Hi all,
My wife and I have recently entered into the joys of home ownership and, as promise, shit (mostly minor) is already starting to go wrong. The scariest issue is that since we closed (November 16), we got our first gas bill from National Grid. I thought we were being smart buying a house heated with gas and radiators. We have kept the house at 60-62 degrees when we're home (from about 6pm-8am), and 50 when we're gone. Imagine my surprise when our bill says we used 160 therms in 7 days (at those temperatures) for a grand total of....$212 for 7 days. We're in MA and it's not even very cold yet (although accuweather does say it dropped into the teens on two of those nights), so I'm worried as hell. I was expecting a big heating bill, but not a $1000 a month one.
Our heating system is steam heat, with about a dozen radiators throughout the house. We keep the valves open on the first floor (the ones near the thermostat), and others open to a degree that reflects how much we use each room. Here;s the thing - the house is LARGE (in sq. ft. terms) and TALL, which is obviously a recipe for heat loss. It's about 2700 sq ft and 3 finished floors, but the top floor is baseboard heating that's completely off at all times. The first and second floors are radiators, which we use as I just described. I'm not sure whether or to what degree the home is insulated - we're waiting on Mass Save to come out and do an assessment.
Given the information I've provided (I know it's incomplete but it's the best I can do at this moment), does this sort of bill sound even in the ballpark of being reasonable (especially at the cool/cold temps we keep it at), or might this suggest that something is wrong with the heating system itself? If any of you have had any personal experience with similar issues, any advice/feedback/commentary would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!
*edit: trying to upload a screenshot of the bill to address some questions - any way to do this in PF? Until then, text on the bill is as follows:
CURRENT BILL ITEMIZED
In 7 days you used 160 therms
11/20/2018 reading ACTUAL 0192
11/13/2018 reading UNLOCK 0037
Thermal Factor x1.0311
Total therms used 160
Your Cost is determined as follows:
Minimum Charge $2.33
$ .3328 per day for 7 days
First 160.0 therms @ $.4555 $72.88
Distribution Adjustment:
160 therms x 0.26890 per therm $43.02
GAS DELIVERY CHARGE $118.23
GAS SUPPLY CHARGE
@ 0.60260 / therm $96.42
TOTAL CURRENT CHARGES $214.65
Submitted November 27, 2018 at 09:54PM by OrdinaryMachine8 https://ift.tt/2Rkaiuj
