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My gas supply is solely for hot water/heating - how is my gas usage so high even when boiler is off?

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J
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Hi, 

I haven't used any gas at all apart from washing a few dishes.

Shower is electric, limited to 1 Shower per day for 2 minutes.

My September/October gas reading was 20059 at the start of the new billing period and 20089 at the end of the billing period. Ovo has my usage as 344.16 KWh used.

My calculation is 20089 - 20059 = 30 KWh.

My manual meter reading in March 2020 was 17985.

My calculation is 20089 - 17985 = 2104 KWh over 30 months

But my Ovo account says I have used over 20,000 KWh since March 2020.

I very rarely put the heating on even before the new price increases.

I am very confused as my bill is still £170 per month with everything except the essentials turned off at all times.

My gas meter is a krom schroder bk-g4, I ignore the numbers in the red box.

Any help is appreciated.

 

J
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M.isterW
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It looks like your meter is reading gas volume. That's converted to kWh before you're billed.

 

Your gas meter should show on the front what it is recording (it's likely to be cubic meters but you should check). Then you can use a calculator on the internet to convert it to kWh. Note that the calorific value of gas does vary a small amount so an internet calculator might give a slightly different figure to your bill.

1992 4 bed detached house. Solar PV + battery, Zappi EV charger, Mitsubishi Ecodan ASHP and i-life2 fan assisted radiators.... No gas 😊
J
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Thanks M.IsterW.

This makes sense, it is measured in m3.

Although it still seems high, I haven't had any heating on and only used hot water.

I'm trying to use zero energy, but to no avail.

J
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It looks like your meter is reading gas volume. That's converted to kWh before you're billed.

 

Your gas meter should show on the front what it is recording (it's likely to be cubic meters but you should check). Then you can use a calculator on the internet to convert it to kWh. Note that the calorific value of gas does vary a small amount so an internet calculator might give a slightly different figure to your bill.

Thanks M.IsterW.

This makes sense, it is measured in m3.

Although it still seems high, I haven't had any heating on and only used hot water.

I'm trying to use zero energy, but to no avail.

Jeffus
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As @M.isterW says you can't simply subtract the meter reading for gas unfortunately.

My September/October gas reading was 20059 at the start of the new billing period and 20089 at the end of the billing period. Ovo has my usage as 344.16 KWh used.

My calculation is 20089 - 20059 = 30 KWh.

 

This isn't correct. 20089 and 20059 are not kWh readings, so the 30 isn't a kWh usage. 

Your monthly kWh figures on the usage page look very typical for a user like you yourself.

If you look on your bill there is more info if you really want to see all the details on the calculation. Here is mine for example

 

P
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I’m concerned there’s something wrong somewhere, either the boiler or the meter. Saturday the 26th saw two showers had and a bit of washing up. No heating and no cooking, but I’ve been charged £4.60 for gas use alone! 
 

Has anyone else found prices are this ridiculous or do I likely have a fault somewhere? 
 

Thanks 

BPLightlog
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Hi you would be best starting with your meter readings .. check if they are estimated or actual. Then you can check against price

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P
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I submit a meter reading every day! 

juliamc
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Can you show the kWh screen for those days please. Can you see half hourly usage too ? Your meter may not be set for half hourly readings but if it is it makes it much easier to check how things are running.

Ah… late to the party !!

P
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It’s not connected to the smart meter as the wall is too thick to pick up the signal, so I do a manual reading every day (when I remember) to try and stay on top of it. What’s confusing me is that the days where we’ve had the heating on for a few hours are coming in at the same cost or less! 

BPLightlog
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Do you have those readings ? If so each days use can be calculated 

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P
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Not done every single day but still regularly. Some days the usage is very low. I’m not on a direct debit so I understand my kWh prices are slightly more expensive than those who are, but it’s the cost per day that’s concerning me! 

BPLightlog
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Ok on the slots when you have a reading a few days apart the daily charge will be estimated but you can take 21 and 22 Nov and the difference is 4 units. 
Look on your bill as there is a calculation to convert to kWh from that and then you will have a kWh value to multiply by your unit rate

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BPLightlog
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The calculation says something like this .. 

It’s easier to check for a months use rather than daily but 4 units would calculate to about 45 which you multiply by your kWh price which at 10p would give £4.50.

One other thought .. do you know if your meter is metric or imperial.. that could be a big difference

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juliamc
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Did you get your account balance sorted out @Pingu  ? I’ve just read back on your previous comments about inputting an incorrect manual reading. @Blastoise186 if Pingu has a smart meter why would they be asked to input readings manually as well ?

BPLightlog
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Did you get your account balance sorted out @Pingu  ? I’ve just read back on your previous comments about inputting an incorrect manual reading. @Blastoise186 if Pingu has a smart meter why would they be asked to input readings manually as well ?

The comment above says it’s not connected as the wall is too thick

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juliamc
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Oh I thought that just meant the IHD didn’t connect to the smart meter. So the smart meter doesn’t send a signal to OVO then ? Hmm.

@Pingu those readings you’ve input show that up to the 15th Nov you were using between 2 and 3 units each day, then from the 15th onwards you were using between 3.6 and 4.5 units per day. So something has changed - most probably the heating being on - though we can’t assign exact amounts to particular days. The OVO system has just given an average from your readings.

S
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Hoping for some guidance relating to my situation. I’m a solo tenant in a flat and have found my gas bills extraordinarily high, even considering the energy crisis. Recently I went away for 7 days and turned off my boiler. My gas meter reading was static which proves there was no use in my flat. However on my Ovo account it still showed gas usage for each of these days that I have been billed for. The kWh varied each day. I am concerned I might be being billed for another flat’s usage. When I spoke to Ovo on the phone they suggested that more likely my account calculated an ‘estimate’ usage for each of these days based on my average use rather than an actual reading, but weren’t able to prove this. I'm unsatisfied that a clear explanation hasn’t been provided. Any tips on how I might be able to proceed?

Thanks,

Sarah 

BPLightlog
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Hi @SarahLock , and welcome to this customer forum. Estimated bills are quite possible but you can check this yourself by looking on your account 

https://account.ovoenergy.com/meter-readings

Alongside the meter readings you will see whether they are recorded or estimated. 
If you think the wrong meter is being recorded then you should check the serial number on your account and compare it to that on your own meter. You will see the serial number on the same page online as your meter readings. 
A further possibility is if the meter is recording more than it should. This is very unusual but you can check by monitoring the readings over a reasonable time period. 
 

 

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S
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Hi @BPLightlog and thanks for your response and help. 

The period I refer to was April 8th-14th when I was away. When I look at meter readings there is nothing recorded for those dates (I’ve unchecked ‘hide estimates’), but as you see from graph below there is still an output recorded on the graph. Why would these both suggest different things? The serial numbers are matched correctly. 

Many thanks,

Sarah 

 

Jeffus
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Hi @BPLightlog and thanks for your response and help. 

The period I refer to was April 8th-14th when I was away. When I look at meter readings there is nothing recorded for those dates (I’ve unchecked ‘hide estimates’), but as you see from graph below there is still an output recorded on the graph. Why would these both suggest different things? The serial numbers are matched correctly. 

Many thanks,

Sarah 

 

Hi @SarahLock it can be confusing.

Just to be clear.

You are never billed with the data you see on the usage page. The usage page graph does not drive the bills you pay. 

https://account.ovoenergy.com/usage

You are only billed what you see on the readings page.

https://account.ovoenergy.com/meter-readings/history/electricity

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