How often do you put your gas on?

[kcchiefette]

I recently got my quarterly gas bill in - £600 for a 3 bed end terrace house!

Last year's bill was half of that! Luckily I have money put away as I wouldn't have been able to afford to pay it out of my wages.

I work from home so it gets a bit chilly but I generally put heat on 2x hours in the morning, 2x hours during the day and 2x hours in the evening.

I now think I am going to reduce to just 2x hours in the evening and layer up if its cold during the morning and day.

My mums bill was £1k!

Thank god the summer is coming in soon.

AIBU to think these prices are outrageous?!

My gas bill was £192 just for the month last month.

Not as much as that. 6 hours is a lot.

If its cold then an hour in the morning and then a couple of hours in the evening.

What is your thermostat set at?
Mine is 15/16 and off from 6am until around 6pm. I just sit wrapped up in layers and, if sitting, have a blanket over my legs. My combined gas & electric has hit £9.34 per day on some days, I was thrilled to see it only up at £6 for yesterday. Thank goodness it’s getting warmer.

Combined usage for last month was £233!

I'm just marking. Will go check mine and come back

I couldn't tell you. Crikey - I will have to check that out.

I have to add that I have autoimmune conditions including Raynaud's so I cannot tolerate the cold very well!

Are electric heaters any better or will they just hike the electric up instead?

Mine was 46.57 for the month . I have not had heating on at all though.

Electric is more expensive than gas, so electric heaters won’t help.

I've got AI conditions too so can sympathize op. I've got a heated throw & some Oodies my DD bought me. Wear thermal layers. Keep your head and hands warm. 600 is mega just for gas for 3 months! What's the electric bill costs?

We have been putting it on roughly 7 hours per day for the same reasons as you including Raynauds. I’m dreading the bill coming through.

My electric is £40 a month! So not too bad in comparison. I don't use many electrics, rarely watch TV etc.

I got such a shock!

Insulate the house to stop heat escaping. You said you live in an end terrace, does it have cavity walls? Are your windows in good condition? You can hire thermal imaging cameras which will show you where the heat may be escaping. You might even know someone who you can borrow it from, we bought one and have lent it to friends.

We made a box out of insulation foam board to go over the loft hatch inside the loft, it has ladders on the hatch so when you open it now all you see is the inside of an insulation box. We put more insulation in the loft too. We sealed doors with that foam tape and made sure our weather strips at the bottom of external doors were all in good condition with no heat escaping. We have a thermal curtain over the front door and close all curtains and blinds at dusk. The bedrooms all have a thermal blackout roller plus blackout curtains.

My latest gas bill from Feb-Mar for one month is £150 and I live in a 4 bed detached house with 3 reception rooms. Stop the heat escaping.

I'm pre payment so slightly different, I also don't pay a standing charge but more (about double) for the first few units I use.

I'm in a 3 bed maisonette and 2 people working full time (one is a student on placement that doesn't get paid though!) and I have my heating on for 30 mins in the morning and 4 hours at night, generally the flow rate is 45 unless it's really cold and I turn it up. I do change the timer regularly to fit in with shift work and don't bother with the morning one unless we're up and around at that time for work and adjust the evening to come on 15-30 mins before we get in so sometimes it's only in for 2 hours a day and sometimes 4 or 5. 1 bath and 1 shower a day, cooking is all electric.

I'm putting £70 every 4 weeks and squeaking to the end of the 4 weeks with maybe a few quid left before topping up. So quarterly I'd be looking at about £250? (If my maths is right!) It averages about £2.50 a day and I found that turning the flow rate down and also setting it for the times it's needed around work etc has saved a bit, but tbh my days off are pretty miserable as I've been wishing the day away until the heating comes on because it's been freezing, so were I WFH I'd probably be using it similarly to you if I could. It's in double figures here now so not quite so miserable!

I've also had an email to say the prices are going down for both gas and electric, and I'll save around £15 a month. We'll see!

It's awful though, I've been on the same wage for 3 years but everything else has shot up.

Well gas was more expensive last year so not quite sure why you are paying more this year.

I have used more gas this year but the cost is less so overall my bills will be less this year than last.

Maybe you have just come off a fixed price tariff.

More since I’ve been retired two years now. In the afternoon if not doing anything I put my wonderful heated blanket on, worth every penny and cheaper than heating the whole house.

I’m paying more this year as I was on a very cheap fixed rate last year and missed the crazy price hikes.

I leave my thermostat on 18.5 all the time. Being cold is not an option for me. It makes my arthritic pain worse.
Before the huge price increases I was paying £75 a month dd for gas and electricity. That went up to £175 after the hike. I did get a refund in the summer though.
Direct debit now set at £115 a month.
This is for a 2 bed bungalow.

Mid terrace, 2 bed. £45 per month for gas heating and hot water. Heating set to 18 degrees on all day.

You don't pay for the amount of time you put the gas on for - you pay for the amount of gas.

The amount of gas you are consuming in two hours might be very different from another home.
How much gas are you consuming? It will be on your bill.
What temperature are you trying to heat the house to?
How old is your house? Do you have draughts? Double glazing? Insulated loft? Have you had your boiler serviced?

@OrangeStringer

Do you have a link, or details, of the one you bought? I don't have much luck buying things like that & a bit stressed/time poor to do loads of research, but I'd like to see where I'm losing heat.

tia

Couple of hours a day to heat it to 18c
My gas and electric per day is usually between £4-5

We paid £510 for gas for the last 3 months for a 4 bed house with old double glazing. Thermostat is set at 17, heating is on for about 7 hours a day when it gets cold enough. Your bill sounds like it's quite heavy for what it is?

There are two of us in a two bed flat. We spent £57 on gas last month. Generally in winter the heating is on at 18 degrres for a couple of hours in the morning and evening. More at weekends and less if we are out during the week.

We also have a shower each every day and I like a deep hot bath at least once a week. We also cook most days on the gas hob.

My gas bill was 262 for the month of Feb. I wfh and layer up during the day. Heating is on morning and evening only