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deborah9684 · Joined: 10 May 2006 Posts: 6 Location: spain and UK

can anyone help, my electricity meter is not calibrated, what does this mean to my consumption of electricity?

i am confused, i cant find any answers on the web

deb

thescruff · Moderator Joined: 03 May 2003 Posts: 4754 Location: Bath

Unusual for them to go wrong, who said it wasn't calibrated.

Electricity bill will be high or low and your supplier will adjust the bill, based on your past average account.

Vince will come on later and give you the proper answer.

deborah9684 · Joined: 10 May 2006 Posts: 6 Location: spain and UK

Hi there the scruff thanks for your reply, maybe i ought to give you the whole story, i live is spain and am on builders supply electricity at the moment, most of my neighbours are also on the same supply, we all have seperate metres, and everyones metre looks the same apart from mine!! All the neighbours have a small white disc running around but mine doesnt, my is just a set of numbers(with some numbers at the end whizzing around) that the builder reads when he wants to give me a bill, however my electricity is double and sometimes treble to that of my neighbours, and someone said to me that my meter is not a correct meter and was not calibrated!! now i dont even know what the word calibrated means, and the person who said it was not calibrated is not a proper electrician, so i thought i would speak to you guys and get the facts before i speak to my builder.

Deb

thescruff · Moderator Joined: 03 May 2003 Posts: 4754 Location: Bath

Vince will be on later and should know.

Any chance of a picture of the meter.

deborah9684 · Joined: 10 May 2006 Posts: 6 Location: spain and UK

Hi again thescruff, i have just been and taken a photo of my meter and a photo of what everyone else has, how do i send photos on this site or do i need to email you directly?

deb

thescruff · Moderator Joined: 03 May 2003 Posts: 4754 Location: Bath

You need to save the photo and post the img tags or send them to me and I'll do it for you

thescruff · Moderator Joined: 03 May 2003 Posts: 4754 Location: Bath

vince knight · Posted: Wed May 10, 2006 8:00 pm Post subject:

Deborah

The meter shown in the pictures is not adjustable and is factory sealed.
The more electricity you pull through the meter the stronger the magnetic field in the meter becomes and drives the disc faster which in turn moves the numbers.
Are you sure you are the only one connected to the meter?

Vince

deborah9684 · Joined: 10 May 2006 Posts: 6 Location: spain and UK

the builder assures me i am the only one connected to this meter, however i think he is taking the piss, but i dont understand the mechanics of electricity. When i received the first bill i thought that maybe i was paying for the whole valley, and that a mistake had happened.

The builder keeps assuring me that i am paying the same as everyone else and i must be using more electricity. i have checked with the neighbours and i am not using any m ore appliances than them. In fact i am nearly at blackout level. the builder is coming to see me tomorrow, what do you suggest i say to him. I have refused to pay the last 4 bills,which he seems ok about, but think he is taking advantage of me.

Would it make any difference if i had the same meter as everyone else??

knowledge is king and i dont have it on this subject!!

kind regards
Deb

vince knight · Posted: Wed May 10, 2006 9:23 pm Post subject:

make sure the wires that come out of the meter on the right hand side as you look at it go into your house only and not into another junction box and split off to somewhere else.
If you have a main switch in your house switch it off then look at the meter and see if it is still moving, if it is then you are not the only one using that meter.

Vince

thescruff · Moderator Joined: 03 May 2003 Posts: 4754 Location: Bath

Vince, some confussion is in order. Laughing

Deborah's meter is the white one.

vince knight · Posted: Thu May 11, 2006 6:19 am Post subject:

I must learn to speed read properly Embarassed

I have never seen the small whte meter before, but it is possable to set them to different tariffs. Get the builer to prove to you it is set the same as everybody elses.

Vince

deborah9684 · Joined: 10 May 2006 Posts: 6 Location: spain and UK

I am being charged the same as everyone else, its the number of units that i am supposably using that i think is the issue, could my meter be moving faster than the black ones that my neighbours have? also is it possible for someone else to be wired into my white unit, if so how do i find out, i have access to the meter so i could look for extra wires if thats what i need to do?

deb

b · Posted: Thu May 11, 2006 5:49 pm Post subject:

If Deborah shuts off the main in her place and the digital numbers continue to increase in the white display, then she is not the only one using the power in that meter... like Vince suggested earlier in this post. Sounds like a good start.
b

deborah9684 · Joined: 10 May 2006 Posts: 6 Location: spain and UK

Thankyou, i will try that today and will let you know!

Deb