"Brian Sharrock" wrote in message
...
For many years I've only checked the 'readings' on my quarterly Gas Bill
and not bothered to perform the calculations leading to the money bill.

However having recently completed a change of plumbing circuitry, I've
become an 'anorak' about gas consumption and I've been reading the meter
everyday.

My meter registers consumption in cubic feet. British Gas charges in KwH.
There is a 'conversion carried out to convert cubic feet (consumed) into
cubic meters thence into KilowattHours.

According to British Gas's helpful explanation on their bills and website;
the cubic feet consumed is _multiplied_ by 2.38 (the website states that
his step my be omitted if the meter registers in m^3) then transmogrifies
into KilowattHours via a series of multiply by the number you first
thought of ....

As far as I can see: British Gas are stating that one cubic foot equates
to 2.38 cubic metres! I've asked British Gas to confirm this but all I've
got are flunky's responses that the 'equation' leads to a correct
calculation of my bill.

Given that one cubic foot is 12 in x 12 in x 12 in and that one cubic
metre is 39.37 in x 39.37 in x 39.37 in, I can't reconcile where the
'multiply by 2.83' statement originates.

Surely, a cubic-foot is smaller than a cubic-metre! Why multiply by 2.83?*

Any body with an explanation?

--

Brian

*There are valid reasons not to divide something in software. Unless steps
are taken to validate the divisor a divide operation _might_ lead to a
'Divide by Zero - illegal operation' and cause a run to halt. It's much
safer to multiply by a reciprocal ; e.g. don't divide by four, rather
multiply by. 0.25.
Guess what the 'reciprocal' in this case [12^3 / 39.37^3] is ... how many
decimal places?

1 cubic foot =0.02831685 cubic metres