Power Reading!

Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017 by Joy Padgett

Power Reading: It’s ELECTRIC! Some people might call it “light” reading, but knowing how to read your electric meter gives you the opportunity to keep track of how much electricity you use in a given time period.

If your meter is not a digital meter, you can read it yourself by writing down the number indicated by the pointer on each dial, left to right. Write down the lowest number if the indicator is between two numbers. Also note that the first dial must go completely around before the next dial moves.

To monitor your daily usage, the next step is to repeat the process 24 hours later. Subtract the first reading from the second one to learn how many kilowatt hours were used over that 24-hour period. A kilowatt hour is 1,000 watts of power expended over one hour.

There are several ways to read a meter depending on the type of meter you have. This is just one way for the type of meter found on many homes and businesses.