[JoeSoap]

I started taking steps to reduce my energy consumption at the start of August last year and over the last eleven months have achieved a 28% reduction in electricity and 19% reduction in gas. Every month my usage has reduced for both fuels except in December when I used 2% more gas than the previous December

Now approaching the one year anniversary I was checking my extrapolations and have noticed that this month isn't going to plan. Electricity is still ok at 24% reduction so far this month but gas is showing an increase of 10%. We're not using any heating so how has that happened?

Clearly, temperatures for this July are lower than last July when we were seeing temperatures around 40c. I guess the water entering the house is at a much lower temperature than it was last year so is taking more energy to heat it to the demanded temperature. Also, last July we would be taking cooler showers or baths than currently.

The result is, that although the first week of this month showed the normal reduction in consumption for both fuels, for the last two weeks I have used 21% (50kWh) more gas than the same two weeks last year. At current rates that only amounts to around £3.60 extra so not too bad. I'm still on track for a good energy contract year compared to last year so still happy with that 👍

[WizzyWigg]

Originally Posted by DebF_EONNext

That is some saving @WizzyWigg it just goes to show how older appliances can be energy vampires.

There's lots of information here about replacement boilers, the top part is all about how much it would cost etc but if you scroll further down it shows signs to look out for that you may need to replace your boiler, there's also a guide to how much you could save by getting a new boiler that I thought might be quite useful for some 😊

Keeping an eye on things like boilers, fridges and freezers is important to reduce energy waste. I fully appreciate that financially with the way things are at the moment replacing such items is difficult. It's balancing outlay and benefit.

[WizzyWigg]

@JoeSoap
Just compared the last 4 weeks with the exact same time last year.
Electricity 16% reduction and Gas 22% reduction in consumption 🤔. Haven't done anything different that I'm aware of 😯.

[JoeSoap]

Hmmm, that’s interesting. It’s only the last two full weeks to Sunday that my gas consumption has increased over last year. Who knows the exact reason but there’s no doubting the temperature difference. Why yours has decreased I don’t know. Maybe it’s that dodgy old IHD of yours telling porkies 😂

[WizzyWigg]

@JoeSoap
Not my IHD as all my calculations are from readings direct from meters. The only change that happened was in March (2023) I had all windows and external doors replaced. They were 25 years old. Haven't used any heating since April. Totally baffled. 🤔

[JoeSoap]

@WizzyWigg

Well, if I go back over the last four week period, as you have, it’s still a 5% increase for me even after my economising. Oh well, time will tell if it’s a glitch 🤔

[WizzyWigg]

@JoeSoap

Just for interest I've compared last 4 weeks with exactly the same weeks in 2021:
Elec 10% reduction Gas 20% reduction compared to 2021. Now that makes me think why leccy was so high last year. 🤔

[DebF_EONNext]

@JoeSoap it could be to do with the temperature, just a thought though have you checked to make sure you don't have a leak somewhere? Even a teeny tiny leak can cause a noticeable change in consumption 😊

[JoeSoap]

@WizzyWigg and @DebF_EONNext

Thanks both for the input. I have looked deeper into my 'back of a cigarette packet' records and can see that I had an exceptionally good July last year when it comes to gas consumption. For comparison, I used 893kWh in July 21 against 572kWh in July 22 so that's a tough target to beat. So far I have used 488kWh this month so can expect that to be around 600kWh by the end of the month. That would be around one-third less than in 2021 and only 5% more than last year.

I can only keep coming back to the fact that last July was scorchio and this July is on the chilly side. I don't think I have a leak but I will monitor my gas usage closely to see how things pan out.

[WizzyWigg]

@JoeSoap

For a giggle I had a look back to same period 2020. Shock horror probe my daily gas consumption was 10.33 KWh!!!!!!!! 2023 was 2.64 KWh 😯. Now I can explain that. A change in boiler. 😉