How To Read A Gas Meter

 

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Being able to read your gas meter can cut a $700 gas bill in half. After seeing my personal gas bill skyrocket last winter, I decided to take matters into my own hands and learn how to read a gas meter.

Gas is an expensive commodity and sadly, prices are only going up. Unfortunately, in order to determine how much gas you use on a monthly basis, gas companies frequently make estimates based on past use. However, if you are renting or live in an area with inconsistent weather, these estimates just don’t work.

My $700 Gas Bill

Last year, I was living in an older building with an old furnace. As you read in How Much Does A Furnace Cost?, a furnace’s efficiency is measured by its AFUE rating. The higher the AFUE value, the more efficient the furnace is. However, as time goes on, a furnace’s AFUE rating starts to decrease. I never looked it up, but I imagine our old furnace wasn’t converting as much fuel to heat as it should.

Nonetheless, when I saw our first $700 bill, I knew something was wrong. I had to check the gas meter myself. When I got down there, I saw a gas meter similar to the one pictured below.

Since I now knew how to read a gas meter, I could see how much gas we were using each month. At the end of the billing cycle, I went down and read the meter. Then, I went into my account and saw that their meter reading was not correct.

Many gas companies, including People’s Gas and Nicor Gas, let you read your gas meter and report it to the company (instead of taking the estimate). This way, you know the company is taking an accurate reading.

As luck (or reality) would have it, once I reported the real reading, my gas bill was slashed in half. Trane XC95m Furnace Installation Toronto

How to Read A Gas Meter

The dials pictured above tell you how much gas you have used since the last reading. Most residential meters have four to six dials, numbered 0 through 9, on the front panel. The number of dials will depend on your gas company.