How often is everyone turning gas hearing on and how much is your bill

[Sabali88]

I live in a 2 bedroom flat and have 4 radiator running. Living room, one bedroom, hallway and bathroom. Its my first time in a flat where there is gas heating and i am scared that it will cost a lot to run.

At first i was turning it on for 2 hours in evening every now and then. Now as its been windy and cold. Indoors, the temperature drops to 12.5 -13 degrees sometime and therefore I have started putting it on for two hours in the morning when we wake up and 2-3 hours in the evening.

Our flat is a shitty old apartment with hardly any insulation and single glazed windows which let a large amount of draft in. I have taped it all up and tried to fix it as much as possible and tried to fill as many gaps I could to stop air coming in. Landlord has definitely done a cowboy job and saved his bucks by not replacing old windows or filling walls or floors with insulation.

I do feel that as soon as I turn heating off it takes an hour or two for it two go back down to 14-13 or even 12.5 in evening if its 1 degree outside for example.

We have an old 2000-2005 vaillant plus combi boiler, no thermostat fitted (even if there was a thermostat i believe as it is a cold flat it would come on more often than normal) old ass radiators that have not been changed by the looks of it since 1990’s or 1980’s. I keep my boiler on 60degrees when i turn heating on.

I have my heating on from 7 am to 10 pm set at 19° but if I feel cold in the evening, I turn it up to 21°. I live in a large two bed bungalow built in 1954 which has one bedroom added in the roof, so three bedroom in total. Since I moved in twelve years ago, I’ve added insulation in the loft around the walls of the converted bedroom, a more powerful boiler, extra radiator in the lounge as it always felt cold in there and a new roof.

I currently pay £150 a month for gas and electric and had a few hundred £ credit last January - no idea what it is now but I was surprised to be in credit after the winter. I firmly believe that for my house and style of living, retired but go out most days, that having constant heat is better than letting the house get cold, necessitating having the boiler on for hours to get the house back up to temperature.

Im quite surprised at hearing of people paying similar amounts for smaller houses and restricted heating times. Maybe the building is well constructed and insulated and my improvements have helped, I certainly noticed a big difference when the new boiler was installed.

Ours is on all the time at about 18-19 and then occasionally up to 21-22 when it feels cold. Our cooker and water boiler are also on gas. Last month, we paid 75 for it, of which 9 was standing charge. In this part of the country, we had temperatures oscillating around zero for a while in November.

Ihateslugs Its interesting hearing about how much your bills are. I also live in a 2 bedroom 1960's bungalow and pay about £450/month for gas and electric. I wish our bills were like some of the people on this thread! We've had a new boiler fitted last year and loft insulation, but it just doesn't retain heat and we soon get condensation/mould building up if we don't keep the heating on. We also use the dehumidifer frequently.

I think the OP is fighting a losing battle with single glazed rotten/drafty windows.

We've got a 3 bedroom, 1930's semi with modern double glazing and 10cm loft insulation.

The heating runs 24x7:
19°C overnight.
20°C during the day.
21°C evenings

Gas is currently £888 for the year / £74 per month.

That includes the standing charge of £109 per annum / £9 per month, so the actual gas cost is £65 p/m.

The heat of the house is contained in the thermal mass (brick walls) and once that's up to temperature, it doesn't take much heating to keep it topped up.

The 21st November was quite a cold day and our heating ran all day on the minimum setting with the radiators getting barely warm - but that's enough to replace the heat loss for the house.

For the average double glazed house with a bit of loft insulation, I don't think any money is really saved by only heating in the mornings and evenings. The system has to go at maximum power for hours on end to raise the temperature by several degrees.

Heats to 20 degrees whenever we are at home (not during the working/school day generally), off at 10pm as we are in bed. 12 radiators, 4 beds, 3 receptions, 3 bathrooms.

£200 a month gas and electric, I'm happy with my bill tbh, seems fair enough.

To answer your queries:

• I have 8 radiators
• 1 electric fireplace
• 1 gas cooker
• I work from home the majority of the time so usually when it gets cold the heating is on for an hour in the morning and maybe 3/4 hours in the evening. During the storms/freezing weather like we have had this week, I might also occasionally put it on during the day
• I have an extension as well, so also need to heat that!

You've not answered the question - i.e. how much does that cost?

I turn it in at the beginning of the season (November this year), set it at 18 then leave it til I turn it off in the Spring. I also run my gas fire most nights. I live in a three bed terrace and my gas bill is £70/month throughout the year. I WFH and am not going to be cold. There are other things I'd cut back first.

'@ThisOldThang
You've not answered the question - i.e. how much does that cost?'

And you have not read the thread...

I already posted earlier in the thread about how much I pay, the OP asked follow up questions and I added some details in my second comment to that effect.

I used to get black mould on outside walls before I had the new boiler. I also had a PIV ( positive input vent) fitted in the hall at the same time so I am not sure which was the most effective at eliminating the mould. The PIV takes damp air from the house out into the loft space and brings in dry air, it runs all the time and uses very little electricity. I believe they work better than dehumidifiers but there is a high initial cost, mine from Envirovent cost over £1000 to install but that as well as eliminating damp problems, it allows me to run the heating system more efficiently, thus reducing the bills.

My heating is always "on". Thermostat is set to 20°C. Double glazed throughout. Thermal curtains over the front and back doors. Gas bill is usually £60-80 a month.

That to be honest is so reasonable. I don’t know how some people end up with such high bills and some people with the right amount that it should be.

That’s very reasonable. I think it’s all down to how insulated a house is and if one has double glazing or not. Considering that I have none of it, i am running heating now for around 4-5 hours on an off on 75 degree. Did that today as well. Have to switch it off manually as no timer. At the end my landlord has to pay the bills as he said bills inclusive. I am just being cautious still and being considerate and also just incase he turns up and says oh bill is too high and you have to pay part of it lol.

Thanks for breaking it down. Really appreciate it.

When I moved here in 2016, until the price hikes of the last three years, I was paying £136 a month. I don’t think it’s too bad in todays world.

I’m in a 20 year old house but built in a period style, 10ft ceilings huge double glazed sash windows and four window bays. But they’re double glazed and I’ve got cavity wall insulation.

I’d pay whatever it takes to be warm at the expense of other things, for instance if I had to choose between a warm house and a summer holiday I’d choose the warm house.

I just have mine set to 18 during the day and off at night (no children in the house). My bill is around £75 / month at the moment for a 3 bed semi.