Camping Los Gallardos

 How do your electric meters work?

An electric meter is an amazingly simple device. Its job is to keep track of the amount of electricity you use, measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh). One kilowatt-hour of electricity will light a 100-watt bulb for 10 hours, and you will be charged per kWh at the going rate (guaranteed until June 2009!)

Once every two months (or at the end of your stay) your meter will be read and punched into our computer. The previous reading is subtracted from the current reading to calculate the number of kilowatt-hours used during the month, and we then bill you for the amount. If in a mobile home, your meter should be in a small housing between your pitch and your neighbours (two meters to a housing), if in a caravan then your meter will be in a housing together with some 4/6 more. Direct access to meters is prohibited and all housings should be locked at all times.

So, how do our meters work?

All of our meters are made in the UK to EU specifications and installed under the supervision of the local agents of Sevillana Endesa (our local electrical supplier).

Think back to your physical science class. Electricity flowing through a conductor creates a magnetic field. The more electricity that flows, called current, the stronger the magnetic field. The meter’s aluminum disk sits directly in that magnetic field. The stronger the field, the faster the disk turns. The disk is connected to a series of gears that turn a dial. Meter readers record the number from that dial.

If you have a high bill, it is almost impossible to blame the meter. If something’s wrong with an electrical device or appliance, the high meter reading is just a symptom. Like any other mechanical device, a mechanical electric meter tends to slow down with age, not speed up. That’s due to wear on the gears and other mechanical parts. So if anything, your meter is probably under reading the true amount of power you are using!

In fact, a meter is a wonderful tool for tracking down inefficient appliances, and something you can use yourselves if you suspect you are having trouble with your appliances. Just unplug (not just switch off, as many appliances continue to draw power even when switched off) different appliances to view the changes in electrical consumption.

Tags: electric, meter, reading, utilities

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 at 10:26 am and is filed under Living or Staying at Camping Los Gallardos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

 Email This Post  Print This Page