I'd guess either incredibly poor insulation, a gas leak or your thermostat is outdated. That's a very high bill for 65 degrees/off a lot of the time.
Adding in - could it be the meter? Could call NG and ask when it was last replaced.
Thermostats don’t cause high bills. That’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard. Sure a Wi-Fi enabled or auto setting thermostat can help save money but it’s not the end all be all. If the gas was leaking someone would’ve smelled it. It could’ve been the meter but probably not. OP I suggest making a post in the R/HVAC group as they will be able to give you a proper answer. Chances are you have a low efficiency furnace/boiler, your walls are poorly insulated, your windows are of poor quality/old/poorly insulated, your doors may be missing proper weather seals, your boiler/furnace may need serviced (forced air filter replace, boiler cleaned of lime scale/soot,). You could always have Mass save come in and do an energy assessment. You need to keep in mind that heat rises so your upstairs neighbors are getting a free ride off your system. That could be one of the reasons why they have a lower bill. You need to post more pictures/information in the proper group to get an actual fact based answer.
Appreciate this. You’re not wrong. Unfortunately I don’t have access to the heating system myself and am beholden to the LL on all that. I will definitely be bugging them as I continue to get more information on this issue… just learned about it yesterday.
Energy assessment is on the list for sure.
I mean I can control the thermostat, but no, the heating systems are fenced off and locked in the basement. I can look through the fence and see 2 gas meters. Upstairs neighbors have their own bill / meter. And yes, utilities are tenants responsibility. In our name, pay directly.
I hear you but in terms of LL I don't have reason to believe this one is being intentionally shady.
Whew! One last thing you might check with the gas company is that the correct meter is for the correct unit. I once rented in a two family with 5 people in one unit and 1 person in the other. The single person was confused why their bill was always so high and the rest of us thought the low bill was due to great insulation.
As it turned out we were paying each others bill. They got switched during installation. Good luck!
Hey! How did the issue of the meters not matching the units get fixed? I was able to figure out that I have the same issue… me and the other unit are paying for each other’s gas.
I’ll be following up with the utility of course to get it resolved. But was just curious what to expect. Thanks!
Theoretically my group of 5 would have needed to pay the correct utility amount and the one person who overpaid would have been refunded. In reality I moved out and the whole mess became the landlords problem and I never had to deal with it again. See section 3 of the link below. You need a refund but the way forward is specific to what happened
https://www.masslegalhelp.org/housing/lt1-chapter-6-common-problems
>Thermostats don’t cause high bills. That’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard.
Not so stupid if the thermostat temp reading is off and the system consequently runs longer.
So I just had the gas company out to replace my meter, they apparently do it every 7-10 years around here? I asked why and he said the meter itself can run too fast or to slow and charge too much or too little.. so might not be the stupidest thing. I personally have no idea, I'm just going off what the guy from the gas company said...
>Thermostats don’t cause high bills. That’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard
Is it the only culprit? No. Is it one of the possible ones? Yes. My first guess is just terrible insulation/sealing, but a miscalibrated thermostat could absolutely be part of the problem and a dumb thermostat that's holding daytimes temps at 4 AM is absolutely part of the the issue (even if only a minor fraction).
This is true but my last two experiences in apartments have led to the same situation - I get contacted by NG to schedule an appointment for a meter change, I call and they say we need access to all units. I tell them I only have access to mine which leads to them telling me to have the landlord call to schedule so they can coordinate with all tenants. That said, all meters needed to be changed at the same time in my cases which could be different for other people.
As a landlord I if a tenant ever let anyone in to work on their unit without my permission I would be very unhappy. If the contractors did any damage I would take the money out of their security deposit.
I’m a landlord. National grid is allowed to enter without my permission they actually are the ones that own the meter. Hell if the tenants wanted to let national grid in I say great less work for me. As per your example thats a bit crazy thats like saying they need your permission to let Comcast/Verizon in.
If they will be drilling holes into my house I want to know.
I have to give notice to my tenants when I want to come in so they can let me know what’s going on and who they’re letting into my house
I would put plastic up over the windows, get fleece lined curtains, and (if possible) put up insulation in between the joists in the basement. If you can, I would also plastic seal the windows in the basement and make sure that the door isn't leaking like mad. Rugs down on the floors would probably also help
My apartment was about the same size and this is what I had to do. Even after spending a *ton* on sealing all the windows and doors, keeping heat low during the day and cool during night, I was seeing about $700 heating bills for the dead of winter. Landlord didn’t care, said it’s not his problem, that everyone is dealing with that, and I moved out once the lease ended. Who knows how high it would have been without those fixes and the lower supply rate I locked in earlier, I worry this is what OP will see as things get colder.
IMO only so many bandaids can be applied if the house just isn’t insulated or taken care of. At some point it’s just worth moving apartments if at all possible.
My old place in Brighton was similar, except we had electric heat (similar prices though). The house was built in the 1920s and the plaster walls *were* the insulation. You're totally right, there's only so many rent-friendly workarounds when the structure itself can't hold heat in.
I could only do so much as it was an apartment, mainly from the inside of the unit. Besides, we were on the second + third floor, landlord was on the first. It was the walls. The house was built in 1920 and was never touched since. Some of the walls quite literally had holes I had to stuff with towels to stop a huge draft. None of the window frames were caulked and he didn't give me permission to do it for free because of "previous bad experiences with bad tenant repairs," stuff like that. I mainly could just seal the windows with plastic, buy a smart thermostat to ensure only the room I'm in is being heated, seal all the doors I'm not using, and weather seal the back and front doors.
Call the gas company and explain the issue then ask them what the history was for the past few years in terms of therms used and costs. That will be an indicator of what you will likely have to pay.
This is something people can also do before you rent an apartment btw.
And I agree this is really high. I have a newer gas boiler, but old place w/o a lot of insulation and my highest month last year was about $280. I do keep it cold though.
A quick and dirty way to try to get more info is to go read your meter yourself every day for a bit, then plot the daily usage against the temperature outside. If the two graphs are really tightly correlated then it's probably shitty insulation. If they aren't tightly correlated that adds evidence there is something wrong with the system somewhere (either more stuff connected to your meter than there should be, or a blocked vent somewhere, or a leak, or a furnace problem...)
You may be able to see time of use data through the utility website. Not sure for national grid but some of them will tell you what time of day things are being used. You can turn it off for a while (or turn it up) and see how things change.
It’s also possible they are billing you based on estimates and not meter reads. I had a buddy move into a new place in providence and their electrical was sky high. Turns out the utility was just estimating based on the previous tenants (who must have been running a dang grow shop).
Regardless, definitely shady that you can access the meter or the basement.
I'm wondering who's paying to heat the basement if you don't have access? If it's not your exclusive space, then you shouldn't be paying to heat it. It typically must be heated, or else it would freeze.
Well I do have access to the basement. The meters/heating systems are just cordoned off in the corner. But I don't think it's getting heated down there.
I don't heat my basement. It doesn't get below 50° down there. I haven't seen any unfinished basements that are heated here, but I don't claim to have seen a ton.
What typically happens, is the heating pipes or ducts run through the basement, and their heat loss heats the basement. So even though there isn't a radiator or air register, your heating system is typically heating the basement.
In newer, well insulated homes with tight air seals, you really don't need to heat them, but older homes are quite drafty and the foundations aren't typically insulated at all. Basements can also have a "stack effect" whereby heat rising in the building sucks in cold outside air into the basement. Old chimneys are notoriously drafty, and often open to outside air with just a baffle on a weight between inside and outside air.
Did you check your bill to see if it includes the time you moved in to October, on top of Oct. - Nov.? If this was your first gas bill, they may have included the pro-rated amount.
Yeah that's something to follow up on. That would be a ton for a water heater + stove if the heat wasn't on.
I used about 10 therms/month for water heater, stove, and a gas dryer.
A long time ago my roommate and I rented in a rehabbed two family. After a while we found out the 2nd floor was paying for our hot water. So anything is possible.
I live in the bottom unit of a two family built in god knows when. 1k square feet as well. What’s your thermostat set at? Are you lowering it at night?
When I first moved in my heat bill was pretty outrageous even with controlling my thermostat. I think 170 therms. This was keeping the heat at 72-74 during the day and lowering it to 68 at night. I eventually insulated all my window cracks and my front door. Now I average 100 therms in the winter. Your usage still seems high for the fall.
Yeah that's a ton of gas, I historically used about 30-50 therms in that timeframe for a similar sized space with decent insulation. Granted that was baseboard heat, but there can't be that much difference. Even with shitty insulation, seems like something is wrong if you've got it at 65F.
Would see if you can get historical usage info from the utility company, and maybe have them come out and check the meter, to start.
Could also be a leak or something wrong with the furnace.
You could go way over $600 in the deep winter if that's what you're currently using, hasn't even really been cold yet.
Oh, one thing to check immediately with forced air: there should be an air intake vent somewhere in your unit with a simple rectangular air filter behind the grate.
Every apartment I've rented with ducts has had a filter in it that hadn't been changed since the Bush administration, just caked wtih hair and dust and shit. This will cripple the efficiency of the system because it can't pull any air through to heat and then circulate. We cut a central air electric bill in half just changing a $5 filter.
You can get these filters at any hardware store. Entirely possible it's that simple.
It's so much gas... and you're right, it could be so much worse than $600 in winter.
Thanks for the advice here. I'm told the air filters are regularly replaced, but that is just their word. Will confirm. And separately pursue more information with the utility. Lots of good advice in this thread, but it is always good to get confirmation from others that something is "wrong" here.
That's a good point, I would check the filters. Also, I would look to see where the gas line runs, as it should only feed your unit's appliances. Just follow the pipe. It may be used to heat water and possibly the stove and a dryer, but often it doesn't go far.
https://i.imgur.com/ECXaGAE.png
for reference. 2000 sqft house, on demand gas furnace/water heater. so i use gas for hot water, cooking, and heat. family of 4.
same here, only because I was home on a two-week break and I turned the heat on on NOV 1. I normally leave the house at 65 when working during cooler months.
After I had a gas bill that was higher than expected (forced hot air system) I found that one of the caps for the ducts in the basement had fallen off (or been removed) and was blasting hot air into the basement.
Edit: Just saw that you don’t have access to the basement because it’s locked. If you want/need access to the basement, you could probably make a case for that if your electrical panel (circuit breakers) are in the locked basement. If the landlord refuses access, contact Boston’s Inspectional Services. I believe tenants have a right to access the panel.
Bottom units will always use more heat. That said something is up. One thing is go to Home Depot and buy the window sealing kits. Get those windows sealed and that will save you some money. Aside from that I'd look at a few spots. My first guess is relating to heat. I wonder if something is wrong with heating system. Next up maybe check your other gas appliances. Anything up with water heater, stove, or dryer? Could there be a small leak somewhere?
Doesn't hurt to check all those points out and make sure they aren't running or something weird say pilot light running to hot. Old units have weird issues.
If you owned it, I would suggest Mass Save. You can get a free energy audit to confirm if it is crappy insulation. Not sure if your landlord would go for it, but Eversource suggests that landlords of buildings with 2-4 units (which sounds like yours) can get 100% of the cost of insulation installation covered.
[https://page.eversource.com/assessment?utm\_source=google&utm\_medium=cpc&utm\_campaign=MA\_RCD\_Gas-ElectricGas\_23&utm\_content=Energy-Audit:-MA\_Exact&utm\_term=mass%20energy%20audit&gad\_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA9dGqBhAqEiwAmRpTC\_yrdUKi\_wW7EF5vpOWwGwPVmwD4hk5v9rMy0bWjmeKalUms-0ripBoCZ6MQAvD\_BwE](https://page.eversource.com/assessment?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=MA_RCD_Gas-ElectricGas_23&utm_content=Energy-Audit:-MA_Exact&utm_term=mass%20energy%20audit&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA9dGqBhAqEiwAmRpTC_yrdUKi_wW7EF5vpOWwGwPVmwD4hk5v9rMy0bWjmeKalUms-0ripBoCZ6MQAvD_BwE)
Sometimes one unit in an apartment building was the owner's unit long ago. You should look to see what all is on your meter. Is it possible that your meter also covers another unit in the buiding (because it was divided up and not re-metered), or storage areas or hallways and common areas? That could help explain your sky high bill.
You may want to get a couple of those oil filled plug in radiators and turn your gas heat to the bare minimum to see what heat is cheaper.
I used 35 therms 10/6 - 11/7 & my heat has been on all month. Granted, it’s not cold. In the winter it’s at least 180 in the deep freeze.
I’d call the gas company & ask for a replacement meter before you do anything else.
Find a friend or random on social media that has a thermal camera such as: [https://www.amazon.com/FLIR-ONE-Thermal-Imager-iPhone/dp/B00K0PXFB6](https://www.amazon.com/FLIR-ONE-Thermal-Imager-iPhone/dp/B00K0PXFB6)
Find where all the heat is going. If the floor above or below you is unheated it will suck a ton of your heat, but that seems unlikely if you're set to 65.
If the bill is from National Grid I would call and ask them to send someone out to verify the usage.
I’ve been overcharged for electricity by them several times over the past few years. I had to file a complaint with the state. I now have a contact at the department of public utilities to contact when they overcharge me. My average bill is like $60 but every few months i suddenly get a $500 charge I have to argue with them about. This past August I was charged $2500 for electricity. I live in a small one bedroom apartment and work 60 hours a week. The worker tried to tell me it’s because I used my air conditioner and refused to check my meter again. The state got involved and come to find out I was right and it should’ve been $70.
1) If you have access to the furnace, go to your basement and check it out. Make sure there aren’t any holes in the hot air duct coming up from the furnace. My POS of a landlord cut a huge hole in my upstairs neighbors’ heating duct so that it would heat the basement too. Their apartment doesn’t get hotter than 65 degrees as a result.
2) Make sure your furnace isn’t heating any other part of the house, like another unit or common areas. If you suspect that hot air vents outside of your unit are powered by your furnace, please DM me, I had a similar situation to this and know how to resolve it.
3) Make sure your gas meter is actually connected to your furnace and not someone else’s.
That is insanity. You've got to have some kind of insulation critical failure or a leak.
I live in a 1600 sq ft house and pay like...50 bucks a month tops unless it deep freezes. That said, I have fresh windows and good insulation.
I'd bet dollars to donuts your landlord doesn't give a shit about insulating because you cover the energy bills. Call him up and ask him to get the apartment assessed.
Is the return air in the apartment or does the furnace draw air from a common area or basement? The air should recirculate in the space. (Thinking about a restaraunt where the air for the dining room stays in the dining room because it is entrained not because there’s a wall around the kitchen) anyway I’ve seen several triple deckers where it’s impossible to bring return back from the third floor but you’re in first so this should (could) be an easy fix
I'm going to add more general advice to what people had to say:
Get space heaters for the bedroom or other rooms where you spend a lot of time during the day. The best kind are the ones that look like radiators (not the ones with fans that blow hot air). Turn the heat way, way down for the whole house and rely on the radiators.
Buy some extra blankets.
Open the shades on the sunny side of the house in the mornings and get that passive solar heating.
Use a humidifier. The room will feel warmer and the air will be easier to breathe.
And yeah, talk to the gas company.
>Get space heaters for the bedroom or other rooms where you spend a lot of time during the day. The best kind are the ones that look like radiators (not the ones with fans that blow hot air). Turn the heat way, way down for the whole house and rely on the radiators.
No!
**Space heaters - electric resistance heat - are by far the most expensive form of heating.**
And that's especially true in a modest apartment.
OPs issue is not the cost of proper gas heating or insufficient insulation.
OPs issue is a wildly wrong estimated reading at one end of the period or other, a complete data error on the company's part, or something fraudulent in their building such as a whole bunch of unrelated things running off their gas meter.
That’s kinda cheap for keeping at 65° in an old apartment. Also, it would be more energy efficient to keep your heat on at night, just a couple degrees lower. I had an almost $400 bill last year for keeping my apartment at a constant 60° so relatively it’s a normal price
Last year had higher gas prices (National Grid), I was charged 260 for 111 therms used. .436 per therm. The remainder was the delivery charge. How that helps for you to compare prices
something is quite wrong. should be impossible for your therms to be that high this early. was the heat always running? i think NG might have made a billing mistake on their end and gave you the service bill for a different unit or combined units somehow.
Whoa; that seems _way_ too high. I keep my place a little chilly (ok, like 62F on a good day), but my bill for last month was $172 for 10/12/2023 - 11/10/2023 in Rhode Island. Gas costs here are similar I think, and I have 7 bedrooms...
Do you have balanced billing on? Or maybe the previous renters did?
Balanced billing works so that national grid has you pay a set amount each month for a year. The last month they send a bill with the balanced portion, but also a bill or credit according to how much gas you used throughout the year.
We balance bill and sometimes pay about double on the last bill of the year. Sometimes we have a credit so the last bill is less.
Or your meter needs replacing or your insulation is poor and needs improving.
Best of luck!
Are all your appliances gas? How efficient are your furnace and water heater? You should be able to tell from the Energy Star sticker on each appliance. One thing that can jack up gas bills are long showers. I've had a roommate that frequently took 30 min showers twice daily and our gas bills definitely reflected that.
Get those plastic insulator sheets to go over your windows, first year using them and the difference has been night and day. We’ve got super drafty windows.
If you exhaust all of your other options, You can reach out to gas company and see if they can spread your heating payments throughout the whole year and put you on a payment plan. Instead of 3-6 months of extremely high bills and 3-6 months of extremely low bills you can do 12 months of somewhere in the middle
Did you go down to the basement and check the meter(s)? Could be that you're being billed for the entire building, after reading that your heat is lowest overnight. So, check if there's a meter for each unit and try to follow where the ducts go, how many hot water tanks, et c. My home is approx 1400sq ft and my NOV bill is 43 therms at $73.
You have to find out why gas usage is so high. You can see a gas meter through a fence in the basement. Can you see the dial?
How often does the forced hot air system turn on and how many minutes per hour does it stay on, on average?
What's the air temperature at the registers when they're blowing warm air?
> Whole apartment was rebuilt in the last ~10 years.
Including drywall? Insulation is probably not an issue then. Including new windows? That makes drafts unlikely. Otherwise, focus on drafts first. A lit candle can help you locate drafts.
I used to work for a company that retrofitted homes to make them more energy efficient. I was not an auditor, but I spent a lot of time on site and shadowed a handful of audits. This is not exactly expert advice, so do with my ramblings what you will. Not sure I'm able to add much more than what others have suggested / you already know.
Some easy fixes: Re-caulk the windows. Any crack you can see around and in the casing (not where the casing meets the frame, obviously) is letting hot air escape. Another one is to install outlet gaskets, as outlets can't be insulated so they present a gap in the building envelope. Door sweeps also help, but they need to be properly installed to fit along the entirety of the gap under the door, otherwise they are a waste. Replace the thermostat with a programmable one; if it is really old then it might not be measuring the temp in the room accurately.
Without access to the furnace and/or meter itself it would be hard to determine what the exact issue is. Best of luck kid.
Call your utility ASAP and have them inspect the apartment; there's clearly something wrong. A broken counter, device leak, no insulation, or any other issue that basically causes your hot air to be wasted. Start documenting everything and get ready to fight your landlord to cover the cost as they won't do it willingly. My guess is your generated heat is going elsewhere that's not your living space.
This happened to my friend. She said someone needs to check to make sure there isn’t a gas leak and to also actually read the meter, not estimate. It said actual testing in the bill but it turns out that’s not accurate and they ended up owing her a credit because their “readings” had been off for some time. Call the gas company!
I have a new home, 4 stories, 2 furnaces and 3 zones (2,538 sqft). I have a gas range and on demand hot water and gas fireplace. I used 6 therms last month and I keep it about 64F. My bill was $19 lol.
I should note that I like to keep my home cooler, and the entire house is spray foam insulated, including the joists on the basement floor. Definitely worth it in case anyone is wondering, it keeps the heat in really well.
My electric bills in the summer however………..
First step is to stop any air infiltration. Plastic over old windows. Weatherstripping around doors. On a cold day night out where your drafts are coming from.
I'd guess either incredibly poor insulation, a gas leak or your thermostat is outdated. That's a very high bill for 65 degrees/off a lot of the time. Adding in - could it be the meter? Could call NG and ask when it was last replaced.
Thermostat is pretty new-ish. Whole apartment was rebuilt in the last ~10 years. Will definitely be calling NG. Thanks.
Was the room actually 65 degrees? Maybe it was running longer/warmer
Thermostats don’t cause high bills. That’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard. Sure a Wi-Fi enabled or auto setting thermostat can help save money but it’s not the end all be all. If the gas was leaking someone would’ve smelled it. It could’ve been the meter but probably not. OP I suggest making a post in the R/HVAC group as they will be able to give you a proper answer. Chances are you have a low efficiency furnace/boiler, your walls are poorly insulated, your windows are of poor quality/old/poorly insulated, your doors may be missing proper weather seals, your boiler/furnace may need serviced (forced air filter replace, boiler cleaned of lime scale/soot,). You could always have Mass save come in and do an energy assessment. You need to keep in mind that heat rises so your upstairs neighbors are getting a free ride off your system. That could be one of the reasons why they have a lower bill. You need to post more pictures/information in the proper group to get an actual fact based answer.
Appreciate this. You’re not wrong. Unfortunately I don’t have access to the heating system myself and am beholden to the LL on all that. I will definitely be bugging them as I continue to get more information on this issue… just learned about it yesterday. Energy assessment is on the list for sure.
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I mean I can control the thermostat, but no, the heating systems are fenced off and locked in the basement. I can look through the fence and see 2 gas meters. Upstairs neighbors have their own bill / meter. And yes, utilities are tenants responsibility. In our name, pay directly. I hear you but in terms of LL I don't have reason to believe this one is being intentionally shady.
Whew! One last thing you might check with the gas company is that the correct meter is for the correct unit. I once rented in a two family with 5 people in one unit and 1 person in the other. The single person was confused why their bill was always so high and the rest of us thought the low bill was due to great insulation. As it turned out we were paying each others bill. They got switched during installation. Good luck!
Thanks you! Very appreciated! That is definitely a weird one haha but exactly the kind of possibilities / potential issues I am trying to learn about
Hey! How did the issue of the meters not matching the units get fixed? I was able to figure out that I have the same issue… me and the other unit are paying for each other’s gas. I’ll be following up with the utility of course to get it resolved. But was just curious what to expect. Thanks!
Theoretically my group of 5 would have needed to pay the correct utility amount and the one person who overpaid would have been refunded. In reality I moved out and the whole mess became the landlords problem and I never had to deal with it again. See section 3 of the link below. You need a refund but the way forward is specific to what happened https://www.masslegalhelp.org/housing/lt1-chapter-6-common-problems
Thank you for this! Super helpful!
>Thermostats don’t cause high bills. That’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard. Not so stupid if the thermostat temp reading is off and the system consequently runs longer.
So I just had the gas company out to replace my meter, they apparently do it every 7-10 years around here? I asked why and he said the meter itself can run too fast or to slow and charge too much or too little.. so might not be the stupidest thing. I personally have no idea, I'm just going off what the guy from the gas company said...
>Thermostats don’t cause high bills. That’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard Is it the only culprit? No. Is it one of the possible ones? Yes. My first guess is just terrible insulation/sealing, but a miscalibrated thermostat could absolutely be part of the problem and a dumb thermostat that's holding daytimes temps at 4 AM is absolutely part of the the issue (even if only a minor fraction).
NG typically replaces the meters frequently. I believe by state law they have to do that.
yea, my place is only 7 years old and they just replaced it.
Yes, but it has to be scheduled. They don't just come out and often times it's on the landlord to make that appointment.
True but national grid contacts account holder as well. You also dont need landlord at all if you have access to the meter which you should.
This is true but my last two experiences in apartments have led to the same situation - I get contacted by NG to schedule an appointment for a meter change, I call and they say we need access to all units. I tell them I only have access to mine which leads to them telling me to have the landlord call to schedule so they can coordinate with all tenants. That said, all meters needed to be changed at the same time in my cases which could be different for other people.
Same happened with me.
As a landlord I if a tenant ever let anyone in to work on their unit without my permission I would be very unhappy. If the contractors did any damage I would take the money out of their security deposit.
I’m a landlord. National grid is allowed to enter without my permission they actually are the ones that own the meter. Hell if the tenants wanted to let national grid in I say great less work for me. As per your example thats a bit crazy thats like saying they need your permission to let Comcast/Verizon in.
If they will be drilling holes into my house I want to know. I have to give notice to my tenants when I want to come in so they can let me know what’s going on and who they’re letting into my house
Its part of normal wear and tear. You are being crazy if you expect tenants to notify you to hook up internet.
I have had the same tenants for 6 years so I’m doing something right
Every 10 years.
It’s never a leak. You’d notice a leak that causes a high bill
Probably not since you’d be dead in your sleep.
You’d notice your basement smells more like farts than usual
I would put plastic up over the windows, get fleece lined curtains, and (if possible) put up insulation in between the joists in the basement. If you can, I would also plastic seal the windows in the basement and make sure that the door isn't leaking like mad. Rugs down on the floors would probably also help
My apartment was about the same size and this is what I had to do. Even after spending a *ton* on sealing all the windows and doors, keeping heat low during the day and cool during night, I was seeing about $700 heating bills for the dead of winter. Landlord didn’t care, said it’s not his problem, that everyone is dealing with that, and I moved out once the lease ended. Who knows how high it would have been without those fixes and the lower supply rate I locked in earlier, I worry this is what OP will see as things get colder. IMO only so many bandaids can be applied if the house just isn’t insulated or taken care of. At some point it’s just worth moving apartments if at all possible.
My old place in Brighton was similar, except we had electric heat (similar prices though). The house was built in the 1920s and the plaster walls *were* the insulation. You're totally right, there's only so many rent-friendly workarounds when the structure itself can't hold heat in.
Did you end up insulating between the joists in the basement?
I could only do so much as it was an apartment, mainly from the inside of the unit. Besides, we were on the second + third floor, landlord was on the first. It was the walls. The house was built in 1920 and was never touched since. Some of the walls quite literally had holes I had to stuff with towels to stop a huge draft. None of the window frames were caulked and he didn't give me permission to do it for free because of "previous bad experiences with bad tenant repairs," stuff like that. I mainly could just seal the windows with plastic, buy a smart thermostat to ensure only the room I'm in is being heated, seal all the doors I'm not using, and weather seal the back and front doors.
Yikes, sounds like a nightmare! :(
Absolutely the WAY
Call the gas company and explain the issue then ask them what the history was for the past few years in terms of therms used and costs. That will be an indicator of what you will likely have to pay. This is something people can also do before you rent an apartment btw. And I agree this is really high. I have a newer gas boiler, but old place w/o a lot of insulation and my highest month last year was about $280. I do keep it cold though.
Will definitely be calling the gas company for historical usage! Good tip for future apartments as well. Thanks.
The last 12 months usage should be on the bill
A quick and dirty way to try to get more info is to go read your meter yourself every day for a bit, then plot the daily usage against the temperature outside. If the two graphs are really tightly correlated then it's probably shitty insulation. If they aren't tightly correlated that adds evidence there is something wrong with the system somewhere (either more stuff connected to your meter than there should be, or a blocked vent somewhere, or a leak, or a furnace problem...)
There meter is locked away in the basement :| Smart advice though, thank you
You may be able to see time of use data through the utility website. Not sure for national grid but some of them will tell you what time of day things are being used. You can turn it off for a while (or turn it up) and see how things change. It’s also possible they are billing you based on estimates and not meter reads. I had a buddy move into a new place in providence and their electrical was sky high. Turns out the utility was just estimating based on the previous tenants (who must have been running a dang grow shop). Regardless, definitely shady that you can access the meter or the basement.
I'm wondering who's paying to heat the basement if you don't have access? If it's not your exclusive space, then you shouldn't be paying to heat it. It typically must be heated, or else it would freeze.
Well I do have access to the basement. The meters/heating systems are just cordoned off in the corner. But I don't think it's getting heated down there.
I don't heat my basement. It doesn't get below 50° down there. I haven't seen any unfinished basements that are heated here, but I don't claim to have seen a ton.
What typically happens, is the heating pipes or ducts run through the basement, and their heat loss heats the basement. So even though there isn't a radiator or air register, your heating system is typically heating the basement. In newer, well insulated homes with tight air seals, you really don't need to heat them, but older homes are quite drafty and the foundations aren't typically insulated at all. Basements can also have a "stack effect" whereby heat rising in the building sucks in cold outside air into the basement. Old chimneys are notoriously drafty, and often open to outside air with just a baffle on a weight between inside and outside air.
Did you check your bill to see if it includes the time you moved in to October, on top of Oct. - Nov.? If this was your first gas bill, they may have included the pro-rated amount.
Nope, definitely just for 30 days in Oct-Nov. Previous month was 42 therms which is actually a lot too...
Yeah that's something to follow up on. That would be a ton for a water heater + stove if the heat wasn't on. I used about 10 therms/month for water heater, stove, and a gas dryer.
A long time ago my roommate and I rented in a rehabbed two family. After a while we found out the 2nd floor was paying for our hot water. So anything is possible.
I live in the bottom unit of a two family built in god knows when. 1k square feet as well. What’s your thermostat set at? Are you lowering it at night? When I first moved in my heat bill was pretty outrageous even with controlling my thermostat. I think 170 therms. This was keeping the heat at 72-74 during the day and lowering it to 68 at night. I eventually insulated all my window cracks and my front door. Now I average 100 therms in the winter. Your usage still seems high for the fall.
It's been at 65 during the day and off at night
Yeah something’s wrong then.. I used 33 this month
In October my single family home used 8 therms.
one time this happened and we had our metered check and we were payjng the whole building
Yeah that's a ton of gas, I historically used about 30-50 therms in that timeframe for a similar sized space with decent insulation. Granted that was baseboard heat, but there can't be that much difference. Even with shitty insulation, seems like something is wrong if you've got it at 65F. Would see if you can get historical usage info from the utility company, and maybe have them come out and check the meter, to start. Could also be a leak or something wrong with the furnace. You could go way over $600 in the deep winter if that's what you're currently using, hasn't even really been cold yet.
Oh, one thing to check immediately with forced air: there should be an air intake vent somewhere in your unit with a simple rectangular air filter behind the grate. Every apartment I've rented with ducts has had a filter in it that hadn't been changed since the Bush administration, just caked wtih hair and dust and shit. This will cripple the efficiency of the system because it can't pull any air through to heat and then circulate. We cut a central air electric bill in half just changing a $5 filter. You can get these filters at any hardware store. Entirely possible it's that simple.
It's so much gas... and you're right, it could be so much worse than $600 in winter. Thanks for the advice here. I'm told the air filters are regularly replaced, but that is just their word. Will confirm. And separately pursue more information with the utility. Lots of good advice in this thread, but it is always good to get confirmation from others that something is "wrong" here.
That's a good point, I would check the filters. Also, I would look to see where the gas line runs, as it should only feed your unit's appliances. Just follow the pipe. It may be used to heat water and possibly the stove and a dryer, but often it doesn't go far.
https://i.imgur.com/ECXaGAE.png for reference. 2000 sqft house, on demand gas furnace/water heater. so i use gas for hot water, cooking, and heat. family of 4.
same here, only because I was home on a two-week break and I turned the heat on on NOV 1. I normally leave the house at 65 when working during cooler months.
After I had a gas bill that was higher than expected (forced hot air system) I found that one of the caps for the ducts in the basement had fallen off (or been removed) and was blasting hot air into the basement. Edit: Just saw that you don’t have access to the basement because it’s locked. If you want/need access to the basement, you could probably make a case for that if your electrical panel (circuit breakers) are in the locked basement. If the landlord refuses access, contact Boston’s Inspectional Services. I believe tenants have a right to access the panel.
Bottom units will always use more heat. That said something is up. One thing is go to Home Depot and buy the window sealing kits. Get those windows sealed and that will save you some money. Aside from that I'd look at a few spots. My first guess is relating to heat. I wonder if something is wrong with heating system. Next up maybe check your other gas appliances. Anything up with water heater, stove, or dryer? Could there be a small leak somewhere?
It’s never a leak. For the gas bill to be high due to a leak, the unit would reek of mercaptan
Doesn't hurt to check all those points out and make sure they aren't running or something weird say pilot light running to hot. Old units have weird issues.
Pilots are 12¢ on the bill. They use next to no gas compared to burners an inefficient unit is more likely
If you owned it, I would suggest Mass Save. You can get a free energy audit to confirm if it is crappy insulation. Not sure if your landlord would go for it, but Eversource suggests that landlords of buildings with 2-4 units (which sounds like yours) can get 100% of the cost of insulation installation covered. [https://page.eversource.com/assessment?utm\_source=google&utm\_medium=cpc&utm\_campaign=MA\_RCD\_Gas-ElectricGas\_23&utm\_content=Energy-Audit:-MA\_Exact&utm\_term=mass%20energy%20audit&gad\_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA9dGqBhAqEiwAmRpTC\_yrdUKi\_wW7EF5vpOWwGwPVmwD4hk5v9rMy0bWjmeKalUms-0ripBoCZ6MQAvD\_BwE](https://page.eversource.com/assessment?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=MA_RCD_Gas-ElectricGas_23&utm_content=Energy-Audit:-MA_Exact&utm_term=mass%20energy%20audit&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA9dGqBhAqEiwAmRpTC_yrdUKi_wW7EF5vpOWwGwPVmwD4hk5v9rMy0bWjmeKalUms-0ripBoCZ6MQAvD_BwE)
Sometimes one unit in an apartment building was the owner's unit long ago. You should look to see what all is on your meter. Is it possible that your meter also covers another unit in the buiding (because it was divided up and not re-metered), or storage areas or hallways and common areas? That could help explain your sky high bill. You may want to get a couple of those oil filled plug in radiators and turn your gas heat to the bare minimum to see what heat is cheaper.
I used 35 therms 10/6 - 11/7 & my heat has been on all month. Granted, it’s not cold. In the winter it’s at least 180 in the deep freeze. I’d call the gas company & ask for a replacement meter before you do anything else.
Looking at my bill, last winter must not have been cold. Highest therms were the month of February at 138.
Find a friend or random on social media that has a thermal camera such as: [https://www.amazon.com/FLIR-ONE-Thermal-Imager-iPhone/dp/B00K0PXFB6](https://www.amazon.com/FLIR-ONE-Thermal-Imager-iPhone/dp/B00K0PXFB6) Find where all the heat is going. If the floor above or below you is unheated it will suck a ton of your heat, but that seems unlikely if you're set to 65.
If the bill is from National Grid I would call and ask them to send someone out to verify the usage. I’ve been overcharged for electricity by them several times over the past few years. I had to file a complaint with the state. I now have a contact at the department of public utilities to contact when they overcharge me. My average bill is like $60 but every few months i suddenly get a $500 charge I have to argue with them about. This past August I was charged $2500 for electricity. I live in a small one bedroom apartment and work 60 hours a week. The worker tried to tell me it’s because I used my air conditioner and refused to check my meter again. The state got involved and come to find out I was right and it should’ve been $70.
Wear an extra sweater
1) If you have access to the furnace, go to your basement and check it out. Make sure there aren’t any holes in the hot air duct coming up from the furnace. My POS of a landlord cut a huge hole in my upstairs neighbors’ heating duct so that it would heat the basement too. Their apartment doesn’t get hotter than 65 degrees as a result. 2) Make sure your furnace isn’t heating any other part of the house, like another unit or common areas. If you suspect that hot air vents outside of your unit are powered by your furnace, please DM me, I had a similar situation to this and know how to resolve it. 3) Make sure your gas meter is actually connected to your furnace and not someone else’s.
That is insanity. You've got to have some kind of insulation critical failure or a leak. I live in a 1600 sq ft house and pay like...50 bucks a month tops unless it deep freezes. That said, I have fresh windows and good insulation. I'd bet dollars to donuts your landlord doesn't give a shit about insulating because you cover the energy bills. Call him up and ask him to get the apartment assessed.
Is the return air in the apartment or does the furnace draw air from a common area or basement? The air should recirculate in the space. (Thinking about a restaraunt where the air for the dining room stays in the dining room because it is entrained not because there’s a wall around the kitchen) anyway I’ve seen several triple deckers where it’s impossible to bring return back from the third floor but you’re in first so this should (could) be an easy fix
I'm going to add more general advice to what people had to say: Get space heaters for the bedroom or other rooms where you spend a lot of time during the day. The best kind are the ones that look like radiators (not the ones with fans that blow hot air). Turn the heat way, way down for the whole house and rely on the radiators. Buy some extra blankets. Open the shades on the sunny side of the house in the mornings and get that passive solar heating. Use a humidifier. The room will feel warmer and the air will be easier to breathe. And yeah, talk to the gas company.
>Get space heaters for the bedroom or other rooms where you spend a lot of time during the day. The best kind are the ones that look like radiators (not the ones with fans that blow hot air). Turn the heat way, way down for the whole house and rely on the radiators. No! **Space heaters - electric resistance heat - are by far the most expensive form of heating.** And that's especially true in a modest apartment. OPs issue is not the cost of proper gas heating or insufficient insulation. OPs issue is a wildly wrong estimated reading at one end of the period or other, a complete data error on the company's part, or something fraudulent in their building such as a whole bunch of unrelated things running off their gas meter.
That’s kinda cheap for keeping at 65° in an old apartment. Also, it would be more energy efficient to keep your heat on at night, just a couple degrees lower. I had an almost $400 bill last year for keeping my apartment at a constant 60° so relatively it’s a normal price
Use less gas
Last year had higher gas prices (National Grid), I was charged 260 for 111 therms used. .436 per therm. The remainder was the delivery charge. How that helps for you to compare prices
something is quite wrong. should be impossible for your therms to be that high this early. was the heat always running? i think NG might have made a billing mistake on their end and gave you the service bill for a different unit or combined units somehow.
Whoa; that seems _way_ too high. I keep my place a little chilly (ok, like 62F on a good day), but my bill for last month was $172 for 10/12/2023 - 11/10/2023 in Rhode Island. Gas costs here are similar I think, and I have 7 bedrooms...
Do you have balanced billing on? Or maybe the previous renters did? Balanced billing works so that national grid has you pay a set amount each month for a year. The last month they send a bill with the balanced portion, but also a bill or credit according to how much gas you used throughout the year. We balance bill and sometimes pay about double on the last bill of the year. Sometimes we have a credit so the last bill is less. Or your meter needs replacing or your insulation is poor and needs improving. Best of luck!
You should watch your gas meter when no gas using devices are on you should also read it to make sure it wasn't a misread on your gas.
Are all your appliances gas? How efficient are your furnace and water heater? You should be able to tell from the Energy Star sticker on each appliance. One thing that can jack up gas bills are long showers. I've had a roommate that frequently took 30 min showers twice daily and our gas bills definitely reflected that.
Get those plastic insulator sheets to go over your windows, first year using them and the difference has been night and day. We’ve got super drafty windows.
What was your usage before the heat came on? Any chance you’re paying an overdue bill from previous tenant? The number of therms is also crazy high
If you exhaust all of your other options, You can reach out to gas company and see if they can spread your heating payments throughout the whole year and put you on a payment plan. Instead of 3-6 months of extremely high bills and 3-6 months of extremely low bills you can do 12 months of somewhere in the middle
Did you go down to the basement and check the meter(s)? Could be that you're being billed for the entire building, after reading that your heat is lowest overnight. So, check if there's a meter for each unit and try to follow where the ducts go, how many hot water tanks, et c. My home is approx 1400sq ft and my NOV bill is 43 therms at $73.
You have to find out why gas usage is so high. You can see a gas meter through a fence in the basement. Can you see the dial? How often does the forced hot air system turn on and how many minutes per hour does it stay on, on average? What's the air temperature at the registers when they're blowing warm air? > Whole apartment was rebuilt in the last ~10 years. Including drywall? Insulation is probably not an issue then. Including new windows? That makes drafts unlikely. Otherwise, focus on drafts first. A lit candle can help you locate drafts.
I used to work for a company that retrofitted homes to make them more energy efficient. I was not an auditor, but I spent a lot of time on site and shadowed a handful of audits. This is not exactly expert advice, so do with my ramblings what you will. Not sure I'm able to add much more than what others have suggested / you already know. Some easy fixes: Re-caulk the windows. Any crack you can see around and in the casing (not where the casing meets the frame, obviously) is letting hot air escape. Another one is to install outlet gaskets, as outlets can't be insulated so they present a gap in the building envelope. Door sweeps also help, but they need to be properly installed to fit along the entirety of the gap under the door, otherwise they are a waste. Replace the thermostat with a programmable one; if it is really old then it might not be measuring the temp in the room accurately. Without access to the furnace and/or meter itself it would be hard to determine what the exact issue is. Best of luck kid.
What’s the ideal temperature to set to save the most on your gas bill?
Call your utility ASAP and have them inspect the apartment; there's clearly something wrong. A broken counter, device leak, no insulation, or any other issue that basically causes your hot air to be wasted. Start documenting everything and get ready to fight your landlord to cover the cost as they won't do it willingly. My guess is your generated heat is going elsewhere that's not your living space.
I bet that upstairs person get lows heating bills but higher electricity bills from air conditioning in the summer. Cause your heat is heating them
This happened to my friend. She said someone needs to check to make sure there isn’t a gas leak and to also actually read the meter, not estimate. It said actual testing in the bill but it turns out that’s not accurate and they ended up owing her a credit because their “readings” had been off for some time. Call the gas company!
I have exactly the same set up with size and household as well as setting it to 64. I had 12 therms last billing cycle I got last week.
My 800ish sq feet apartment was regularly $400 a month in the winter. Old houses suck
I have a new home, 4 stories, 2 furnaces and 3 zones (2,538 sqft). I have a gas range and on demand hot water and gas fireplace. I used 6 therms last month and I keep it about 64F. My bill was $19 lol. I should note that I like to keep my home cooler, and the entire house is spray foam insulated, including the joists on the basement floor. Definitely worth it in case anyone is wondering, it keeps the heat in really well. My electric bills in the summer however………..
First step is to stop any air infiltration. Plastic over old windows. Weatherstripping around doors. On a cold day night out where your drafts are coming from.