Will my heating really cost this much???

[mumofmunchkin]

Have I done this right? On the new price cap rates

A 24kwh boiler will cost 24x0.15=£3.60 an hour for heating
A 35kwh boiler will cost 35x0.15=£5.25 per hour for heating

I'm not sure what our combi boiler is, but Google leads me to believe that in a 4 bed house it's probably a 35kwh boiler.

I've just ordered some heated throws!

No, boilers don't run on full power constantly.

You need to look at last winter's usage and work it out from there, not from your boiler.

And yes, this. You can't work out your heating cost from the wattage of your boiler like that.

OK thanks, I've just dragged up last Jan's bill. We used 2434kwh of gas, which was £95 at last Jan's price, but this winter would cost 2434x0.15=£365, is that right?

Boilers are only used to full capacity for hot water and first few mins of heating going on. I think most bills are looking at being 195% higher than last year, although many will be cutting back so that will reduce bills somewhat.

Last January we used 1143kWh of gas and it cost £44 as I'd fixed in October. This year that will cost me £192 on the new fix I have. Plus SC of around £8.
On the price cap it would be £169, but they are predicting another 50% rise, so it would be more like £250.

You also need to include standing charge and VAT at 5%.

So yes, your calculations sound about right.

Are you on the variable price cap?

Your calculations are right - but don't forget to add on the standing charge and 5% VAT, which I think are missing?

That makes it more like £385.

Gas calculations are really insanely complicated - have a look at your bill. It's not just kwh x unit rate + standing charge, it's something like kwh × 1.02264 × 39.7
÷ 3.6 = daily rate + standing charge + VAT.

I gave up trying to calculate it - I took January's, deducted this month's, then multiplied by three for a guesstimate.

@mumofmunchkin how many weeks would the £365 cover? Would that be for a month based on usage from last Jan? I actually cannot imagine sitting with no heating on with young children! Would it help if we had it on low?

There are 3 things you can turn down to help reduce costs. Obvious one is the room thermostat temperature - the temperature the house gets heated to. Lower the temp, less energy used to heat.

Then there is the water temperature - but if you have a separate water tank, you need to keep this above 50°c for leigonella risk. If you are adding cold water to hot all the time, your water temperature is too high and you are wasting energy cooling it back down with cold water.

Then there is the flow temperature on the boiler - this is the temperature the boiler sends hot water to the radiators. If you turn this down the boiler can work more efficiently. The radiators don't get as hot to the touch, so the heating runs longer to keep to the set temperature, but the water going back to the boiler is cooler, so the boiler can condense and 'reuse' the heat, rather than it going straight out the flue.

Also if you have thermostatic radiator valves (the ones with numbers on you can turn up or down), it can help save cost by turning them down in rooms you are not using too.

The £365 is what the gas we used last Jan would cost at October's prices, so about a months worth. We weren't particularly extravagant with the heating either, perhaps 2-3 hours a day, so really going to have to cut things down this winter.

Remember there will be new prices in January as well, probably another 50% higher (if you haven't fixed) and Jan to march is a lot colder than October to December.

Yep, that's why I've ordered some heated throws, to try and vastly reduce our central heating use. We don't have a decent option to fix (shell don't have any fixed rates at all)

I just found this calculator in case of use to anyone

www.sust-it.net/energy-calculator.php?tariff=73

You can set it to the October price cap.

It's scary isn't it. I work from home and had the heating on for a lot of the day last winter. Now I'll be begrudging turning it on at all at that price - it's too much money. I bought a heated throw too during the heatwave - no doubt they'll cost twice as much come winter.

@mumofmunchkin I am actually aghast at your increase per month!

DH and I sat yesterday figuring out how we’re going to keep the kids warm and still afford to feed them let alone pay for activities, birthdays and Christmas. It’s our anniversary this week and we’ve agreed to not even do cards for each other.

Can you reduce the hours the boiler is on and reduce the temperature on the thermostat? That will reduce the costs but I know it may be difficult for some households. For myself and DH it’s okay but when DD2 was home Uni for 3 days recently our electricity use doubled.

Nearly £400 for a couple of hours heating a day!..I want to cry!

What do you think is the lowest you could have a combi boiler hot water set to (no tank). We’re currently at 50 but wondering if 45 would be ok.

We used 2295kwh gas last January which is just a little less than you. However that was having the heating on 18.5 from 7am to 8 pm then 19 from 8-10.30pm seven days a week in a five bed house. Maybe you could have heating on for longer but at lower temperature? We use no gas for cooking and shower every 2-3 days (3 of us).

My gas price has trippled and my electricity doubled, since my fix ended in April and it will go higher with the new cap, so yes I think your estimate of £365 based on last January's usage could well be right.

I think the government will step in to lower them next year. Every restaurant, activity club, leisure and non essential business will suffer if prices continue to rise. I didn't think the prediction for January was much higher than October.