Is it possible that smart meter can be over-estimating my gas usage?

skepta

I had a smart meter installed by my energy provider at the end of last year. Since the meter was installed my gas usage has apparently more than tripled (compared to usage dating back to mid-2021).  In the coldest months of the last 3 years I was using 3.9m3 of gas per day, compared to >8m3 this winter.

 It seems very unusual that my usage would change so dramatically at the time of a meter change, particularly when considering that there has been no change in my home heating set-up or really in my energy usage pattern.

I am therefore concerned that the smart meter readings are erroneous, which is resulting in gross over-estimates of my gas usage.

Does this sound like a plausible answer worth discussing with the energy company directly? I suppose the alternative is that my old meter was under-estimating my usage. According to my old meter readings I used around 1400m3 of gas over 2 and a half years (albeit keeping a very low thermostat).

Any advice about things I can check? I'd be reluctant to take it up with the energy company directly if they could bite back and suggest my gas usage has been under-recorded previously! 

Robin9

Possibly a mix up following the meter change.

The new meter will be M3  - look for the letters on it and also note the serial number.   Now look at the bill -  does that say m3 or ft3 and what is the serial number.

bob2302

Sounds like a mix-up of imperial and metric; old meters measure in units of 100 ft^3 which is 2.8 m^3 - approximately a factor of 3.

skepta

That's perfect thanks. Previous meter was in ft3 rather than m3 - so when converting it works out pretty much bang on.

Thank you for the help and avoiding me an embarassing email! 

Ayr_Rage

If the usage in kWh looks normal on your bills then all is good.