Worryingly large electricity meter reading

SamIAm_3-2

credit_crunch_victim wrote: »

i would buy an energy monitor and see where and when this amount of electricity is being used
that is a weeks worth for a lot of people

I have just purchased this online:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Plug-Power-Energy-Monitor-Meter/dp/B000Q7PJGW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1231756951&sr=8-3

When it arrives I will test each appliance I own and see if anything is using more than it should be, keeping an eye on whether it could account for the massive amount of electricity the meter is telling me we’ve used.

There are two other appliances we own that I did not mention before and which I have not used since logging our daily electricity consumption. These are an electric lawn mower and a drill (I have used both since June). Maybe these could explain it.

SamIAm_3-2

Thanks for the suggestions.

Belnahua wrote: »

Have you considered turning off your fuseboard and seeing if the meter is still going round?

Yes, this was one of the first things I tested. Turning off the main switch stops the disc within the meter from spinning. I assume this means the digits will stop incrementing.

Belnahua wrote: »

Is it also possible that when the meter clicked into the 30000, it double clicked over to the 4 with a physical error in the counting mechanism?

Since we don't have a digital meter then maybe this is possible. How likely is it that this could happen?

If I assume that this has occurred, then at least this brings down the amount used for the 6 months from 18009 to 8009 units. Despite this, I still can’t see how we could have used even only these units if all our appliances are working correctly. 8009 does seem as if it could be accounted for by a faulty appliance though (maybe the drill or lawn mower mentioned above?)!

SamIAm_3-2

Update:

After a further conversation with Southern Electric, it turns out that a guy came round again in August to reset the meter. The person I spoke to confused me a little bit as to the reasons why this was done. Essentially the reason given was that the meter had not been set up properly when it was initially installed before we moved in and needed to be reset. My girlfriend had previously forgotten about this occasion but remembered it after I prompted her – she thought it was just to take another reading.

After it was reset a new reading of 38923 should have been updated on my account, but it never was. Does anyone else think this is a strange reading to reset to – wouldn’t 39000 have been more logical?

Anyway, the upshot is my account has now been updated to reflect the new reading in August, a new bill has been sent out and my account now seems in order.

It all seems a little strange to me (why wasn’t it reset in June, the number reset to looks weird, the account wasn’t updated). I am fairly new to dealing with electricity companies and meters, so maybe this isn’t so strange and is more common than I would think.

Thank you to everyone who offered advice and listened to me panicking; it is all very much appreciated.

burnsguitarman

Glad you got it sorted, It does seem strange but at least it explains the high reading!