higher than it will be the rest of the year. What is the best thing to do then when applying? I don't want to be stuck with an unnecessarily high monthly direct debit.

Thanks so much in advance for your advice! Much appreciated!

Best answers:

• Sounds normal/average (if not below average) for this time of year. That depends on if the calculation was made with confirmed meter readings.
  It is always hard to go by bill cost as we do not know how it was calculated nor do we know the tariff. It is always best to give us the raw meter readings and the dates. Always use confirmed/actual meter readings.
  As it is a new property and you do not have historical usage to go by. Use the national average figures initially. This would be:
  16000kwh Gas
  3500kwh electirc.
  Put them in to a comparison site, I use www.energyhelpline.com. Just ensure on the second page you select "show all available tariffs".
• The figure I gave for gas of 1500 kWh was an actual meter reading for 24 days use.
  Thanks for the quick reply, i'll give that a try!
• That works out at 5.5m3 units or around 63kwh on average per day. Which is average/normal (if not a bit better) use for this time of year.
  Whether you can reduce that figure depends on a large number of variables such as:
  1. Inuslation level (windows, cavity, doors, windows)
  2. Boiler Controls (room thermostat, trv radiator valves, zone control)
  3. Boiler type (this should be a modern condensing one in your case)
  4. Boiler settings (try to run boiler in more efficient condensing mode; radiator temp should be lower (warm) for longer rather than red hot for short periods)
  5. Personal living habits - turn the thermostat down, try to live at 18 degrees. Some people love to have it set at 22 or 23, this will use a lot more gas.
  Remember the thermostat does not control the boiler temperature. It just controls when the boiler turns off once the room has reached the desired temperature.
  The boiler temperature controls are usually on the boiler. So they control how hot the radiators get and therefore how quickly the room gets to the desired temperature.
  So that a quick list to think about. You may already do all these things!
  Hope that helps!
• Concentrate on your consumption in kwh rather than money. Read the meters at least weekly to get an idea of how much you use and when you use it (daily is better) and then you can do something about reducing or optimising your consumption.
  As suggested check on the comparison sites to make sure you are getting the best deal. You usually get put on the suppliers standard variable tariff when you first move in and they can be between 20-30% more expensive than a fixed tariff.
• Good morning ciderman1 and welcome to the forum,
  Thought I'd just pop on just in case you needed me
  All the info given is great.
  matelodave has hit the nail on the head really, about reading your meters. If you have an online account you can pop the reads in and request a real time balance (so you can see what you've used) or a bill.
  Check you're on the best tariff for you, you can do this online also, as you say you may wish to change supplier, best to pop your usage in kWh in the comparison sites, we can help you with an estimated yearly usage amount, or again have a look on the online account.
  Let me know if you need me
  Helena.