Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Cost of living

Stretching your budget? Share tips and advice to discuss budgeting and energy saving here. For the latest deals and discounts, sign up for Mumsnet Moneysaver emails.

Original poster

£8 a day gas?

24 replies

512276a · 27/02/2023 19:35

just curious to know how much people spend on gas in a small 2 bedroom house. It’s just me and my toddler here, heating doesn’t go on much. I have a shower everyday, DC has one 3 times a week. I don’t have a gas oven.

I’m with British Gas, a prepayment smart meter, and I have Loop Energy which is an app that connects to my smart meter and shows me how much I use. In January, I spent £215 on gas alone. This isn’t sustainable for me at all as I’m a single mum and I have a very low income, I’m just not really sure what to do. Should I be questioning British Gas about it? Just yesterday I spent £6.60 on gas, I had a quick 5 minute shower and heating was on at 21c for 2 hours, did the washing up, and yes we were freezing still. I do have a debt on there but they take £5 a week, on a Wednesday.

I‘ve only lived here for 10 months, and up until September I was spending £20-25 a month on gas.

OP posts:
Okunevo · 27/02/2023 20:47

Ours is averaging £2 a day on gas including standing charge. We are at work/college 4/5 days a week and it's on at 14 degrees or 2 or 3 hours a day. 2 hours in the evening and an hour in the morning if someone is home.

I'd try turning the heat down to 18 but leaving it on longer rather than heating it up all the way to 21 then it dropping again so you feel cold.

BorgQueen · 27/02/2023 20:54

That sounds a lot, my Sister spends the same in her 1 bed flat on a pp meter, her heating is on all day and she has a gas cooker and a very hot bath almost every night.
What is you boiler flow temperature and your hot water temp set to?
I’m spending under £5 a day in a 3 bed house that’s on 18° all day and 19/20° in the evening till 9.30pm.

Defaillance · 27/02/2023 20:54

I live in a small, two bedroom mid terrace, just me and my dog. I have the gas central heating on for two hours in the morning and three at night, I average between £2/3 per day.

Logburnerperils · 27/02/2023 20:55

I said it before on a previous thread. Unless you have the cash you can't afford the heating on. 2 hours a day for the whole month will cost you £200+

saffy9876 · 27/02/2023 21:00

£215 is very high for a 2 bed, way more than what I pay for a 3 bed and I have the heating downstairs between 18 and 21 all day.

Are you giving actual readings, I mean checking the smart meter and submitting them yourself?

Do you have double glazing or are you in a very old property?
Is your boiler serviced regularly and set to the right temperature?

QuillBill · 27/02/2023 21:05

That's absolutely loads for a two bedroom house. I've got five bedrooms and two teenager daughters who do sports and are never out of the shower and my daily spends £6-£8.

alwayscheery · 27/02/2023 21:08

My friend has a one bed room flat and she sets the heating to 25 degrees while she is home , she works until 3pm four days a week. Her gas is £5 a day. New build.

We consider it warm at 18 degrees, the temperature in our home is usually somewhere between 10 and 15 degrees because our house is old and very large and we don't want to spend £500 + on heating per month. We do have a log burner and it seems to warm the. Ones of the house at the weekend. £300 on logs and £200 on coal so far this year this should last until next winter.

Rosemariex · 27/02/2023 21:27

Ive just moved and spending about £8 on gas and i dont know why heating is barely on as im out at work from 8 not home till 4

have heating on 2 hours max one quick shower and its at £8! My cooker and hob is electric so there cant be anything else using the gas

i turned boiler down to 60 for hot water and heating

Ive asked EDF if my meter can be checked but they was just rude on the phone. My friends are using more than me but are only paying £3-4 a day same tariff prices so i don't understand wouldn't mind if i was nice and warm but im freezing

Rebel2 · 27/02/2023 21:33

2 bed apartment, WFH
Gas is about £2-3 a day

kitcat15 · 27/02/2023 23:54

You probably need to be turning down to around 16 to 18 degrees OP ….21 is pretty high these day if you want to keep your bills lower

GasPanic · 28/02/2023 11:12

It sounds like a lot. What does your actual meter read between days ?

As others have said 21C is high, but if you only have the heating on for 2 hours then the boiler will likely be full on for that time and will not cycle.

Original poster
512276a · 28/02/2023 15:23

What do you mean if I can’t afford it I shouldn’t have the heating on all day? I have a small toddler that is freezing. My thermostat is really really old, so 21 degrees is nothing like 21 degrees in a newer house, and it doesn’t even heat up to that in 2 hours anyway.

the house was built in the 80s, I have double glazing, downstairs is all open plan so freezing all the time regardless of if the heating is on or not

OP posts:
Lovemusic33 · 28/02/2023 15:26

Just me and dd2 at home and averaging at £6 a day gas and £5 electric ☹️

NewBootsAndRanty · 28/02/2023 15:27

Rosemariex · 27/02/2023 21:27

Ive just moved and spending about £8 on gas and i dont know why heating is barely on as im out at work from 8 not home till 4

have heating on 2 hours max one quick shower and its at £8! My cooker and hob is electric so there cant be anything else using the gas

i turned boiler down to 60 for hot water and heating

Ive asked EDF if my meter can be checked but they was just rude on the phone. My friends are using more than me but are only paying £3-4 a day same tariff prices so i don't understand wouldn't mind if i was nice and warm but im freezing

My friends are using more than me but are only paying £3-4 a day same tariff prices

That isn't mathematically possible.

4kinell · 28/02/2023 15:28

My heating is on from 4pm to around 8pm at 17 degrees no other gas appliances , mine uses about £7 a day , electric is even worse

NewBootsAndRanty · 28/02/2023 15:29

Fwiw I'm in a large 1 bed flat (with the one underneath me vacant and unheated) with the heating set to 21 in the day and 18 overnight, and I'm currently using about 60kwh a day, so just over £6 if you use SVR rates.

SnowAndFrostOutside · 28/02/2023 15:30

This is odd if you are having heating on only for 2 hours a day and costing you over £200 in a two bed room.

I don't think any of us can actually tell you what is the problem without being in your house. Problem is, if someone set the thermostat at 21C it doesn't mean their boiler is on more than the person who sets it at 18C. If the house has bad insulation, the one who set it at 18C might never reach 18C and it's on all day. Compared to someone who set it at 21C but have good insulation and the boiler barely comes on.

What I can say is we spend £230 a month for both gas and electricity, with heating on all day at 21C (lower when we are asleep). Yours sound like there's something wrong.

NotDavidTennant · 28/02/2023 15:34

Can you look on the app and find out how many units of gas you are using?

Rosemariex · 28/02/2023 16:49

No it doesn't add up this is why i wonder if something is wrong with my meter and its reading wrong

NewBootsAndRanty · 28/02/2023 16:56

Rosemariex · 28/02/2023 16:49

No it doesn't add up this is why i wonder if something is wrong with my meter and its reading wrong

You've literally said here that people are using the same amount of gas as you at the same unit rate and being charged less.

When you were posting your meter readings (v in house display costs) yesterday you were missing out a decimal point to two places, making any of your usage calculations 100x higher than they should be.

It honestly sounds more like a problem with maths rather than the meter.

Greensleevevssnotnose · 28/02/2023 16:59

Not really mine was 240 in a two bed bungalow

Original poster
512276a · 28/02/2023 19:25

Thank you for the people that have shared their prices, at least I know this is normal now :(

I’m on the max tariff

OP posts:
BMW6 · 01/03/2023 12:19

It'll vary depending on many factors OP. For instance, you're open plan but we're in a Victorian terrace with smaller rooms so easier to get, and keep, warm.

We have our CH on 7am to 11pm set at 19 degrees, 15 overnight. Our gas bill for February is going to be around £150.

Okunevo · 01/03/2023 12:43

BMW6 · 01/03/2023 12:19

It'll vary depending on many factors OP. For instance, you're open plan but we're in a Victorian terrace with smaller rooms so easier to get, and keep, warm.

We have our CH on 7am to 11pm set at 19 degrees, 15 overnight. Our gas bill for February is going to be around £150.

Our gas bill for February is going to be around £45. Trying to save the planet and our children's futures 😇. Not really, I just have a well insulated new build and set the thermostat low. I agree, the type of house certainly makes a huge difference, we are very lucky.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page