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+-- Thread: Gas meter at each appliance? (/showthread.php?tid=7156724)
Gas meter at each appliance? - Cdshakes - 12-01-2015
Has anyone put any sort of meter to measure the gas used at each appliance? Kind of like a kill-a-watt meter, but for gas...
I'm always curious how much the water heater uses when i'm not actively using hot water...etc.
Colin
Re: Gas meter at each appliance? - fredhargis - 12-01-2015
May not be actually what you are looking for, but I have one of these hooked to the LP line going to my shop. You might have room for it on a water heater, but hooking it to other stuff like a range or dryer might be a little tricky. Mine isn't exactly that model, the one I got measures in cubic meters, which coincidentally is very close to 1 gallon of LP. I've had it hooked up now for 5 years and no problems...I bought just to satisfy my curiosity about how much LP I used heating my detached shop.
Re: Gas meter at each appliance? - Estrogen Hostage - 12-01-2015
Might be easier to install an hour meter. Most gas appliances are a fixed heating amount, so some simple math would let you know how much you are using.
Re: Gas meter at each appliance? - Cdshakes - 12-01-2015
Estrogen Hostage said:
Might be easier to install an hour meter. Most gas appliances are a fixed heating amount, so some simple math would let you know how much you are using.
i don't understand this-- it's not like the water heater just runs all day-- like a 60 watt light bulb i know uses 60 watts, when using it. If i know how much gas my water heater uses when the burner is on, great, but knowing how much it was on in a day, i have no idea how to calculate.
Colin
Re: Gas meter at each appliance? - Admiral - 12-02-2015
How about this: presuming your water heater has a 115v electrical connection of some sort, why not just get a simple electric clock and wire it into that circuit downstream of whatever control that switches the current on, so the clock runs while the heater draws power, then you will know how long the heater runs. Power vents could add some time, but you can measure how long the power vent trails the heating and deduct that time with some rough justice. Then you can calculate gas usage. Simple and cheap.
Re: Gas meter at each appliance? - Cdshakes - 12-02-2015
Admiral said:
How about this: presuming your water heater has a 115v electrical connection of some sort, why not just get a simple electric clock and wire it into that circuit downstream of whatever control that switches the current on, so the clock runs while the heater draws power, then you will know how long the heater runs. Power vents could add some time, but you can measure how long the power vent trails the heating and deduct that time with some rough justice. Then you can calculate gas usage. Simple and cheap.
interesting thought, but certainly wouldn't work for the water heater, as it doesn't hook up to electricity.
Colin
Re: Gas meter at each appliance? - Mr_Mike - 12-02-2015
The only thing I could figure out would be to monitor a Thermocouple in the flue and then, knowing the BTU rating of the appliance you could figure out usage.
On-line I could not find a gas meter for a single appliance.
Re: Gas meter at each appliance? - Woodenfish - 12-02-2015
Cdshakes said:
[blockquote]Estrogen Hostage said:
Might be easier to install an hour meter. Most gas appliances are a fixed heating amount, so some simple math would let you know how much you are using.
i don't understand this-- it's not like the water heater just runs all day-- like a 60 watt light bulb i know uses 60 watts, when using it. If i know how much gas my water heater uses when the burner is on, great, but knowing how much it was on in a day, i have no idea how to calculate.
Colin
[/blockquote]
I imagine the cost of such a device to measure to be far exceeding price of fuel consumed by a tremendous amount. If concerned about total gas usage and it is time for a replacement, the new regulations government has imposed this year upon newly manufactured water heaters are to have higher energy factors. Of course the new government mandate means that the new water heater will be much taller, wider, more expensive. The new mandate will yield a minutely 0.02% increase in efficiency with a payback of 4+ years on a item having a 6 year warranty. Such a deal?
Re: Gas meter at each appliance? - daddo - 12-05-2015
Cdshakes said:
Has anyone put any sort of meter to measure the gas used at each appliance? Kind of like a kill-a-watt meter, but for gas...
I'm always curious how much the water heater uses when i'm not actively using hot water...etc.
Colin
If I do stuff like this I'm just causing myself anguish. It won't change anything and my bill will be the same. We already conserve as reasonably as possible.
I bought a meter loop for the shop and installed it so I can get my credit on taxes. Now instead of seeing the little wheel going around, I see $$ signs spinning.
Re: Gas meter at each appliance? - EricU - 12-05-2015
probably will not be too long before all gas heaters have a controller on them, so the passive, no-electric heaters will be a thing of the past. It makes sense, even though gas is pretty cheap. This was supposed to be the law already, but they keep pushing back implementation.
The water heater I just bought will drop the temperature during low demand times and has provisions for the electric company to control it. Although we don't have demand pricing.