# 4 bed house 1,345 sq foot. We bought €300 worth of oil which was used up in 6 weeks!



## clairephelan (15 Jan 2012)

Hey,I'm a student living in a 4 bed house of 1,345 sq footage.My housemates and I bought 300euro worth of oil which only lasted for 6 weeks.Is this normal considering it wasn't on during the day or at weekends.We didn't overuse it either.Is this a mistake,we think maybe 200euros worth was delivered.We didn't receive a docket as it was paid by the landlord who claims that we received 300euros worth but we don't believe him.
Thanks


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## bluemac (15 Jan 2012)

I have a similar house to one before in an earlier post, 
2 adults 2 kids
4300sqft house,
900sqft office
washing machine tumble dryer cooker
Well
my own sewage system
No oil No gas just electric
underfloor heating

I have a geothermal machine installed and running and have been monitoring my costs not a full year yet but this should be quite close
Day units estimate for year 6500, Night units 4300
Estimate of total electric costs for year €2000
Summer costs average per month €110 per month (no heatpump)
Winter costs average per month €200 per month

I believe my heat pump costs about €80 a month to heat the buildings. first time ive worked this out and that seems very cheap. I run it for 23 weeks of the year. 

€480 a year heating costs. 

I estimate the system cost me an extra €26,000 inc loan interest compared to oil and rads.

I estimate a saving of €2k per year so a 10-13 year pay back depending on oil price.


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## Leo (16 Jan 2012)

clairephelan said:


> Hey,I'm a student living in a 4 bed house of 1,345 sq footage.My housemates and I bought 300euro worth of oil which only lasted for 6 weeks.Is this normal considering it wasn't on during the day or at weekends.We didn't overuse it either.Is this a mistake,we think maybe 200euros worth was delivered.We didn't receive a docket as it was paid by the landlord who claims that we received 300euros worth but we don't believe him.
> Thanks


 
Ask the landlord for the receipt/ delivery docket. That will rule out him pulling a fast one.
Leo


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## csirl (16 Jan 2012)

I used to have oil central heating in a 1,300 sq ft semi built in the 1960s. Annual consumption was 4 deliveries of 750 litres per annum i.e. 3,000 litres per annum. Would usually be 3 deliveries during the winter months and 1 during the summer e.g. October/December/February and May. House was heavily insulated and dry lined. I also turned down the thermostat on the boiler by c.10oC from the previous occupant. 

So I'd guess that the OPs usage is probably normal.


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## lowCO2design (16 Jan 2012)

lets start with the unknowns in Claire's rented home:


we are not told the condition of the building fabric
or the boilers efficiency/ serviced last
and were not clear on how the heating is being used. is it for instance on for an hour morning and evening or on a thermaostat constantly at room temp.
Claire as you live in rented accommodation, may i ask what the houses BER is?




csirl said:


> So I'd guess that the OPs usage is probably normal.


what is considered 'normal' when csirl's homes usage is 





> 3,000  litres per annum


 very worrying.. but what is more worrying is the  statement 





> House was heavily insulated and dry lined.


  really? are you sure? 
I would suggest csirl's  60's home is not well insulated, air-tight or the heating system is not working correctly.. which is it Csirl?


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## Protocol (16 Jan 2012)

I have a 4-bed det, built in late 70s.

1000 L does me for a year.

Heat on for maybe 3 hrs pd in winter months.


The neighbour uses 4 * 1000 L fills, heat on from 7:30am to 1am (!!!), I assume just during the cold months.


*Huge difference in usage, same houses.*


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## rockofages (16 Jan 2012)

I know someone who used 1000L of oil in 28 days!

We're on mains sewage in a well insulated house and our mains gas bills including all hot water would run to €250 a year.


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## ajapale (16 Jan 2012)

rockofages said:


> We're on mains sewage.



I'm fascinated, how is your sewage arrangements related to you oil consumption?



cashier said:


> Was it stolen?


I know student accommodation is often deliberately targeted by thieves.


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## rockofages (16 Jan 2012)

ajapale said:


> I'm fascinated, how is your sewage arrangements related to you oil consumption?


I don't really know. bluemac mentioned sewage arrangements first, so I thought I'd better do the same


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## minkydog (17 Jan 2012)

I reckon it was stolen this is happening a lot - have you a lock on the tank - if not ask landlord to put one on for you  and ask him for proof of the oil amount delivered.


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## bugler (17 Jan 2012)

The most pertinent issue is that you paid for something but have no idea what. You shouldn't be paying any bills without seeing the bill.

It's a staple routine of the cowboy landlord, whether it applies in this case or not only a bill can prove.


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## Bronte (18 Jan 2012)

Maybe one of the other students put the oil on during the day.


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## bertie1 (20 Jan 2012)

300 Euro is approx 350 ltrs depending on the rate when it was bought . If that is an older style house I would say its about right . I had a older house that used to eat up 2000 ltrs a year & if you ask me the heating wasn't on for 6 months at the above costs the heating in that rented house would use 1500 ltrs over 6 months


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## huskerdu (20 Jan 2012)

bertie1 said:


> 300 Euro is approx 350 ltrs depending on the rate when it was bought . If that is an older style house I would say its about right . I had a older house that used to eat up 2000 ltrs a year & if you ask me the heating wasn't on for 6 months at the above costs the heating in that rented house would use 1500 ltrs over 6 months



I agree. 

Maybe they didn't use 350lt of oil, but they might have.

If the house is not well insulated and the heat was on high with all radiators on from 4pm until 12pm every evening, it would use a lot of oil. 

When was the boiler serviced last ? An old oil boiler that has not been serviced in a few years will use more oil. A €90 service will have you a lot of money in the long run. 

Also, with 4 tenants, you might not have complete control of exactly how much it is on, and it might be on more than you think.


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## AlbacoreA (20 Jan 2012)

clairephelan said:


> ...We didn't receive a docket...



Thats the root of your problems there. You should be controlling your own heating. Of course if its in his name then he has to pay it.


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