Tell us roughly what gas you use and what you pay.
£864.69 a year
That's 9,490 kWh of gas a year at 7.97p a unit, plus 29.68p every day whether you use anything or not.
- A day
- £2.37
- A week
- £16.58
- A month
- £72.06
Your units cost £756.35 and the standing charge £108.33 — 12.5% of the bill, which you pay even in a week away.
How gas usage is measured
Your gas meter records the volume of gas that passes through it, and your supplier converts that into kilowatt hours (kWh) using a conversion factor, because gas is charged by energy rather than by volume. That is why a bill shows kWh rather than cubic metres. Your annual statement, online account or smart meter display will show the kWh figure you need here.
Heating and hot water account for most household gas use, so the same home can use several times more gas in January than in July. If you type a week's usage and set the period to week, the calculator assumes that week carries on for a full year — useful in spring and autumn, misleading in the middle of a cold spell.
The standing charge on gas
Gas carries a daily standing charge as well as a unit rate, and it pays for the gas network, your meter and the safety checks that happen whether or not you use gas. On the averages used here it adds over a hundred pounds a year. If your home is empty for weeks at a time, that charge is the part you are still paying, and it is worth comparing tariffs on both figures together.
Check your own bill first
The starting rates are Ofgem's averages for a default tariff paid by Direct Debit. Your own supplier sets its rates, and they vary by region, by meter type and by how you pay, so the figures on your bill are the ones to use. If a quote cannot show you both its unit rate and its standing charge, ask for them before you switch.
The starting rates are Ofgem's price cap averages for 1 October to 31 December 2026 for a default tariff paid by Direct Debit in England, Scotland and Wales, and the starting usage figures are Ofgem's medium-consumption averages. Ofgem's cap is a maximum per unit, not the price you are promised: your supplier sets your rates, they differ by region and meter type, and prepayment customers pay different rates again. Check the unit rate and standing charge on your own bill before you act on anything here.
Next steps
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