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Original poster

Cost of running an old gas Aga

16 replies

finlaythecat · 06/01/2023 06:12

We’ve just moved into a new house and have inherited an old 4 oven gas fuelled Aga.

we’ve just received our first gas bill for 14th Oct to 2nd Jan and it’s £605! We’ve not really used any additional heating and the only other thing the gas is used for is heating water. We’re a family of two adults and two under 4 so have a shower each per day and the kids share a bath before bed.

Would anyone with an old gas Aga mind sharing their gas bill? it’s going to have to go if it’s so expensive!

thanks

OP posts:
incognitodorrito · 06/01/2023 06:29

don’t own an aga but there is a fb group for aga owners i follow as was tempted to get one when renovating house a few years ago. Someone on there is getting rid of a similar model to yours as their gas bill was something like £800 monthly.

exLtEveDallas · 06/01/2023 06:34

Yes it’s expensive, but you can temper it a bit.
We pay £300 a month but the Aga is switched off from 1 Apr till 1 Oct. That means we build up credit in the 6 warmer months to be able to keep it on for the 6 colder months.
It’s a pain, but we think it’s worth it.

You have to really love the Aga to do it though. The first year we didn’t switch it off at all but soon learned that the house was hotter than Satans armpit in the summer so it had to go off. We toyed with getting rid for about 6 months, but in the end decided that we loved it too much.

grannycake · 06/01/2023 06:45

I used to have a gas rayburn - loved it but it was so expensive Thankfully removed it a couple of years ago but I regularly has gas bills of 200 a month - that was 5 years ago

Bouncebacker · 06/01/2023 08:09

Nearly three months? Just for context, our fuel bill is about £300 a month - gas central heating, 15 year old house so unless your electricity is also wild I don’t think that’s that bad (I’m really only posting as I’m an AGA romantic, would love to have one as the homes I felt safest and warmest in as a child (friends) had them - so don’t mind me… 🤣😂)

VictoriaWoodwasfab · 06/01/2023 08:21

I love our AGA. Christmas wouldn’t have been the same without it and I think the DC would riot if we got rid of it.
We manage the cost by switching it off in the warmer months (Apr-September) and also turn it down in between roasts and cook on a lower temperature as food doesn’t dry out if covered.

NellyBarney · 06/01/2023 09:15

I'm shocked your gas bill for 3 months is so low! Even if you had no central heating but daily hot water, that brings your AGA use to less than 150 pounds/months. I assume that without the AGA, you would have put some other heating on, especially when it got down to minus 8 across the south of England in the weeks before Christmas? Agas are expensive to run in addition to central heating,bit I wouldn't get rid of it of you don't have any other heating.

caffelattetogo · 06/01/2023 11:59

An aga provides constant gentle warmth, so we almost never switch on our gas central heating. It dries our washing, cooks our food and warms the house, so works our cheaper than putting heating on regularly.

EmmaStone · 06/01/2023 13:16

We had an oil fired Aga when we moved in. We may as well have been burning £20 notes, so we took ours out. It was ok, but I found its weaknesses far outweighed its strengths. I could never get over it running 24/7 when we were all out of the house for 12 hours a day.

Yarrawonga · 06/01/2023 13:33

I could never get over it running 24/7 when we were all out of the house for 12 hours a day.

The idea is that is runs constantly with a low flame and stores up the heat for when you need it.

I was brought up with AGAs and wanted one when I got married. This was some years ago now and the running costs quoted by the AGA shop for a modern three oven gas AGA was £27-30 a week, so I am also surprised that the OP’s bill is so low.

GatherlyGal · 06/01/2023 13:42

I don't know what ours costs a month as we also have heating on. Our house is old and windows are single-glazed. I think the Aga adds about £250-£300 a month but then it probably means we use the heating less to get to a manageable temperature.

Your 3 month gas bill is close to what we pay a month in the winter!

GasPanic · 06/01/2023 13:49

Another that thinks you bill is not too bad considering you don't use any other heat.

Most people who have AGAs I think tend to live in pretty big houses, so if it can heat your entire house adequately that surely is a result.

Maybe it is worth switching it off and running the CH on the boiler for a while if you have it to see how it compares in cost.

WombatChocolate · 06/01/2023 19:13

I have an ancient gas aga which is probably on its last legs - was a conversion from solid fuel, and apparently they can’t get some of the parts anymore.

We are in a semi which isn’t huge. We have a fixed gas tariff until Spring, so paying the same rates as the last couple of years thankfully. Our DD to cover electricity and gas is usually £120 and I don’t worry about it going into debit.

We just got a smart meter, so I was really interested to see where the big usage was. It’s absolutely the central heating and hot water for us. When we had the cold snap, our usage more than doubled. We went away for Christmas, so heating just on low for an hour or so a day and AGA still on but turned down - was costing around £18 for that week, so about £2.75 per day, with very little other gas usage.

Just had a monthly bill today from Octopus based on smart readings and gas charge £98. That included the very cold 10 days, plus a week when we weren’t here. I thought it wasn’t too bad. Of course, when we come off the fix it will be significantly worse.

We have tried to reduce gas usage this winter - hour of GCH in morning and 5-6 hours in evening at around 17 degrees most if time (sometimes 18) seems to do it for us. If in during the bay, we have it on more.

BadgerB · 20/05/2023 12:58

I've been looking all over for some estimate of the cost of running a 3 oven gas-fired Aga turned down to "low heat" rather than completely off. Any ideas?

KievLoverTwo · 20/05/2023 13:20

We moved into a new rental last July and it has a 150cm electric, not had aga.

During the viewing our LL said 'I hate it, it takes forever to warm up so I have to leave it on all the time and it costs me about £70 a week. If you want me to get rid of it so you can have a range, that's no problem.' A month or two after we moved in, electricity went up, so it would now cost £120 a month.

We never used it.

It's about 11 years old (and cost £10,000!).

Trouble is, you have to pay specialists to remove them. When I looked last September the quotes were coming out at £400.

Many say they are worth it because it apparently heats the whole house. Yeah but, at that cost, I would rather be cold.

KievLoverTwo · 20/05/2023 13:21

Sorry, £120 a WEEK.

SeatonCarew · 20/05/2023 13:26

Alas, Agas are never going to be cheap to run, bit they are wonderful, and bear in mind energy prices are going to start coming down in July. As somebody else suggested, try to compare with the cost of running heating at the momennt( though in May that's hardly a fair comparison. Energy's gone up loads!

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