My Gas Bill!

[Le Chat]

I wonder if any of you ABers can help to solve this for me.
I read my gas meter every month and send the reading to my supplier.
During December the kids, myself and my husband were all off work for 2 weeks and the heating was on all day during this time. The other 2 weeks of the month the heating would have been on twice per day as we work.
January we are back at work ,so with the exception of the weekends, the heating is on twice per day. I might add that the heating is on all day at weekends in December also.
So...why is my December bill lower than my January bill? There was no price hike in the interim and just for verification, this also happened last year; January's bill was higher than December's bill.
So what am I missing here....Is it the initial firing up of the boiler, which happens four times when the heating is on twice per day that makes the meter reading spin around quicker, rather than the firing up of the boiler only two times when the heating is on all day?
I am perplexed!

[Ankou]

maybe the december bill is taken up to the 23 december, so in january you are paying for january + a week or 2 in december....?

[Vicasso]

It may also be affected by the day of the month you take your reading. I normally take and submit the readings on the 20th of the month as my quarterly bill is calculated by British Gas a couple of days after the 20th. I too had the heating on all day every day over the Christmas / New Year period, but my 'December' readings were submitted before this began. My 'January' readings, again submitted on the 20th, were higher as these included the usage during the festive period

[jomifl]

The starting up of the boiler does not make any difference as all the heat produced by the boiler ends up in the house (except the normal proportion lost up the flue).

[Le Chat]

I take the meter reading on the last day of the month, which is 31st in both Dec and January!

[Vicasso]

Oh well! Back to the drawing board :-)

Was January noticeably colder than December, meaning that the ambient temperature in your house was lower, and therefore needed more heating to reach the setting on your room thermostat ?

[ChuckFickens]

Just because you take the reading on the last day of the month doesn't mean that's related to the period each bill covers in any way.

It should say on the bill what the period it actually covers is.

[Le Chat]

It covers the period from the last reading. Vicasso..maybe you have a point!

[Hopkirk]

December was unusually mild

[buildersmate]

December was incredibly mild. January has been exceptionally cold. Amount of energy required is directly proportional to the temperature difference between the inside and outside, all other things (e.g. times the thing is programmed to be 'on' the same hours) remaining equal. So let's say a difference between 20 &7 degrees (13) in December, and 20 & 0 (20) degrees in January. It is that simple.

It would not be surprising if you used 50% more energy in January - I have.

[Le Chat]

Thank you very much. I now have a better understanding. X