So where we're staying has just had British gas install Smart Meters for both gas and electricity. We've been here over the summer when obviously gas wasn't needed much, but it's now Coooooooooooooold so the central heating is on etc. I've never really been in charge of these bills before so it's a learning experience.

Currently we're using around £6-7 in fuel a day, according to the meters. I'd say about £4-5 of that is the gas. I'm thinking I can turn down the water heating a bit as it's on when the central heating is on (Twice daily).

But I'm also wondering whether I could drop the hot water heating lots more, and flip the immersion heater on 10 mins before we really need hot water. Looking at the consumption/cost rates when the boiler is on, it works out roughly the same as the immersion heater does in electricity, plus where the immersion heater takes 10 mins to get to boiling, the gas boiler just about gets the water warm/hot.

Thoughts, reading on the internet about money saving tips there's a lot of conflicting information and a lot of it is rather old too, when prices were lower.

If your immersion heater is working better than your boiler for heating water then I would have your boiler checked or check the stat on the tank.
Immersion heaters are horrible inefficient things.

I leave my heating and water on 24/7 and set to 20c and 60c. The water kicks the boiler in once a day for maybe 15mins and we always have nice hot water.

The heating kicks in a couple of times a day to top up the heat when it drops to 19.5c.

My theory is that because I dont let the house get cold the boiler never needs to run for more than a couple of minutes every couple of hours, rather than having to run flat out for hours on end trying to heat a cold house.

The boiler is probably 7-10 years old. I'll check the stat on the tank. Next week I'm going to try having the heat on all the time and controlling via the thermostat to see if it makes much of a difference.

how old is the house ?

as long as it's a bit older, so it's got some decent thermal mass to it then it's much better to leave the heating on all the time because your boiler (unless it's really really old) will run at lower power, where it's much much more efficient...

also, 60'C boiler temp is about the best... especially if it's a condensing boiler
(any hotter than this and it's too hot for the steam to condense, so it's just like a normal boiler.. or worse )

water heating... on constant is better too... because the hot water tank will be pretty well insulated... and any heat you do lose out of it will be warming your house anyway so it's no real loss :-)

£5/day for gas in the winter is pretty good tbh... could be a lot worse...

other than checking your loft is insulated etc.. there's not much else you can do :-o

I think part of my *panic* is that we got the smart meter installed pretty much at the end of the last summer bill cycle. We had a bill for about £150 for 3 months in the summer. At the current rate our bill will be at least £550 for the 3 coming winter months. From what I gather though usually 80% of the gas usage is in the 3 coldest months of the year, so hopefully it won't be too bad :S

It's an old bungalow, probably 20+ years. There is insulation in the loft, how good it is I don't know. This place was always pretty warm when my grandmother lived here!

Will try a constant low temp next week to see if it makes a difference. Good thing about the smart meter is it can tell you consumption rates from 30min blocks up to monthly, so I know what we're using when. I'll make a note of the last 7 days tomorrow and then see how it goes next week. I have noticed that when the boiler kicks on it uses a lot to start then eases out.

My gas bill is £450+ a quarter in the winter.

That's heating the house for just four hours a day... 

Well I did an experiment to see if on 24/7 or twice daily makes a difference.

Answer = on 24/7 is about £1-2 more expensive a day, but it varied mostly on whether we used a lot of hot water. However it was much more comfortable during the day in here.

Hot water should not be lower than 55 C (otherwise there is a risk of bacterial growth) so  a tad under 60 would do. Insulation not only in attic, walls, 2 or 3 layers of glass in windows (but work to do and hard to figure out how long before it pays of).

Quote from: zpyder on December 10, 2013, 12:43:21 PM
Well I did an experiment to see if on 24/7 or twice daily makes a difference.

Answer = on 24/7 is about £1-2 more expensive a day, but it varied mostly on whether we used a lot of hot water. However it was much more comfortable during the day in here.

try on 24/7.... but turn toyr thermostat down 2'C

should still be ncie and warm / conferrable... and then work out cheaper

Is that right? When the central heating's on it heats the water too?

Quote from: Eagle on December 10, 2013, 22:51:43 PM
Is that right? When the central heating's on it heats the water too?

It depends on how it was valved up. Some systems will heat the hot water aswell when the central heating is on and some have the 2 completely separate. Ours is separate, can heat the radiators without the water and vice versa if wanted.

*experiments*

Mine you can control CH and water separately, but I figure that you tend to need the water when you want the warmth too, so it's set at the same timings.

Tried the 2 degrees lower thing Knighty, the GF was too cold!

Warm her up, then!     

What boiler do you have?
Start with the basics.
Some are more expensive than others in how you use them.
I have a condensing boiler.
Hot water is always turned on & up to max.
Boiler heats the water as & when I need it. There is no water tank.

As for heating the 24/7 route is only worthwhile if someone is in the house most of the day.

Try the basics like making sure your radiators have been bleeded.
Make sure all the radiator gets hot & not just the bottom.
Foil behind any radiators that are on a cold or outside wall, this stops the heat going straight from the radiators into the brick walls.

Look at replacing the boiler - you might be eligible for a grant. If your unemployed, you may even get it for free. My next door neighbour had a shiny new boiler installed last month & she is on benefits.