Gas and Oil Home Heating Furnaces - knob settings on NG furnace

I just bought a new (to me) house with a natural gas furnace and water heater. The gas bill I've gotten seems extremely high (31 terms in one month) considering the only thing that should be on is the brand new water heater (efficency rating says that it uses 254 therms/year or 19/month) and it's a one bath house and I run the dishwater and washing machine w/ cold water.

I've never had a gas furnace before and know little to nothing about setting one properly. The knob has three settings; off, pilot, and on. Now it being mid august I don't need the furnace on, can I just set the knob to pilot? Or is that setting just used when lighting the furnace. It's been in the on position since I moved in.

Both the t-stats (2-zone) are set to off, but the chiney by the base of the furnace is hot, not warm, but hot as if it's been turning on (though I've never seen it on, nor have any of the base boards in the rooms warmed up). I would normally just call someone to come out, but I'm flat broke and paying for a wedding at the end of the month... So any help here would be great. Thanks, -Dan

Is this a gas forced air furnace or a boiler system?

If it is a boiler, is the boiler operating to maintain its operating temperature, even though there is no call for heat?

If its a forced air gas furnace, the only energy being consumed should be from the pilot light, and the flue pipe should be every-so-slightly warm, but definitely NOT hot to the touch.

I take it your single, since you're getting ready for a wedding. Typically, a single person should use less than 1 MCF of gas a month during the summer months, assuming you don't have a gas dryer or gas range. I'm single, and my typical summer natural gas usage is 0.5 MCF.

Also, I hope you don't mean you are running your dishwasher with COLD water. You'll use a lot of electricity while the dishwasher heating elements brings the water temp up to 140 degrees.

As said in the last post, you have boiler or forced air?

I have gas dryer, water heater use warm wash, hot for whites, and for summer use, and we use 10 therms.

How old is your heating system?

we have a boiler that feeds hot water to the base boards. The water heater is brand new, but the boiler is original from 1988. It's a burnham, which I've been told is decent, but I have no idea...

My main question I guess is should the boiler be left in the on position year round? Or should I switch the knob to the pilot position in the summer months?

Also there are two emergency shut off switches (big red plates with toggle switches) one by the top of the basement stair case is in the off position, the one on the unit is in the on position. The pilot is on, and from teh heat I've felt on the chimney vent the unit itself has definitley kicked on when I didn't see it...

maybe it's time I call someone...

Does the boiler have a temp gauge? If so, what does it read. It is possible that the boiler is maintaining a certain temp, and a call for heat would then open circulating valves to warm the rooms. If this is the case, I would shut the boiler down completely during the warm months.

If the switch is off, the boiler should not fire but may hold a pilot. I don't like to see boilers shut down completely over the summer. The little bit of heat from the pilot helps to keep them free of condensation & thereby reduces the amount of rust in the heat exchanger, but it does cost a few dollars to run the pilot over the summer. I service a lot of boilers & particularly those in damp basements will be dramaticly cleaner if the pilot is left on.