How much does putting the central heating on actually cost?

[mrsbabookaloo]

Apols for dull subject matter. Just wondering how I work it out. Energy company seems to go out of their way to make it as difficult as possible to find out what you're actually spending, and I'd really like to know, for example, if I put the central heating on for a couple of hours in the day, in addition to the usual periods it comes on automatically, how much it will cost.

Is it massively extravagant, or a negligible amount? I'm at home studying some days at the moment and have been putting it on in the day and feeling guilty about it.

I guess I could take note of the gas meter reading when I put it on and then when I turn it off and then compare that to a period where I don't have the heating on, and then just work out how much it is per unit?

Does this work? Any tips? Or just a ball park figure?

Your idea would be fine.
Problem is that it's temp dependent, boiler works harder when cold than warmer, so there is no one figure.

Friends worked out that every day they kept the heat off completely (not even on timer) they saved £1. So I would guess £1 for 3 hours of heating, as a minimum.

Oh, well if it's a £1 it's worth it then! (spoilt brat? me?). Will try the gas meter thing anyway, out of curiosity.

it is indeed temperature dependent, and your boiler will not be on all the time that it is switched on.

best thing is to take weekly or monthly gas meter readings, do battle with your energy company to find out your unit rate, and then some simple sums.

you have to be persistent to find the unit rate because it is all sold as 'average cost' which is meaningless. In addition there are options with or without standing charge, and different ways of pricing the 'no standing charge' options. Find yourself a spare half hour and then make that phone call, and keep repeating 'please tell me the unit charge for my tariff'.

Can't you just look at your bill?

Can't I just look at my bill?.....If only the bill actually gave specific information. Does your bill tell you how much you spent on the heating on any particular day? If so, that's great.

I get a quarterly bill and I pay monthly by direct debit, so I really don't know even for example, if I spent more on my heating in December than I did in November. Would be handy to have an idea.

Thank you specialsubject...I wasn't being paranoid about the energy companies keeping the actual useful info to themselves then....

steady!

Sorry....didn't mean to sound snippy. Thought it was clear that I can't get this info from the bill.

If you want to know what you use in a small time period, you need to take meter readings at the beginning and end.

Convert your gas reading to kWh and then multiply by the unit cost which is shown on your bill.

Mine was about £90 for end Dec to end Jan, but we practically had it on for a fortnight non stop and then other times from about 6pm to midnight.

As a sidebar, could anyone tell me if it is cheaper to run the central heating if the radiators upstairs are off? Or does it cost the same amount to heat all the radiators as half of them?

Sorry if this is a dense question..

All dense questions welcome here. This is the central heating for dummies thread.

Before this house I had never actually been responsible for my own CH before, even though I am 38! (living abroad, then renting, then living on an estate where the heating was communal and centrally controlled) so I am a complete nonce about it.

Don't have to worry about upstairs though, as we live in a flat!

Bumping as interested in outcome of Monster's question

It would definitely be cheaper to run your heating with only some radiators on, if you shut doors so the cold rooms aren't affecting the thermostat.

It is actually pretty easy to work out the cost of your heating, using a pencil and a diary or calendar.

First of all you have to note down your actual meter readings, at least monthly, more often if you wish (not estimates, and not "monthly payments" which are based on guesswork and previous under- or over-payments), and the price per kWh that will be shown on your bill.

Your gas meter will almost certainly measure in Cubic Metres of gas (a measure of volume). However your bill will be calculated in kWh (a unit of energy). You can convert cubic metres to kWh by multiplying by 11.16 (it varies slightly, you can do the calculation yourself using the figures on your latest bill)

My gas contract charges me 3.6p per kWh. So one unit on the gas meter costs me (1 x 11.16 x 3.6p) = 40p near enough.

I ignore standing charge, because I have to pay that even if I use no gas. In my case I get a discount which is near enough the same as the 5% VAT on energy, so I work on 40p per unit as the cost of heat

In freezing weather, to keep my house warm uses up to 8 metres per day (£3.20 worth) of gas. In autumn or spring, about 1.6 m/day (64pence worth) of gas. In summer, when the heating is off, it uses about 0.5m/day (about 20p worth) for hot water only.

Calculating the cost of electricity is even easier, because the meter, and the bill, are both stated in kWh. I pay 11.24p per kWh of electricity, which is more than three times the cost of energy from gas, so of course I only use electrc heaters in special circumstances.

Your tariff will probably be different to mine. If you are still with the old local "Electricity Board" then it will be higher. If you are on a prepayment meter it will be higher.

If, instead of a standing charge, you have a higher price for the initial units, work on the lower rate, because, in winter, you will be well past the initial units, and turning the heating up or down will only affect usage at the lower rate.

The more frequently to take your actual meter redings, the better you will know what you are spending. The more often you provide your actual meter readings to your gas and electricity suppliers, the more accurate your bills will be, and the less likely you are to get an inaccurate estimated bill. You can probably provide them online. Monthly is fine.

I know this is an old thread, and I know this is a boring (to some!) topic, but I've followed PigletJohn's formulas, tweaking them slightly using the figures from my bills, and I've set up a spreadsheet tracking my gas and electricity meter readings, so that I can calculate cost per day, and estimate the cost for the Winter period if we continue to use the same amount of gas and electricity for the whole of the Winter (I know, I know!!!). I've worked out that it costs £6.58 a day to heat our house on the coldest days, 36p a day when there is no heating on, and £1.50 a day in the Spring. In terms of electricity it costs us £3.27 a day in the Winter, £1.40 a day in the Summer. Projected costs are a whopping £1179 for gas for the Winter, and £586 for electricity for the Summer, which is about right based on last year's usage (first year in this house - massive increase on what we are used to). So my first question is, having just had the boiler serviced and an expensive Powerflush to ensure the system is working efficiently, would you experiment with keeping the heating on for longer periods at lower levels, as the house gets very cold - big Edwardian rooms, draughty, no cavity walls... or would you just try to use the heating less? We currently have it on from 6am until 7.30am, and from 5pm until 9pm. I'm not sure what to do about the electricity usage, as we have fitted energy saving bulbs everywhere, have limited the time in the shower, and don't use standby etc. Yes we have washing machine, tumble dryer and dishwasher, and we have bought a monitor to check the consumption of individual appliances, and I know the tumble dryer is expensive, but if we dry the vast amount of clothes in the house we have to deal with damp/condensation... and have the dehumidifier on constantly. Sorry for the dull information, but am (as you can see) obsessive about trying to reduce the bills, so any fresh thoughts welcomed. Thank you!

your dehumidifier is also a gas guzzler. First - why are you doing so much washing? If there is no special need, then the only things that need washing after one wear are underwear, socks and shirts worn in overheated offices. Towels put to air/dry after use will last a lot longer, bedding once a week is fine, etc etc.

and of course you can dry outside all year - did my washing today in a sunny spot.

longer term - if you are staying in this house you could look at wall insulation, either internal or external.

Agree with specialsubject: you can get your washing at least mostly dry any dry day in winter (I quite frequently hang ours out in the dark before I go to work, then take it in in the dark when I get home. Sigh)

Re: heating, I have become pretty meticulous at turning off radiators in the rooms not being used. So right now I have the fire lit, and bedroom radiators bringing the rooms up to 16degC, but everything else is off, curtains closed, and the rooms shut up. Before I go to bed, I'll switch on the bathroom and dining room radiators so they'll wam up when the timer comes on in the morning. A big house is always going to be more expensive to heat than a small one, but remember that you almost never have to heat the whole of the house.

This thread has reminded me that I should do a comparison of our 24 gas usage on normal working days and when OH is working from home. Easy to do, just by taking your meter reading at the same time each morning for a few days.

Telegraph article here saying it is cheaper to keep the heating on at say 19 in the day and 16 at night than to just turn it on for say 2 hours in the morning and 6 in the evening.

Rubbish.

I suppose not so bad in a flat (if OP is still with us as I know this is several months od ) but in my 4 story, high ceilinged house, when I work at home it's cheaper to get a low energy using electric heater and just heat the one room.

Thanks for your input Piglet.

You're welcome.

Well, in response to specialsubject, dh and I don't wash our clothes every day, but I have four children aged 6 and under, so their clothes tend to be dirty beyond the point I could rescue - school jumpers spattered with beans, toddlers' clothes with food all down, baby clothes covered with goodness knows what. I only wash bedding and towels weekly but there are six of us... And I use reusable nappies for two of the children, so they are washed every day, and tumbledried because they just don't dry on the line. I know I could attempt to dry more clothes outside, but I struggle with the management of the amount of stuff to get dried, and I can't bring it in damp again - or I'd be snowed under the next day with the next lot joining the pile, if that makes sense.

line dry and then finish them off in the tumble dryer if they're still a bit damp when you bring them in.