How to read your gas meter

If your home has gas installed you should find your gas meter box located on the outside of the building where the gas supply enters your home. sometimes the meter may be located in the hallway or under the stairs, or utilities access cubboard.

Gas is measured as a volume used rather than as a power consumption like electricity. In home and domestic situations Gas is typically only used for the heating of water (for central heating and immersion tanks) and cooking or heating with a gas fire. Gas bills are generally much higher in the winter when heating & hot water is relied on every day. So you may find that in the summer you are overpaying your gas supplier when you are using less fuel, and in the winter you may be paying less than the units of gas you have actually used as your consumption of gas increases through the cold months.

If you have your last gas bill to hand check to see if next to the amount you have used there may be an "E" along side it. This will tell you if your bill is based on an estimated use or not, "E" being estimated.  If your paying for estimated bills it may be worth checking your gas meter reading as you may be paying too much for your gas supply, so you may be able to save money just by taking an accurate gas meter reading. 

Types of Gas meter

 Your gas meter will be one of two styles, Metric or Imerial. if its metric the display will show M3 (M³) as cubic meters.  For imperial displays it will show cubic feet as Ft3 (ft³). 

Metric counter in M3	Old style Imerial display in Ft3

Imerial meters will either be a 'dials' type or display 'analog digits'. there will be four main dials or digits, and two digits after the decimal point. When talking a meter reading the numbers after the decimal point can be ignored.

If your meter is in metric showing volume used in cubic meters, the meter will have at least five digits with three after the decimal point. The metric gas meter is newer than analog and some meters will be digital with the LCD screen showing five digits and three digits after the decimal point.

How to read a gas meter display with dials

Diagram 1 . Reading your gas meter.

The above diagram is of an imperial 'dials' style gas meter measuring the total gas used in cubic feet. (Ft3).  With dial style meters the first thing to note is that the adjacent dials rotate in the oppersite direction to the last. The first anti-clockwise, the second clock-wise and so on. But check the arrows on your meter as the direction may vary from this diagram.

When reading dial meters read from the left to the right. Write down the digit which the needle has just passed not the number which it is nearest to.  In the above diagram the first dial the needle has passed the 7 so write down as 7 and not 8 which it appears nearest to. The reading in this example will be 7 9 8 3 ft3

This gas meter reads

Most Gas providers allow their customers to supply their meter readings over the phone, post or online. compare your gas meter reading against your last gas bill as you could save money simply by providing an accurate upto date meter reading for the next billing cycle.

SMART Metering?

The proposed utility SMART meter will bring an end to meter reading and estimated usage billing on utilities, as well as providing domestic customers with accuate information on gas or power consumption and usage profiles. The device may also provide the customer with 'device level' break down of power consumption acessed via a standard internet browser. The device shall also supply usage data back to the utility provider and enable them to better predict consumer energy demands. Find more information on smart meters here.

You may also want to take an upto date electric meter reading and check it against your current electric energy bill.