Gas bills 2-3X national average, need professional independent advice

bk777

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Hi there, my father built a 3 bed detached home in Dublin 16 and gas bills are 2 - 3 times the national average and he wants to get some advice on why this is happening. The house was built in 2007/8 with underfloor heating set in concrete downstairs and rads upstairs that are rarely used. We are looking for some advice on why this may be happening. He has contacted energy provider who just says that he is being billed as per the meter. Appreciate any advice on who can help with this, I have contacted a few companies but has no response. Thanks,
 
What is the gas used for - Central heating, cooking, hot water, gas fire?

Is the house heated 24/7 or is the heating on a timer?
Are there heating zones and how are they set?

Is the house well insulated - having underfloor heating with poor insulation could use a lot of heating and hence gas

Well any heating with poor insulation will be expensive but underfloor particularly so, as it tends to be more due to the latency
 
Is this a new or existing issue? Are the large bills only a recent thing?

How much gas had been used in previous years (kWh is a better measure as price comparisons will be pretty meaningless the way prices are going)?

Could be with covid gas meters were not actually read and in turn your father's bill could have been underestimated for a large part of the last 2 years. A large bill now might just be offsetting the previous estimates.

There are lots of things to improve efficiency but first things first what state is the boiler in? When was it last serviced?
 
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What is the "national average"??
Before looking at averages you need to look at a whole host of things first before comparing the bill to the "national average"
What type of boiler is it, when was it serviced last, did the service engineer pass any comments about the boiler??
How often is the heating on and how is the temp controlled in the house, where is the thermostat, are the radiators thermostatically controlled??
What temp is the house heated to, are the radiators on in all the rooms
Who supplies the gas and what price plan are they on??
Etc Etc

I replaced my boiler and heating controls in a three bed dormer house in 2008 with a combi boiler, I then added a nest in the sitting room to control the heating. The heat is on 24/7 and the house is kept to 18 degrees and my yearly bills for the last three years were €1013, €1282, €1120
 
What is the annual consumption in units?

What is the square footage of the house?

How many people live there?

Is it occupied during the day?


Without this kind of info it's very hard to give advice.
 
To add to the above. The boiler could be the issue.
We had a similar issue with a Baxi mega flow boiler(installed 2008). Energy bills were higher than expected.
Have a look at your timer on the gas boiler. If it was set by the installer it could be heating the water for too long or the temperature on the boiler too high. We have a Baxi boiler and the tank heats up within 30 minutes instead of the 60 min set by the installer. Also the temperature on the boiler is turned down a slight and that saves a bit.
Gas fires can use a lot of energy as well.

Next if the house has a pressurised system check you do not have a driving tap, shower or toilet. We had a dripping shower (high limes ale in the area) and the pump was constantly filling and running. Got the drip fixed saved about25 plus vat.
If he has spot lights change the bulbs to led. We changed the areas with the highest use and that saved another bit.

American style fridges use a large bit. Have a look at TVs as they use a large amount if they are the old.
 
We have a Baxi boiler and the tank heats up within 30 minutes instead of the 60 min set by the installer.
Once the tank is up to temperature the stat shoud trigger and stop calling to the boiler for heat. If there isn't a tank stat, then there should only be a small enough heat loss from the pipework as the water circulates. Either way, once the tank is at temp, the boiler will fire a lot less.

If he has spot lights change the bulbs to led. We changed the areas with the highest use and that saved another bit.

American style fridges use a large bit. Have a look at TVs as they use a large amount if they are the old.

We're talking gas consumption here.
 
I think this keeps our Gas reasonable (well until the price rises)

I stopped using out thermostats they were never reliable.
Turned off the timer, only use the boost 1/2/3hr intervals.
Turned down the temp on the Cylinder which we only hot water from it use in the sinks. as we have an instant electric shower.
Got the house zoned upstairs/downstairs heating/hot water.

We don't have it. But the underfloor heating can consume a lot of energy.
 
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