Gas consumption

[rabbit]

Just had my bill for Dec and I compared consumption for 2024 with 2023. Despite having a new, more efficient boiler fitted in Jan, our volume of gas consumption in M3 is 50% higher. Anybody else in Brittany or north of the Loire noticed an increase in volume ?

[suein56]

We don't have gas, sorry rabbit, but comparing our electricity bills (we are all electric plus an insert log burner) they have increased .. which we put down to getting older and feeling the cold more than before. Neither of us can move as quickly or as easily these days.

[L Austin France]

Just had my bill for Dec and I compared consumption for 2024 with 2023. Despite having a new, more efficient boiler fitted in Jan, our volume of gas consumption in M3 is 50% higher. Anybody else in Brittany or north of the Loire noticed an increase in volume ?

50% higher than what?
Sorry to be pedantic but without numbers 50% is meaningless.

[rabbit]

As I said 50% higher in 2024 than 2023

[L Austin France]

As I said 50% higher in 2024 than 2023

Righty Oh.
I thought my 40 years experience as a HEVAC designer might have been able to help you but if you want to play silly buggers.................

[RobertArthur]

@ Rabbit, about the meter, the same as it ever was? A diaphragm meter? How old, maybe an end of technical life problem? Reading error? Temperatures outside and in your house comparable the last two years? This is what the guys of Hellowatt mention about gas meter problems. A tiny gas leak somewhere? What type of gas: le gaz naturel or le GPL?

[rabbit]

L Austin France, I wasn’t playing I just didn’t understand what you were asking. Here is actual consumption

2024. 2023
Jan 136. 96
feb 86. 94
Mar 120 70
Apr 54. 45
May 29. 12
Jun 16. 9
Jul 14. 15
Aug 16. 12
Sep 13. 12
Oct 63. 14
Nov 133. 38
Dec 137. 74

Consumption is M cubed
New boiler installed Jan 2024

[L Austin France]

L Austin France, I wasn’t playing I just didn’t understand what you were asking. Here is actual consumption

2024. 2023
Jan 136. 96 = 41%
feb 86. 94 -8.5%
Mar 120 70 71%
Apr 54. 45 20%
May 29. 12 141%
Jun 16. 9 77%
Jul 14. 15 -6%
Aug 16. 12 33%
Sep 13. 12 8%
Oct 63. 14 350%
Nov 133. 38 250%
Dec 137. 74 85%

Consumption is M cubed
New boiler installed Jan 2024

Looking at these figures in isolation I haven't got a clue without a great deal more info. The percentage diffs. are mine.
These percentage differences are all over the place so difficult to make any sense of them other than the small M3 summer month differences (April-Sept) could easily be attributed to increased hot water use.
If your daily set hours /temp. usage of heating has remained constant it could be worthwhile looking at the weather stats. for you area to see how the average temps. stack up against the percentage increases although Feb makes no sense unless you were absent. If this doesn't make any sense of the differences there is obviously another reason(s)
Presumably you have talked to the boiler installer who has checked that the thing is performing correctly & a gas leakage test has been done.
What type of system do you have? What boiler & output is it & what gas does it use? What boiler & output did it replace? Who reads the meter & are the readings correct/? Have you compared 2023 with 2022 & 2021? Are some of the many questions .
Sorry I can't help any more than stating the obvious as above. Too many unknown variables to diagnose this apparent anomaly at distance.

[RobertArthur]

Fact finding continued.

Not knowing the specs of the old and the new boiler (combi?) only some general remarks.

Hot water: comfort or eco position?
Usually, the modern central heating boiler is set to comfort mode. This means that some hot water is always kept warm in the boiler. This ensures that you have hot water right away. This setting causes your central heating boiler to consume gas throughout the day, resulting in higher heating costs.

Hot water temperature.
Reduce the temperature of the combi boiler. To maximise savings with a combi boiler, you can lower the temperature from 80 to 60 degrees. Not lower because of legionella risk.

Temperature of the radiators.
Modern central heating boilers have a maximum flow temperature of 80 degrees. It takes a lot of gas to reach these high temperatures. This increases heating costs and CO2 emissions. Lowering the flow temperature helps to save on your heating costs. The modern boilers allow you to set the flow temperature. Rule of thumb: go down to 55 degrees. Benefit also: a more equal and constant temperature inside your house, not from a little bit too warm to just a little bit too cold.

[exile]

L Austin France, I wasn’t playing I just didn’t understand what you were asking. Here is actual consumption

2024. 2023
Jan 136. 96 = 41%
feb 86. 94 -8.5%
Mar 120 70 71%
Apr 54. 45 20%
May 29. 12 141%
Jun 16. 9 77%
Jul 14. 15 -6%
Aug 16. 12 33%
Sep 13. 12 8%
Oct 63. 14 350%
Nov 133. 38 250%
Dec 137. 74 85%

Consumption is M cubed
New boiler installed Jan 2024

Looking at these figures in isolation I haven't got a clue without a great deal more info. The percentage diffs. are mine.
These percentage differences are all over the place so difficult to make any sense of them other than the small M3 summer month differences (April-Sept) could easily be attributed to increased hot water use.
If your daily set hours /temp. usage of heating has remained constant it could be worthwhile looking at the weather stats. for you area to see how the average temps. stack up against the percentage increases although Feb makes no sense unless you were absent. If this doesn't make any sense of the differences there is obviously another reason(s)
Presumably you have talked to the boiler installer who has checked that the thing is performing correctly & a gas leakage test has been done.
What type of system do you have? What boiler & output is it & what gas does it use? What boiler & output did it replace? Who reads the meter & are the readings correct/? Have you compared 2023 with 2022 & 2021? Are some of the many questions .
Sorry I can't help any more than stating the obvious as above. Too many unknown variables to diagnose this apparent anomaly at distance.

Thanks for that %age analysis LAF.

Some observations based on our daytime temperatures. These may not be applicable to where you live @rabbit but I do remember a lot of similar comments when we have discussed the weather, so the observations for here may not be totally out of line:

January 24 was significantly warmer than '23.
Spring (especially mid April through to even June) was long and cold - much colder than usual.
August/September I cannot comment on due to a computer crash and data loss in '23
November and December '24 although not so dissimilar to '23 had a series of periods of 5 or more days when the temperature was really quite low - several degrees below the long term average. '23 was more stable but the low outdoor temperatures in '24 will have meant periods when the boiler was likely to be working quite hard.

Overall however, the average temperature throughout the year was only 0.1°C cooler in 2024 than 2023 - but remember I did loose 3 weeks of data in 2023 in a warm period. On a like for like basis (I deleted the '24 data for the same period as the lost data) '24 was 0.4°C cooler.

This leads me to wonder if your house insulation may need upgrading with your boiler having to work hard in the cold periods.