2 bedroom house using an insanely massive amount of gas!! Help!

Overlord_Penguin

So after lurking around the forum for a while, I have a pressing concern...and I am not quite sure

I switched from Eon to First:Utility when I moved house - me and a housemate, a two bedroom house, with a bathroom, kitchen, dining room and living room. Fairly small rooms, and old-timey boiler in ft3. (One of those that makes high pitched noises) - it's in the housemate's room.

So, anyway, we usually have the heating on for about 2.45 hrs every day (it gets COLD but heck, we're trying to save) and use the kette, etc. The meter is imperial.

My worry is that the first meeting reading was on the 29/10/13 and was 4312. This seemed fairly standard, so when I got another request to record the reading today, I was absolutely gobsmacked to see a 0486 in there. I am not sure what this actually means (this is my first proper 'house I've rented because I have a job' after uni) but we definitively do not use gas that much!! (we shower, but I'd like to think that it's about ten minutes each, with the occasional long shower).

So - can anyone help and explain what this actually means? (Please)

Cardew

Welcome to the forum.

I think it means someone is reading the meter incorrectly, or the meter is faulty.

Is the meter a digital display or dials with pointers?

For example, the reading for the digital meter shown below should be recorded as 6653.














Dial meter



If you have a dial meter, please remember the following points when you take a reading:

• Adjacent dials rotate in opposite directions
• Ignore dials marked ‘100 per rev’ and the large dial
• Ignore red dials
• Read the other dials from left to right; write down the number that the hand has passed
• If the pointer falls between two figures, write down the lower figure. If the pointer falls between 9 and 0, write down 9

For example, the reading for the dial meter shown above should be
recorded as 6653.

If a dial meter it is very easy to misread as people assume the pointers all rotate clockwise.

1 unit on an Imperial gas meter is approx 32kWh. So from a correct meter reading of 4312 to 0486 would mean a consumption of 6174 gas units - 197,568kWh - costing around £8,000! A little excessive for 5 weeks.

[Deleted User]

It wont be a gas dial meter, have only seen one ( an old commercial in a Chinese takeaway ) in the last 10 years. This is either a daft estimate or someone taking notice of the last 1 or 2 (hundreths ) digits and ignoring the leading zero. First four numbers only needed on a domestic imperial meter

daveyjp

Old reading was probably 0431.2
New reading is 0486

55 units used.

Nada666

55 imperial units at 4.5p is about £80 in total - so about £60 per month.

Check what you are using now day to day to see if it correlates to the earlier reading being 0431.2. (Don't panic yet and turn the heating off - keep using it to have measurable tests.)

Cardew

daveyjp wrote: »

Old reading was probably 0431.2
New reading is 0486

55 units used.

Good thinking! Sounds the most plausible explanation.

However don't forget he is now with First Utility!!! Stand by for an £8,000 bill in about 2years time;)

Overlord_Penguin

Thank you guys!

I have been in talks with the company and indeed it was a daft first reading! (as the lady from First Utility explained) so it did work out like you guys said.

Thank you very much for your warm welcomes, by the way!