reducing my gas consumption

[klove]

Thanks but I was specifically asking about the heat plate exchanger and the service.

 

[SimonG]

What makes you think that there is a problem with the hex?

 

[klove]

When I run a bath I have to run the tap really slowly to get the water hot. If I run normal pressure the water is not warm enough and when I do run the bath the radiators cool down. The kitchen tap however is ok at high pressure

 

[tamz]

To answer your "specific " questions
A partially scaled hex won't increase your gas consumption by much. Your water will just be cooler.
A service will ensure it is working safely and properly and may increase the efficiency by a % or 2.
It may however pick up if you have any gas leakage that you may have but don't smell (but for the kind of numbers we are talking here, everyone in the street would smell that size leak).

It is very difficult for a gas engineer to accurately check the meter is reading correctly (they do occasionally go wrong but usually on the slow side) however your supplier can arrange for this to be done at an independent test facility. If it is found to be accurate within the prescribed limits (+ or - 2% they will charge you for the test which is around 80 quid.

You say that your consumption is up by 46%. Have you monitored it weekly, monthly, quarterly? It has been a lot colder for longer this year. My supplier, (Scottish Hydro) gives me a graph of my quarterly consumption which i can compare against previous years.

Was it Edison who said we will make power so cheap only the rich will burn candles? The way the governments energy policy is going only the rich will burn gas or electric and all us plebs can huddle around a candle for heat and light.

 

[lame plumber]

bath tap has higher flow rate than kitchen tap and its combi for goodness sake the rads wont be heated when the water is being heated for tap water. so stop trying to find out whats broken when it isnt. listen to what tamz said, he makes a lot of sense.

 

[REDSAW]

have you got a gas leak?

cant help with the diagnosis but get it serviced as you say and take it from there

 

[tamz]

When I run a bath I have to run the tap really slowly to get the water hot. If I run normal pressure the water is not warm enough and when I do run the bath the radiators cool down. The kitchen tap however is ok at high pressure

A boiler can only heat a certain amount of water to a certain temperature. The faster you run it the colder it will be. Think of it like an electric shower, run it faster it will be colder.
If your boiler is a 24kw it can raise the temperature of the water by 35º at a flow rate of around 2 gallons per minute. That is fine at a sink or basin but at a bath it looks very slow and will take a while to fill. That is just the way they work.
The radiators cool down when the water is running because (without getting technical) they are switched off while the tap runs.

 

[klove]

I now have a smart meter fitted so I can monitor hourly, thank you

 

[dancinplumba]

Terrible init ? Had a leccy one took it to bed with me an everything, got really obsessed with my energy consumption, sleepless nights, my sympathy

 

[kay-jay]

Terrible init ? Had a leccy one took it to bed with me an everything, got really obsessed with my energy consumption, sleepless nights, my sympathy

The only sleepless nights you had in eight years...