Reading your electricity meter
/We’ve received a number of emails from residents querying their recent electricity bills and expressing concern that the readings provided on the bill differ significantly from those displayed on their meters. The difference is because the numbers displayed on the meters are not the usage readings, and to get the actual reading requires a bit of effort.
In your electricity cabinet (located in a hall cupboard) there are two meters*: a 'mains-talk' meter, and a slave meter. You can completely ignore the slave meter for the purpose of meter reading. To get the readings used in calculating your electricity consumption you need to cycle the display on the 'mains talk' meter (NB: there may be a perspex panel in front of the meters: in order to take your readings you will need to unscrew the plastic screws and remove this panel::.
press the red button located on the ‘mains talk’ meter until you see R1#####: make a note of the reading;
continue pressing the button until you see R4#####: make a note of the R4 reading*.
R4 meter reading = FCUs (the heating/cooling), heated bathroom floor and heated towel rails
R1 meter reading = everything else (including skirting heating and hot water trace heating)
To calculate your electricity consumption you will also need to have the reading(s) shown on your most recent bill.
Deduct the previous meter reading from your current reading to calculate your consumption. Add the R1 and R4* usage together to get your total electricity consumption.
*NB: One-bedrom apartments usually only have one meter and one reading.
More information on electricity can be found on the electricity page. Information on the kW consumption of individual apartments’ FCUs can be downloaded from the link on the FCUs page.