DIYbanter - View Single Post

wrote:
I'm at a loss. I can't figure out why my gas bill is as high as it is,
while my neighbor's bills are MUCH lower.

I moved into this house a couple years ago and I've had sticker shock
every time the gas bill arrives. The new house matches my old one as
far as appliances as I brought them with me. The only difference is
the furnace and water heater.

As an example; the largest bill I've ever had at my old house was $125
where the largest bill to date at the new house was $320. The house is
bigger by 600sqft but that should only account for winter bills...

I use to think the old furnace was the culprit but my bills are high
all year around. (I even replaced it without much effect) A typical
bill at the old house was $12-$20... the new house never has a bill
below $100, even when the furnace is off all month!

I started suspecting that the meter was bad so I had NIPSCO come out
and check it several times until they replaced it on my insistance. It
didn't help. While they were there they checked of leaks too.

I just talked to the old owner of the house and found out that he too
had the meter swapped. So even he knew something was up.

So my gas bill last month was $101 and my neighbor's bills average $25.
I don't know what to do next. The only thing left to try is replacing
the water heater but I can't imagine that it is even capable of using
that much gas.

The NIPSCO guy shut the water heater off for 20 minutes and checked the
meter. No gas was used. This weekend I'm going to shut it off for a
few hours and see if the meter moves. When I relight the water heater
I'm going to see how much it consumes over X amount of time in case
it's a leak after the shut off valve.

In the meantime, I'm open to any suggestions. If my natural gas bill
goes down, I might be able to fill my car up with the savings!

Thanks for reading this long post.

Ok. Go step by step. First you didn't say anything
about how big the house, how many people live
there, or how many gas appliances are in use, and
you didn't indicate if you moved a long ways from
your previous house. Also, you seem to indicate
that the water heater is separate and not part of
a hot water furnace. Is the furnace air or hot
water? and is the water heater tied into it?

Your bill includes two (or three ) parts, the cu
ft of gas used, the (conversion rate to therms)
and the cost rate per therm. So if you are
comparing with you previous house, you need to
compare both the amount of gas used and cost per
unit uses.

Your first step is to carefully compare old house
with new house, both amount of gas used and the
cost rate.

I will tell you what my house is like--1500 sq ft,
1 gas furnace (air), 1 gas water heater, 2 older
people, and I take a long shower of about 30
minutes each day, my wife doesn't shower as long.
She washes clothes 1 a week (3-4 loads) and
washes a dish washer full 2-3 times a week. All
of the gas use in July and in August was for hot
water only. 11 Therms (1200 cf)in July and 10
therms (1100 cf) in August for a July cost of
$12.33 and a August cost of $11.44.

Second, check your water usage, (compare the old
house with the new house usage). Is it
reasonable or is there possibly a big water leak
which could be from the hot water line, meaning
you are heating water but it is being dumped.

Third, you already tested the meter over a short
period, now test it over a longer period. The
meter is probably ok, so you are really testing
use of gas. Turn the gas off at the meter for at
least a day, or better, a longer period week.
Maybe when you go on vacation. And, if possible
turn the water off at the same time. Then check
the gas meter change and the water meter change.

How much gas are you being billed for in July and
August? I would think anything over 20 therms
would indicate leaks or highly wasteful use if it
is all for hot water.