Pilot Light

[237SJ]

My Mum`s empty house (everything turned) is using £12 per quarter (26 units) of gas. Could this be the power that is needed to keep the boiler pilot light alight? (just wondering if there is a leak)

[Buenchico]

That certainly seems to be a lot. I boil up a big saucepan of water on a gas hob daily. I also use the hobs for occasional frying, etc, together with the grill for quite a lot of toast and the oven time to time for casseroles, etc.

My last gas bill, excluding the annoying standing charge, was for £3.66 (+ VAT) as I'd used just 8 units. So I find it hard to see how a pilot light could use 26 units.

[BRIGHT SPARK]

Most boilers dont have pilot lights.If you're certain about the units used then you must have a leak....or a faulty meter.

[237SJ]

Thanks for the replies. I don`t know if the boiler has a pilot light or not. I have put the heating on for about 3 hours in the last quarter (it`s been a mild winter so I haven`t needed to leave it on). The energy company is trying to tell me that it a lot more engergy is used when a house is heated from cold. The reading was taken on 21st March and I see that another 2 units have been used since then. I suspect I am being fobbed off so I guess that is a battle I am going to have with them

[BRIGHT SPARK]

SJ......give the National Grid gas emergency centre a call and tell them the house was unnocupied for a while and you could smell gas...so you opened the windows.They will be there within 15 mins...it should be FOC,

[EDDIE51]

If the house is empty you should have turned off the gas at the incomer pipe into the house before the gas meter and the electricity at the main switch before the electric meter.
The bill will be for the 'standing charge'that is applied to nearly all gas bills even if you use no gas at all. Tell the gas company the house is empty and ask for the supply to be disconnected. When the house is to be used again just ask for it to be re connected , that way you will not pay the standing charge.

[237SJ]

Eddie - the standing charge is £22.97 + VAT. The £12 is for energy used.

[Dogsbody2]

If by '26 units' you mean 26kWh of energy, what's charged on the bill, then Eddie could be right, because gas costs about 4p per kWh, so most of the cost you are being charged for must be in the Standing Charge.

If by '26 units' you mean what's measured on the gas meter has shifted by 26 digits, then that's rather more gas (30x more) - as the meter measures in 100 cubic feet (of gas). 100cu ft of gas is about 30kWh of energy.

[237SJ]

I know it`s not the standing charge. Bill says: Gas Unrestricted kWh 26 units
Converted to kilowatt hours (kWh) 289.42 kWh
Standard energy 289.42 kWh @ 4.23p £12.24
Standing charge 88 days @ 26.1p £22.97
VAT 5% £1.76

[EDDIE51]

^^ Then you have a serious leak, turn off the gas at the stop cock before the meter and call the gas emergency service now!!

[New Judge]

The meter is measuring in cubic metres. The conversion factor from cubic metres to KwH is roughly 11.1. 26 x 11.1 = 288.6.

I have a gas hob and a gas boiler. In the summer months I use gas for cooking and domestic hot water (no heating, obviously at that time of year). Last June, July and August I used a total of 540 KwH of gas (i.e. less than twice the amount used for your pilot light).

There is something wrong. Get it checked out asap.

[ivor4781]

why not turn the gas supply off as well as the electric and water,whats the point of heating an empty hours for 3 hours anyway your just wasting energy

[ivor4781]

unless your boiler is very old it will not have a pilot light, they use spark ignition

[237SJ]

Thanks for the further replies. Yes, the boiler is very old so from what you say, it may well have a pilot light. I have kept utilities connected because I have a security light that comes on every night and if the weather became very cold, I would want to put the heating on a timer so that there are no frozen pipes. Also, when I sell/or do up and rent, I need utilities to give it a proper clean.

[237SJ]

One further question. The boiler is pretty old so I`m assuming there is a pilot light. The engergy company think it`s the pilot light that`s using the gas. The consumption is about 93p per week. I`m going to turn off the lever by the meter to cut it off completely which will make the pilot light go out. That`s OK, according to the energy supplier. So if I want to turn the boiler on again at some point (which I will do for cleaning before sale or letting) will the pilot light just come back on again? I always though that when a pilot light goes out, it is a problem.

[Buenchico]

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/light-boiler-pilot-light-50936.html

[bhg481]

You'll probably find there are instructions for re-lighting the pilot light inside the boiler cover.

[Dogsbody2]

NJ said //" The meter is measuring in cubic metres".

No it isn't - only new meters measure gas in cubic metres. There are millions of meters still out there measuring in imperial, in 100cuft.

//There is something wrong. Get it checked out asap.

Yup, there is something wrong. NJ incorrectly assumed all meters are metric. The meter readings you quote are imperial consistent with a use of 300kWh per qtr - £12. Money savings expert questions about this suggest that this is typical for pilot alone. So no leak. Now the probability of deep freeze pipework is over, agree that turning off the gas at main stopcock is best bet, if there is no obvious way of turning off boiler on the unit itself.