Is a $600 Gas Bill for 60 Days (Heater Usage) Excessive?

lockmc on 19/08/2019 - 10:21

We have recently moved into our own home which has a really good ducted split system - air conditioning uses 3 phase electricity, and natural gas for the heater.

We received our bill for the last 60 days of heating and it is $600.
I've never lived in a house with a ducted gas heater, so I'm not sure if this is crazy high or not - it does feel high.

I imagine we probably use the heater for 4 hours per day, most days.

Does anyone else have any insights or comparisons to their gas usage they can share?

Before we started using the heater, our bill was around $70 for the 60 days.

Home & Garden Gas Supply

Comments

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 19/08/2019 - 10:29
    +7
    1. Check the bill is not an estimate.
    2. What's the average daily mJ?
    3. What's the total mJ?
    4. Make and model of gas heater?
  • [Deactivated] on 19/08/2019 - 10:29

    My last gas bill is 570 for 60 days.
    3 bedrm house, gas heater on most of the nights.

  • ESEMCE on 19/08/2019 - 11:01
    +2

    Gas Space Heater with a similar usage pattern (plus Hot Water and stovetop cooking) most recent bill was $300 in Adelaide a few weeks ago.

    $600 seems high, but if you're heating your entire house maybe not…

  • brad1-8tsi on 19/08/2019 - 11:04

    $3/day for the 20mj unflued gas heater in my old house. On from 16.00-22.00

  • arkie0 on 19/08/2019 - 11:07
    +1

    Yes ducted heating uses a lot of gas (compared to other heating methods).

    Easiest way is to compare average daily use.Me - Vic, 3br, ducted gas heating on about 6-7 hours a day.

    For winter months my average daily use 560MJ / $9.50 (so about $600 for 2 months).

    Summer with minimal the gas heating, daily cost is about $3

  • Stewardo on 19/08/2019 - 11:07

    They only check the meter every 90 days, two of the monthly bills are estimates. I get crazy high gas bills in winter and then 2 months later after they read the meter, I have hundreds of dollars credit. You can normally submit a meter reading if you want to avoid this.

  • thatonethere on 19/08/2019 - 11:49
    +3

    The last season we ran ducted gas heating it was $1900/quarter over winter… It was never turned on again after that (and we now have reverse cycle).

    • lockmc on 19/08/2019 - 12:18
      +2

      That's crazy.

    • kiitos on 20/08/2019 - 09:01

      Wow! What are your electricity bills for reverse cycle in winter like? Presumably same usage levels as you had when using has heating?

      • thatonethere on 22/08/2019 - 08:55

        They are about $800 for reverse cycle (the gas unit was very very old and probably not efficient). Wife turns it up, I turn it down, repeat…

        We also did double glazing, insulation in roof and spent a lot of time hunting down and blocking draughts.

  • JIMB0 on 19/08/2019 - 12:01
    +1

    Can you smell gas?

    • lockmc on 19/08/2019 - 12:17

      Nope - can hear it going thorough the meter but thats probably normal. I don't think there is a leak.

      • neo on 19/08/2019 - 12:30

        You'll definitely know if there's a leak, it's a strong smell.

  • Some Human on 19/08/2019 - 12:52
    -7

    I myself am suffering from billshock. 10x more than the usual bill due to my partner being soft and running the heater for 4 hours a day, where in the past I wouldn't use it at all. I contacted my provider and complained, but they wouldn't lower the bill. I have since enforced a ban on using the heater and am also looking to change providers.
    I know people say $5 a day is worth it to stay warm in winter, but I disagree. A hot water bottle, cup of tea and warm blanket is far preferable to spending $5 day.

    • GoldenDragon888 on 19/08/2019 - 13:34
      +8

      As my dearly departed mother would say when we complained about the cold. “Put another bloody jumper on then.”

    • JIMB0 on 19/08/2019 - 16:17

      You should get a new wife. I'd suggest an Eskimo.

  • Danstar on 19/08/2019 - 13:31
    +1

    $350 for 2 months for gas ducted heating. But also use 2 split systems for heating when only need to heat kids bedrooms

  • cloudy on 19/08/2019 - 14:17

    Depending on how big the house is, it could be a reasonable bill.

  • BertieBrown on 19/08/2019 - 14:23

    Do you know what model heater you have?

    We’ve got a Bonaire-Pyrox wall furnace rated at 30 mj/h, as well as a Vulcan radiant rated at 37 mj/h, plus gas hot water and gas oven/stove. Our bills are usually in the range of around 350 per quarter in winter, and around 220-270 in summer but there’s only the two of us, so that would make a difference.

    If you can work out what model you have, and the capacity of the heater, which unless you’ve got the thermostat turned all the way up won’t be using loads of gas, it will give you an indication of what you’re likely to be using. I think from memory the Vulcan rated at 37 mj/h has a min rating of around 17-18 mj/h, so I guess the minimum input is around half the max output in mj/h if that helps.

    You’ll get better heating from the gas than you would from the split system in terms of cost-output I’d have thought, but I could be wrong, so even though the ducted split systems are usually really efficient they are often quite expensive to run, I think.

    • PlasticSpaceman on 20/08/2019 - 07:51

      FYI I did the sums recently and found that gas vs reverse cycle is now pretty even with rc being slightly ahead (Will depend on your local power/Gas costs of course). When our gas heater dies, I will definitely be looking at replacing it and the attached a/c unit with one (Or possibly two - one for each floor) reverse cycle jobs. An added advantage is it can also run off power coming from our solar panels….

      • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 20/08/2019 - 22:40

        Depends on the area tho. Larger the area = reverse cycle loses.

        • kiitos on 21/08/2019 - 07:58

          Is there a particular tipping point? Egg, 300sqm? 400sqm?

          • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 21/08/2019 - 13:18

            @kiitos: Depends on the model and output of the unit. There'll be some sort of calculation I'm sure that could work of the efficiency based on the output and C.O.P. rating.

  • atris17 on 19/08/2019 - 14:28

    How is the water heated ? Gas could be used to heat up the hot water tank ?

    • lockmc on 19/08/2019 - 15:05

      It is gas heated hot water.

  • bloom on 19/08/2019 - 16:39

    Pretty standard for winter
    Come summer your power bills will be $600
    Ducted heating and cooling ain't cheap (current owner)

  • PlasticSpaceman on 20/08/2019 - 07:39
    +2

    Don't say how big your house is, but 3 phase a/c indicates a decent size house. As such, yeah that would be normal. We have a McMansion with ducted gas heating and 3 phase a/c. Also have a gas fireplace, and hot water is instant gas. Bill for past 2 months was just over $900. This is the worst period each year as is over winter. Next bills drop considerably.

    As an aside, if it's an older system it can be worth having it checked out. Clogged filters, tears in ducts, and others things can significantly reduce the efficiency of the unit.

    • PlasticSpaceman on 20/08/2019 - 08:16
      +1

      FWIW our bill for 2 months before was $445, before that was $116. It's winter in Melbourne so yep, gas bill high. :-)

  • Pedro123 on 20/08/2019 - 08:38
    +3

    Insulation is a huge issue . Unfortunately most australian homes are badly under-insulated .

  • reddevilcat on 20/08/2019 - 20:05

    2 storey house , we leave heater on 24 hrs in june/july. $600 is what we pay for 60 days. Depending how big is your house, bill looks on the high side since heater is on only 4 hours per day.

  • DollaNsense on 22/08/2019 - 21:05

    When i Bought my first House and moved in it was winter. A double storey house living by myself. Central Heating and was on for 60 days straight on 27 degrees it was like the Bahamas inside while freezing outside, Long story short my first bill was $1000, learned very quick on how much heating sucks on gas especially ducted centralised one. Now Heater only comes on for limited time when im at home set on 18 degrees and i put more clothes on. Heating in winter is an addiction you have to use it smartly or you will pay for it.

  • Kira46 on 04/07/2021 - 14:07

    So we live in Ballarat and have just got our gas bill for the last 2 months, we have hot water and central heating on 24/7 @ 17 degrees, on mains gas. 3 bedroom, 1 lounge, 1 lounge/dinning/kitchen, 1 laundry/toilet. House built in the 60s. Our bill was $780, do people think this is fair then? The previous bill was $400 and we also had the heating set the same (obviously wasn’t as cold but is it cold enough to double?)
    Thinking we need to go buy electric heaters and turn the central heating off.

  • maria98 on 24/08/2021 - 16:13

    And I thought my bill was higher than most people 😅😅😅 My gas bill this winter is $84 for 2 months and I already freaked out. 3 bedrooms house 2 bathrooms

  • ZloyKrys on 24/08/2021 - 19:52

    Depending on the size of the house, efficiency of the heater, retailer, and state (I see you are in Melbourne).

    Some of my data, also from Melbourne:

    I am with Momentum and just have paid for the two coldest months $367 (61 days) - the usage is 352.1947 MJ per day. This is for a ~120 sqm 1979-built single storey, insulated roof and 6.3* Braemar ducted heater (23kW) - the heater is on between 7AM to 9PM and keeps 21 degrees throughout this period. HWS is Gas instantaneous.

    Previously we were in a really poorly insulated ~115sqm 1987 built single storey and 4.3* Braemar ducted heater (33.5 kW - wow) - the usage was 430.23 MJ per day and that bill was $537 for 62 days (gas prices were a bit high that year). HWS is Gas Storage.

    Before that, we lived in a brand new house 220sqm (2014 built, supposed to be 6* energy efficiency) - but with 3.5* Braemar ducted heater (cheapest that builders can source) - I think it was 18kW (really small) - the usage was 462.90 MJ per day and the bill was around $400 for 60 days. This property also has gas-boosted solar hot water, this, in theory, should have reduced consumption of gas but it's difficult to understand its impact.

    All properties have gas cooktops.

    I am on top of the best possible rates for the gas distributor in my area so these are for very sharply priced retailers.

    Basically, what I grasp from this - the insulation and efficiency of the heater are important. Also, underpowered heaters will keep running for longer consuming not only more gas but also additional electricity for the pump.

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