My gas central heating uses a lot of electricity - Why?

[ElBenio]

I have gas fired central heating and hot water system. It is on a timer, but, in winter, I leave the central heating on and the thermostat set low - 17c. I'm well insulated so the heating comes on infrequently but enough to keep the house warm enough for a family of three.

Here's the problem. I started noticing that my electric use monitor would go red for no apparent reason but for minutes. When it did, I searched the house for the offender - no obvious culprit. I started to switch off the fuses on the fuse box, and when I switched off the central heating loop, it stopped. Turned it on and it started using electricity again. At this time, the central heating was not on, nor was the hot water.

Just to be clear, it is definitely a gas fired system. 🙂

Does anyone have any ideas?

 

[Murdoch]

Immersion heater on same circuit left switched on ?

 

[SJB060685]

A smart meter? If so does it give an indication of the power it’s using when the heating circuit is switched on at the consumer unit?