[WizzyWigg]

Originally Posted by JoeSoap

Another cross. Lots of them around. Oh, and to save polluting another thread I'll respond on this one... no more emojis.... Pleeeeeeeeease 😂

Okay I'll reconsider as you asked so nicely. 😂😂

[JoeSoap]

My electricity consumption over the last three months is around 3% lower than the same period last year. That's good news as I had taken steps to reduce consumption at the beginning of that period last year so wasn't really expecting much of a saving (if any) this year. I bought a new tumble dryer a few months back so that has probably helped a bit.

Now the bad news. My gas consumption continues to be much higher than last year. 20% up in August, 2% up in September and a massive (extrapolated) 55% up in October. So, for the three month period Aug-Oct, I'm using 27% more than in the same period last year. That said, I've used 22% less than during the same period in 2021. Will this trend continue, I wonder 🤔

So far in these three months, I've used £36 more gas at today's rates and saved £10 on electric so I'm £26 down on where I should be had my consumption remained stable.

Has it been a bit colder this month? Has our collective household mindset changed now that prices have eased? Was something adjusted during the boiler service at the beginning of July? Am I subconsciously keeping the house a bit warmer (or less cold) than last year due to the buffer of my considerable credit balance? Maybe it's a combination of all four. The really cold months are still to come. I'll be watching closely to see how things progress.

[retrotecchie]

My electricity consumption is 30% down for the last 12 months. My oil consumption is also down. £300 of oil has lasted me since February and that was paid for by the AFP and the Welsh government heating rebate. Overall, my energy bill is about 60% of what it was a year ago. But that is a combination of going easy with the 'leccy, installing microsolar for charging all my battery powered equipment rather than charging off the mains in the house and heating oil being a hell of a lot cheaper than mains gas. Sure, the EBSS helped last winter, but now my annual energy costs are rather more than £400 a year cheaper than a year ago I'm not feeling the pain as I did for 21-22. But I'm not going to relax either! I suspect the situation in the Middle East may have bearing on oil and gas prices in coming months, so we're not out of the woods yet by any means.

[Mailman]

Originally Posted by JoeSoap

Now the bad news. My gas consumption continues to be much higher than last year. 20% up in August, 2% up in September and a massive (extrapolated) 55% up in October. So, for the three month period Aug-Oct, I'm using 27% more than in the same period last year. That said, I've used 22% less than during the same period in 2021. Will this trend continue, I wonder 🤔

So far in these three months, I've used £36 more gas at today's rates and saved £10 on electric so I'm £26 down on where I should be had my consumption remained stable.

Has it been a bit colder this month? Has our collective household mindset changed now that prices have eased? Was something adjusted during the boiler service at the beginning of July? Am I subconsciously keeping the house a bit warmer (or less cold) than last year due to the buffer of my considerable credit balance? Maybe it's a combination of all four. The really cold months are still to come. I'll be watching closely to see how things progress.

if its any consolation I too am hitting a brick wall esp in terms of gas - cannot get any lower without WWIII erupting chez Mailman. Electricity though remains as low as it was last year (just a few kWh lower).

July-Sep 2023 saw very little change from 2022 as gas was used only for DHW. October started out OK but since the 13th the CH has needed to come on so I'm anticipating that October 2023 will see gas go from 218kWh (in 2022) to maybe 316 kWh by the end of this month. So I believe October 2023 will see an unwelcome uptick in my consumption. A mild November (and Winter) may cancel out this small increase.

I'd check that the boiler flow temperatures (are you on a combi BTW?) are not set to something like 65-70C when the service was done. Same with the DHW temperature this may be warmer than is necessary. Bleeding and balancing your rads might be something you could look at without calling in the pros.

[Mailman]

Originally Posted by retrotecchie

But I'm not going to relax either! I suspect the situation in the Middle East may have bearing on oil and gas prices in coming months, so we're not out of the woods yet by any means.

No relaxation here either. The Loyalty v4 Fix than some of us snagged is looking better by the day. I see spot prices creeping upwards but don't want to get paranoid about the travel of the futures markets just yet. 🙁

[retrotecchie]

@Mailman

Definitely upwards. Gas per therm is almost twice what it was just a couple of months ago.



Winter demand is part of the increase, no doubt. I just had a delivery of 500 litres of dragon-food. Down on the February price by some way. 6p per kWh and no standing charges, but since I ordered it a couple of weeks ago, the price is definitely creeping up daily now.

[JoeSoap]

Originally Posted by retrotecchie

My electricity consumption is 30% down for the last 12 months. My oil consumption is also down. £300 of oil has lasted me since February and that was paid for by the AFP and the Welsh government heating rebate. Overall, my energy bill is about 60% of what it was a year ago. But that is a combination of going easy with the 'leccy, installing microsolar for charging all my battery powered equipment rather than charging off the mains in the house and heating oil being a hell of a lot cheaper than mains gas. Sure, the EBSS helped last winter, but now my annual energy costs are rather more than £400 a year cheaper than a year ago I'm not feeling the pain as I did for 21-22. But I'm not going to relax either! I suspect the situation in the Middle East may have bearing on oil and gas prices in coming months, so we're not out of the woods yet by any means.

Wow, costs down to 60% of those a year ago. That's a decent reduction 👍

[JoeSoap]

Originally Posted by Mailman

if its any consolation I too am hitting a brick wall esp in terms of gas - cannot get any lower without WWIII erupting chez Mailman. Electricity though remains as low as it was last year (just a few kWh lower).

July-Sep 2023 saw very little change from 2022 as gas was used only for DHW. October started out OK but since the 13th the CH has needed to come on so I'm anticipating that October 2023 will see gas go from 218kWh (in 2022) to maybe 316 kWh by the end of this month. So I believe October 2023 will see an unwelcome uptick in my consumption. A mild November (and Winter) may cancel out this small increase.

I'd check that the boiler flow temperatures (are you on a combi BTW?) are not set to something like 65-70C when the service was done. Same with the DHW temperature this may be warmer than is necessary. Bleeding and balancing your rads might be something you could look at without calling in the pros.

Looks like you'll have a 45% increase in gas usage this October over last year so not too dissimilar to me at 55%. The big difference is that I've gone from 693kWh to an expected 1080ish. I can only dream of 316kWh. Still, in October 21 I burned through 1402kWh of gas so it could be worse I suppose.

I have a Vaillant Heat Only boiler with the pump in the airing cupboard alongside the Mega-Flo unvented cylinder. The boiler was fitted six years ago and I set the tank and boiler stats to where I want them way back then. I also spent an absolute age balancing the radiators as well as bleeding them of course. I set the cylinder temperature with Legionella in mind and when I once turned the boiler thermostat down, the tank kept calling for more heat which the boiler couldn't deliver so I cranked it up again (you live and learn).

Nothing has really changed since last year with only the timings of the boiler firing and the setting of the room thermostat being variable to suit needs (or maybe desires).

[meldrewreborn]

@JoeSoap

My October gas consumption last year was the lowest, by a long way, that I've had in my record set, which runs from 2006. So perhaps its not a firm base from which to compare.

My forecast for October is up 61% compared to last year, but 42% down on the long term average. So I hope that illustrates how volatile heating costs can be.

I have always regarded the severity of the winter as the primary factor in my annual gas consumption., but that was before energy saving became a necessity for almost everyone. Now the thermostat has been tweaked down a little and timings adjusted a tad so theoretically I should be using less in the very long term. But the weather will still have a really significant impact on my consumption and therefore my bills. My 12 month rolling average has varied from 12,700 kWh to 17,200kWh in the last 3 years. For most of that time I wasn't trying to economise. That's the weather effect for you. As a result I don't have targets or plans for my energy consumption. Kings have tried and failed to control the tides, and I don't try to control what i know I can't change.

Electricity now bumping along @ 4.32 kWh per day over last 6 months, much reduced from previous years, for reasons that you'll all remember by now.

[JoeSoap]

Originally Posted by meldrewreborn

@JoeSoap

My October gas consumption last year was the lowest, by a long way, that I've had in my record set, which runs from 2006. So perhaps its not a firm base from which to compare.

My forecast for October is up 61% compared to last year, but 42% down on the long term average. So I hope that illustrates how volatile heating costs can be.

I have always regarded the severity of the winter as the primary factor in my annual gas consumption., but that was before energy saving became a necessity for almost everyone. Now the thermostat has been tweaked down a little and timings adjusted a tad so theoretically I should be using less in the very long term. But the weather will still have a really significant impact on my consumption and therefore my bills. My 12 month rolling average has varied from 12,700 kWh to 17,200kWh in the last 3 years. For most of that time I wasn't trying to economise. That's the weather effect for you. As a result I don't have targets or plans for my energy consumption. Kings have tried and failed to control the tides, and I don't try to control what i know I can't change.

Electricity now bumping along @ 4.32 kWh per day over last 6 months, much reduced from previous years, for reasons that you'll all remember by now.

Reading that your October gas consumption is 61% up on last year, coupled with @Mailman saying his is up 45%, has made me feel a bit less worried. Seems last October could have been a warm one.

Your highest rolling average for gas is just short of my current predicted consumption at 17757. My average electricity consumption is way more at over 12kWh per day. Better than the previous 12 month period where it was over 17kWh per day.