OH DEAR GOD MY GAS BILL!!! Spreadsheet users please post your usage

[princessnumber2]

Scottish power tell me they have been having a number of software issues lately with online users submitting readings and being billed. Anyway I just called them to try and get an idea of where I am at the moment and they say that over the last 3 months, my gas bill is £464 (and actually electricity is £224 but after the gas bill that had less impact). My daily average usage is 19kw for electricity and 143kw for gas. Can this be true? We have just moved in to a 4 bed period house. Quite draughty, some double glazing but no carpets or curtains. I work from home and have 2 young children so have the heating on all day quite a bit.

Is it just thermostat down and thermals on and fingerless gloves when typing time?

I feel ill. We switched supplier to go for a dual fuel online only fixed tariff so this is supposed to be the cheaper option. And I doubt there is a mistake with the start reading as I provided it and they came out and checked it too.

Hard to get more info because of this 'software issue' they say they have...

you really need to look at your meter readings, preferably for 12-month period or more. They will be shown on your bills, and (if you input meter readings online) you can look up old bills on the suppliers website.

A cubic metre of gas contains near enough 11.2 kWh, so each unit on the meter costs about 38p

A kWh of electricity costs, at the moment, round about 11pence, and a kWh of gas about 3.5p (precise figures will depend on your tariff).

There will also be a standing charge, which might be in the region of 18p a day for electricity and 25p for gas.

The reason you will not get an accurate sense from the amount of your monthly payment, is that it is influenced by inaccurate estimates, previous under- or over-payments, and an attempt to average it out over a 12 month period. It is fairly futile comparing direct debit amounts with other people.

Just checked our average usage over three years from the bills.
Gas 2052 = 39.5 m3 per week
Electricity 4209 = 80.9 kWh per week

is that 2052 divided by 3 (years) divided by 52 (weeks)?
I make it 13.15

And (4209/3)/52 = 26.98

Oh, you mean average 2052 per year divided by 52 is 39.5 cu.m
which is about 442kWh of gas per week (63.2kWh per day)
which is incredibly high

80.9kWh/week electricity (11.56kWh/day) is quite reasonable

No, already the average over three years.

I use about 1100 cu.m gas a year, which is about 12,320 kWh, which is average 237kWh/week (33kWh/day)
which costs about £1.10 per day average, plus standing charge
Of which summer usage is about 18p a day.

I suppose if you have a larger/less insulated house, and/or older boiler, that would make sense.

But princessno2 says

"My daily average usage is 19kw for electricity and 143kw for gas"
which is a lot of gas.

In cold winters, I sometimes use 7 cu.m a day, about 80kWh, costing about £2.55 a day; but through the year, an average of 3 cu.m a day, about a pound.

Your heat will just be escaping through your draughts and single glazing so likely you will be using loads just to feel warm. Get heavy full length lined curtains, draught excluders, and unfortunately get your winter gear on indoors. I used to live in a three bed semi stone villa, with draughts everywhere even up through the wooden floor. In winter I slept in a dressing gown and with a hat over my head, sat wrapped in a throw at night and we didn't use the dining room as it was too cold. I even put cling film over the windows to try and stop draughts. Can't compare costs though as this was back in the day when energy was cheaper.

That experience has put me off traditional stone houses for life. I now live in a cosy 30s bungalow.

Hi all. Thanks for all the replies and advice and sorry for not checking back in sooner.

When we moved in two of the radiators in the hall and landing had wooden covers on. I said to dh, 'surely we're just paying to warm a wooden box?' He liked piling crap on the horizontal surfaces said they must have thought about that in the design.

Anyway I got my screwdriver out and I've taken them off and they are now under a bed upstairs so the heat can, er, radiate, freely. I have some hideous 70s velvet at the massive windows and have vented all the radiators.

We're on a £107 direct debit but moved in end September so are now in deficit quite a bit. Maybe they'll let us catch up over the next few months when hopefully the weather will be warmer.

I've also started working in my local academic library when the kids are at nursery and school, which is warm but has no wifi so I save on gas but can't check my threads on mumsnet very often.

Thanks for all the kw data. I think the bill is right. We were just simply using FAR too much.