Whether you have water, electricity or gas meters, they are vital for providing accurate information on your energy usage. However, it’s easy for issues to arise that might cause them to fail to work properly, leading to inaccurate readings. While meter reading errors are relatively rare, they can happen. This article will provide some tips for ensuring that your meter readings are as accurate as possible.
Regularly reading your own meter will help you to verify that the meter reader has a correct and complete record of your usage. It will also make you aware of any problems such as leaks. Meters work like car odometers, recording the cumulative volume of water, gas or electricity passed through them. This allows utility providers to calculate your bill by subtracting the previous reading from the current one.
If you have a dial meter, stand directly in front of it at eye level and read the dials from right to left. If the pointer is between two numbers, write down the lower number (except when it is between 0 and 9, in which case you would write down 9). Then read the digits displayed on the bottom row of your meter – ignore any red numbers.
Digital meter displays work differently to dial meters. They have 5 digits displayed on the display and will be black or white, with 1 or more red numbers. Read the first four digits from left to right, then ignore any red numbers. Some meter displays have 2 separate readings – the top (usually labelled ‘low’ or ‘night’) and the bottom (normal or day). If you have a two rate meter, you will need to give your supplier both of these readings. For a new Electric Meter box, consider meterbox.co.uk
If you believe that your meter has been incorrectly read, contact the meter reading department as soon as possible. You can call or email the department with your meter EAN code and invoice reference number and state that you think your meter reading has been recorded inaccurately.
You can also request a manual meter reading by contacting your utility provider. This is done by a trained professional and can be very helpful for catching out any errors in the system. If you are still not satisfied, you can file a complaint with the regulator. In addition to these steps, it’s important to regularly check the condition of your meter. This can be as simple as wiping down the pins and storing it in its case to protect it from moisture content, debris or concrete dust that could affect the accuracy of the readings.