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Your gas meter is an accurate
automatic measuring instrument. It keeps track of how much gas
flows through it by counting the filling and emptying of the
compartments inside the meter. Since each compartment fills
with just the same amount of gas every time, the measuring is
very accurate. And because one compartment is emptied as
another is being filled, the flow of gas to the various
appliances is smooth and uninterrupted.
The part of a meter that shows the
amount of gas used is called an index. In our system, there
are two basic types of indexes.
If your meter has round dials (as shown
below) and the pointer is between two numbers always record
the lower number. The one exception is if the pointer is
bewteen 9 & 0 (zero) you then read 9 because the zero then
represents the completion of a cycle. When the pointer is
directly on a number, check the dial to the right. If the dial
to the right has not passed zero, record the lower number for
the dial on the left. To obtain a reading, read the dials
right to left, recording the numbers in the same order, right
to left.
The correct
reading for this meter is 1378. This means that 1378 hundred
cubic feet (CCF) of gas has passed through the meter since all
dials were on zero. Another way to write this amount is
137,800 cubic feet.
The other type of
meter index you could see is called a direct read. An example
is shown. This type index works much like an odometer on your
car. To take a reading, all you have to do is read the number.
Each of the numbers would correlate to one of the dials shown.
The set marked "half foot" and
"two feet" are not used in the meter reading. These dials are
only used for test purposes.
To determine how much gas has
been used since the previous reading, simply subtract last
month's reading from the current reading. You'll be better
able to track your gas use, and you'll be more aware of
conserving energy. Please look on your utility bill to see
what your billing period is so that you can read your meter on
the same schedule.
The meter is read in 100's of
gallons. If the meter reads 3692 this month, and the next
month it reads 3755(00), the usage would be 63 on the bill
(3755-3692=63). Read in gallons, it would be 6,300 gallons
used during the month.
If you have a meter like this
(digital), just write down the numbers.
Your meter may look like this
(dial).
Look! some of your hands turn right and some turn left. Write
down the last number the hand passed.
If your new reading is 46372
and your last reading was 45109,
subtract:
46372
- 45109
1263 is the amount of kilowatt hours you have used.
This is the way to read a
meter. But there is one more thing. If a hand is right on a
number and you don't know if it has passed or not, then do
this. Look at the dial to the right. Has the hand passed 0?
If this dial on the right has
passed 0, write down the number the hand on the left is
pointing to. In this case "7".
If the dial on the right has
not passed 0, write down the number the dial on the left has
just passed. In this case "6".
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