This is not strictly DIY, but I hope somebody here can advise.

I live in the basement flat of a converted terraced house in the West
End of Glasgow. I'm trying to work out which gas meter belongs to me.
The only one that I can find is out the front, below street level,
underneath the stairs that lead up to the front door to the building.
This is the one I registered with Scottish Gas.

The reason I'm not sure that it's my meter is because the gas bills
seem surprisingly high. It's a medium size two bedroom flat, and the
bill for the last quarter was £300. The gas appliances are central
heating and the hob in the kitchen.

I wondered if this meter is for the whole building, and that there is
a specific meter for my flat somewhere else. Is this possible? Or is
it just that gas is expensive and my boiler is inefficient? How do I
find out? I know I can turn on the gas and watch the dial go round,
but that would also happen if the meter was for the whole building.

Peter

On 3 May 2007 02:54:21 -0700, "
wrote:

This is not strictly DIY, but I hope somebody here can advise.

I live in the basement flat of a converted terraced house in the West
End of Glasgow. I'm trying to work out which gas meter belongs to me.
The only one that I can find is out the front, below street level,
underneath the stairs that lead up to the front door to the building.
This is the one I registered with Scottish Gas.

The reason I'm not sure that it's my meter is because the gas bills
seem surprisingly high. It's a medium size two bedroom flat, and the
bill for the last quarter was £300. The gas appliances are central
heating and the hob in the kitchen.

I wondered if this meter is for the whole building, and that there is
a specific meter for my flat somewhere else. Is this possible? Or is
it just that gas is expensive and my boiler is inefficient? How do I
find out? I know I can turn on the gas and watch the dial go round,
but that would also happen if the meter was for the whole building.

Peter

Can you turn it off? That'd be the quickest way of finding out if
you're supplying anyone else.

Might not be the most responsible thing to do though ...
--
http://www.freedeliveryuk.co.uk

On 3 May 2007 02:54:21 -0700 someone who may be
" wrote this:-

I live in the basement flat of a converted terraced house in the West
End of Glasgow. I'm trying to work out which gas meter belongs to me.
The only one that I can find is out the front, below street level,
underneath the stairs that lead up to the front door to the building.
This is the one I registered with Scottish Gas.

Try and follow the pipe from the meter and see where it goes.

I wondered if this meter is for the whole building, and that there is
a specific meter for my flat somewhere else. Is this possible?

Entirely possible. Do you rent the flat or does a building society
own it and you rent it from them in the hope that one day you may
own it?

Or is it just that gas is expensive and my boiler is inefficient?

300 pounds is a lot, even for a winter quarter. However, we have no
idea how often the heating was on and how high it is set to. We also
have no idea how idea how big the flat is, though we have an idea
what it is constructed from.

How do I
find out? I know I can turn on the gas and watch the dial go round,
but that would also happen if the meter was for the whole building.

Turn off all the gas in your flat for a while, perhaps a day,
including all pilot lights and take a reading. Take another reading
at the end of the time period. If it is different there is a leak or
it covers other dwellings.

Also try following the gas pipes from your boiler and hob and see if
they go back to a meter.



--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54

On 3 May 2007 02:54:21 -0700, "
wrote:

The reason I'm not sure that it's my meter is because the gas bills
seem surprisingly high. It's a medium size two bedroom flat, and the
bill for the last quarter was £300. The gas appliances are central
heating and the hob in the kitchen.

You would appear to be paying for considerably more gas than you are
using, so the rest of the building is likely.

As suggested, turn *your* gas off and see what happens.

Thank you for your reply.

Try and follow the pipe from the meter and see where it goes.


It goes under some concrete towards the building. Not much help there.

Entirely possible. Do you rent the flat or does a building society
own it and you rent it from them in the hope that one day you may
own it?


The latter.

300 pounds is a lot, even for a winter quarter. However, we have no
idea how often the heating was on and how high it is set to. We also
have no idea how idea how big the flat is, though we have an idea
what it is constructed from.


The heating was on about 6/7 hours a day, but turned up to maximum -
it's only a 24kW boiler and it was a cold few months. It's an old
house with sash windows, but we did some fairly careful draught
proofing. We also went away on holiday for 3 weeks in March, and the
boiler was only on 3 or 4 hours a day during that time (to stop the
cat freezing to death).

Turn off all the gas in your flat for a while, perhaps a day,
including all pilot lights and take a reading. Take another reading
at the end of the time period. If it is different there is a leak or
it covers other dwellings.


That's an excellent idea - thank you.

Peter