Gas bill so high

I don't know one person who didn't get a bit of shocker with their gas bill this month. we work FT so are only there in the evenings & at weekends. Thermostat is not above 20. Our bill prior to this was just over 100. This one was 220! i know there has been a cold snap but that's some jump. my folks & my sister both had bills over 400 so i count myself "lucky". Am eagerly awaiting the price drop for gas....
 
pat127 said:
Some thoughts. Is your 30min on/1hr off routine better or worse than longer runs at a lower temp? Someone might have a comment. Do you lower the water temp during the day? Are you on the right tariff, it's worth running the numbers?
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Interesting suggestion above re relative cost of leaving it on longer at low temp. Anyone know?

What do you mean by the tarriff - is it on the gas bill? Thanks.
 
annR said:
Can someone explain to me how the temperature controls work?

We've moved into a new house.

  • On the gas boiler itself there is the dial which looks as if it controls temp.
  • In the hallway there is another temp dial
  • People here have mentioned thermostatic valves on the radiators. What are they? Do you mean the basic knob by which you turn the rad on and off?
My question is how do they all work together, which of them actually does control the temperature?
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If you look here [broken link removed] at the thermostatic valves often fitted in Ireland.

If you were going to the trouble of getting TRVs on some rads you would be just as well for the small added cost get them fitted on all rads with something called a bypass fitted then you can disconnect your stat in the hall.

The dial on the gas boiler sets how hot the boiler will heat the water and hotter water gives hotter rads therefore faster heat times in the rooms.
 
Toby said:
What do you mean by the tarriff - is it on the gas bill? Thanks.
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Bord Gais has a range of tariffs aimed at different levels of usage. It’s not on the bill as far as I can see but you can work out what you are on from the rates used in calculating the charges. You are probably likely to be on either the Standard Rate (4.456c per kwh + a 2-monthly service charge of €57.14), or the High User Commitment Rate (5.982c per kwh, no service charge, but you must pay for a minimum of 16,000 kwh).

According to my calculations (not totally guaranteed!) at 16,000 which is about what I use, Standard Rate will cost approx €113 more per annum than High User. I was automatically allocated the Standard when I signed on for gas 3 years ago and I called them a year later to change it to High User.
 
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Our gas bill was also c. €400 for Nov-Dec. Now I am presuming that this is partly explained by the ungodly recent increase in prices and in part by the fact that our last couple of bills were estimated (obviously underestimated).

Now my problem with the latter point is that because of the underestimation, we have now been charged for gas we used at the new prices, even though the prices at the time of usage were c.38% less. In such a scenario it is wholly beneficial for Bord Gais to underestimate readings in the knowledge that an increase is on the way.

Does anyone else have a problem with this and if so, is there anything that can be done?
 
marvin said:
Our gas bill was also c. €400 for Nov-Dec. Now I am presuming that this is partly explained by the ungodly recent increase in prices and in part by the fact that our last couple of bills were estimated (obviously underestimated).

Now my problem with the latter point is that because of the underestimation, we have now been charged for gas we used at the new prices, even though the prices at the time of usage were c.38% less. In such a scenario it is wholly beneficial for Bord Gais to underestimate readings in the knowledge that an increase is on the way.

Does anyone else have a problem with this and if so, is there anything that can be done?
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The policy from Jan '04 is to take 3 readings a year and estimate in between so if there is a discrepancy it's confined to one bill. The only way to be sure of the accuracy of the split bill would be to take your own reading at date of price change and call it in.
 
just a question about thermostatic valves on the radiators. We have one on a radiator in a newly coverted garage and even when we have it down at the lowest setting (the star below 1) the radiator is still roasting. Do you think the valve is n't working ?

We have no temperature control in the house....just can set the heat to come on/off three times a day. boiler is set at 75 C. The rest of the radiators are older and have no thermostatic valves but never get as hot as the new radiator.

just want to have some background heat in that room but will just have to turn it off totally I think.

Janeom
 
Janeom,
Sounds like a stuck valve - I've had similar problems. There's a small metal rod inside the valve which can get stuck either fully open or fully closed. I was able to remove the control knob and ease the metal rod out using a pliers (I'd seen a plumber do it so knew it was ok!).

A plumber suggested that when you have heating off in summer, you should open the thermostatic valves fully to prevent them sticking in the closed position.
 
I am signed up to the high user commitment.
I have the zoned heating i.e. upstairs only, downstairs only, water only.
We have had all our external walls insulated - and the attic.
Our entire heating system and all radiators are brand new....
...and we still got a bill for €470 this month!
 
Just got mine at 368 Euro for a 4 Bed Detached.Rang BordGais suggestion was to look at moving to a higher Kwh rate but I wouldn't have to pay standing charges.I would have to use 16000Kwhs per year as a minimum.They can tell you based on the KWH units you've used last what tarrif would be best for you.
 
agree with above,last gas bill E250,v annoyed,
but xmas has to be taken into acc i suppose.oil per year cost
my friend E400 last month?????
Fredg.
 
Received mine yesterday, 320 euro (4 bed detached). I use the heating as sparingly as possible (1hr morning, 1 hr teatime, 1-2.5 hrs at night depending on weather). When I add in 2 cylinders of gas which I also used during the bill period (another 50 euro), it's a heck of a lot to keep the house from freezing (I wouldn't call it warm!).
Did you notice that the 2-month period was actually extended by a week? The previous bill was the same, so that could be a factor in the higher than expected increases people are seeing. I received one bill covering the period 1/9 - 15/11 and the next one covering 15/11 - 24/1.
 
Just to update this thread, we got our second bill yesterday in our house. Our first bill was €190 and the only thing we changed over the following 2month period was to turn the thermostat down from 20deg to 18deg. New bill came in at €140...thrilled but cant fathom it!!
 
Newbie! said:
Just to update this thread, we got our second bill yesterday in our house. Our first bill was €190 and the only thing we changed over the following 2month period was to turn the thermostat down from 20deg to 18deg. New bill came in at €140...thrilled but cant fathom it!!
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You often read that turning down the stat by 1 degree will save you 10%. You have shown that you save a little over 10% for each degree you turned it down. You've probably reached the limit at 18 though.
 
newbie, Bord Gais reduced their charges from the 1st of Feb by 10% so that might account for some of the savings.
 
Just had to say that after a gas bill of €430 for nov-dec last year I just got our bill for the same period this year and its only €150!! So pleased. Maybe its been a lot warmer but we've been fine with having heating on less and also got thermo valves installed so less waste on heaters upstairs being on all day.
 
turn off the heating. its not iceland ye are in (exceptions for baby of course) . but having it on constantly all over the house in the evening is a bit mad. zone it and turn off the rads where no one is. simple

to cut electricity bill turn off the lights. people just dont seem to understand that leaving lights on uses electricity and they wont use energy efficent ones
 
I would suggest that if you find you are having high bills then check what kind of system controls you have and make sure they are set to give you best economy at a temperature that suits you, i would turn down the room stat to maybe 19 and than over time slowly turn it up until the property is at a temperature that you are happy with, i would also turn down any rads in an area that needs less heat than the rooms you would spend more time in,i would turn down my cylinder stat to 55-60 C and time the hot water, don't worry to much about the position of the boiler stat as this will have no real impact on the gas bill if you have a room stats fitted, it works more like a throttle, controlling the time it takes to get the house to the temperature you have set it to. Having no or little control on any heating system will cost a fortune in heating cost so the minimum i would want is programmer, cylinder stat, and room stat, trvs are great but don't fit them in the same area as a room stat as they will fight against each other, i will shut up now, hope this helps, Gary
 
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