Your Electric Meter

Where power lines enter your house, you'll find an electric meter, which looks like a large glass jar with a bunch of wheels and dials inside.

Inside the electric meter, four or five dials measure kilowatt hours- the units of electricity you're billed for.

A kilowatt hour is equal to 1000 watt hours, the amount of energy it would take to light ten 100-watt light bulbs for one hour.

Each month a utility company representative records the dial readings. The previous month's reading is subtracted from the current month's to come up with the usage that appears on your bill.

If you know how to read an electric meter, you can do the same thing. This can be helpful in tracking energy costs or checking the accuracy of your bills.

Read an electric meter from right to left, jotting down the number each pointer has passed or is pointing to. Note in the illustration that the numbers circle the dials alternately clockwise and counterclockwise. Don't let this confuse you. If the dial hasn't quite reached a certain number, record the next lowest digit. If you're not sure whether or not the dial has passed a certain number, study the one to its right to see whether or not it has passed zero.

Write the numbers down in the same order that you take them-from right to left- but read the result from left to right. The meter shown would read 02798.

MORE ABOUT:
/ Electrical service / / Elecrtic panel & circuit breakers / / When lights go out /
/ Main panel & subpanels / / GFCI breakers / / Receptacles / / Switches /

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