How do OVO convert gas units to Kwh on a smart meter?

Anyone want to take a stab at this? Bear in mind I don't have a smart meter so the readings are actual. 

As an example of one statement. On checking my last statement re my meter readings my recorded gas usage was 67 ft3.

Converted to cubic metres is 189.7229

Converted to kWh is 2122.3869

Ovo charged me for 2138 kwh

Hey @NoiseMaker,

You’ll need to convert the volume you used to the energy value, you’ll need your calorific value to do this. Check the best answer for info on where to find this. 

Here’s the calculation for Imperial meters:

(Number of gas units used) x 1.02264 (Volume correction, which takes into account changes such as temperature and pressure) x 39.42 (an average Calorific value) / 3.6 (conversion to Kwh) x 2.83 (adjustment for imperial units) = Usage in Kwh
 

Here’s the calculation for Metric meters: 

(Number of gas units used) x 1.02264 (Volume correction, which takes into account changes such as temperature and pressure) x 39.42 (an average Calorific value) / 3.6 (conversion to Kwh) = Usage in Kwh

Yes. I've seen this. So please go ahead and apply that to my meter reading above and tell me your answer at each stage. Don't forget,  you're using the 67 ft3 to start.

We really need to see the calorific value used on your statement, @NoiseMaker, if you need this looking  into as it is account specific, please reach out to the team. 

You can send us a message on Facebook, Twitter, webchat via the Help Centre. You can reach our team on: 0330 303 5063. Our opening hours are 8am-6pm Monday to Friday.

Thanks!

Hi @NoiseMaker. I gave quite a full answer to this very issue over here on another Topic last year.

Hi Everybody

I’m trying to figure out roughly how much per hour it costs me to have my heating on.

I swithched my heating on for 1 hour and did readings just before and just after.  I used 0.765 m3.  How on earth do I tell how much that is in kWh so I can tell roughly how much per hour my heating costs?  I know it can vary due to temp of gas …etc etc , but I just want a ball park figure?

I make it 88p but prepared to be corrected !!

(assuming calorific value average figure of 39.2)

(vol x calval x 1.02264) / 3.6

assuming 10.3 p/kWh

Thanks!  The calculation is very complicated for me!  

I check my app nearly every day, checking my KWH (as opposed to cost). I figured the kwh don't change, I use what I use each day (I am on a smart meter).

I checked all through Dec and every say was between 11 and 13 kwh. HOWEVER, I go in on the day I am billed and every single day in Dec shows TWICE as many kwh used as when I was checking.

Question - why did my kwh change? I didn't suddenly use more kwh once I got my bill! Has this happened to anyone else? I am writing everything down this month and taking screwn shots as proof should OVO do that again!!!!

Hi @KayCommis have you checked your meter readings? If so are these actual or estimated? (They might still be estimated at some times even with a smart meter). This might be the reason. Otherwise, depending on your heating, it was much colder during that time so your heating probably use more

But the app tells me about 2 days later what I used on the day.... so for example, on the 13th of the month the app will tell me my exact daily use of 11th of the month. 

I thought smart readers meant that I don't need to send meter readings anymore?

Generally yes but they can occasionally lose signal so it’s worth just checking what it says against your meter readings

https://account.ovoenergy.com/meter-readings

So here is my electricity meter reading page for example. If it is working perfectly you will see a reading every day with the word Smart next to it. 

My Liberty EG4v10 meter was installed in 2015. So an early one.
Can anyone tell me if the original readings were in cu ft or cu M?
Thanks.

Hey @carmelsdad26 ,

Sure thing! That meter - and all Smart Gas Meters - uses Metric measurements, so it’d be Cubic Metres. The last known install of an Imperial Gas Meter was something like 20+ years ago at this point which would have been long before Smart Meters were even being designed.

Hope this helps!

I’m submitting meter readings manually each day after the central heating goes off at night so they reflect gas usage that day. Gas usage that appears in my account bears no relation to what is submitted. Why? 

I used to have to send in readings for gas, and it can be confusing for a couple of reasons.

the system of daily usage and ‘live balance’ is set up for smart meters.

So when you submit a manual reading ot is attributed to the previous midnight - the midnight at the start of the day that you submitted it. (Because that's basically what smart meters do, usage up to midnight each day is sent/collected the next day).

Then with gas there is a question of how long that takes to get reflected in the figures that you see in the usage chart online or in the app.

To start with those figures will be ‘guesstimates’ but they will change later as your readings are taken into account and the Calorific Values for that day known.

Your reading is in cubic metres which has to be converted into kWh by multiplying it the CV (and a conversion factor).

It all means that the online usage figures for gas can take a while to change from estimated to actual.

But in the end it's what your monthly billing says that matters.

Your gas usage on your bill is charged in kWh, not in the units shown on your meter.

You can, however, approximate the conversion from the units used according to your meter to kWh. The approximation depends on the units measured by your meter (it will be shown on the meter) as m³ or ft³.

To approximate gas units to kWh in the UK, multiply metric (m³) units by 11.2 or imperial (ft³)  units by 31.7.

For instance, I have used about 2 units on February 6th. My meter measures in m³. So, using the approximate conversion 2 X 11.2, I have used about 22.4 kWh of gas. 

This is a useful “guesstimate”.

Hey ​@Lindsay23 

I’m glad to see a couple of our community members have already stopped by with some really helpful advice here, I hope you’ve found that helpful.

As they’ve suggested, the bill each month is what we’ll have calculated and you’ll be charged, the live billing system, especially while traditional meter readings are being submitted, will simply catch up and that reading will be attached to a single day, rather than the time it was submitted in the day.

I do have a few questions here just to gain some clarity, which section of the account are you looking at when you see this? Can you see the meter readings you’ve been submitting on the meter readings page, do they match what you’ve been submitting? You should be able to view a full rundown of all the meter readings you’ve previously sent us by clicking ‘view reading history’. 

I’m also wondering if your bills have been using the meter readings you’ve been submitting, are those accurate? These are where your actual usage is broken down, and these should be accurate. If you’d be able to share some more detail, it will help us better understand if there’s an issue or if it’s just the live billing system.

The following topic may also be helpful here:

And if you’ve not looked into one already, we’d definitely recommend having smart meters installed - that way we can calculate your usage even more accurately with half hourly readings. Check out the topic below for more:

Let us know how you get on, or if you could provide some more information, we’ll try our best to help.

There is a smart meter but, for a second time, it has ceased sending readings - engineer not due to arrive until 17th of this month.

I’ve started taking gas meter readings, not because I’m disputing the bills, but to get to grips with a new boiler and control system in order to optimise the settings. However what I have noticed is that there doesn’t seem to be a great deal of correlation between the readings sent and what appears in Usage.  In answer to Abby_OVO’s questions, I can see the meter readings that I’ve submitted in the Meter Readings areas which are all in cubic metres. I’m then referring to the Usage section to see daily usage (now converted in KWH’s). I’d expect to see a pattern being followed but there isn’t.

To give an example the cu mtrs used per the meter readings for the first 8 days of February are :

11.41      12.93     14.48    15.65    14.9     16.11      13.5         10.7

but the KWH usage levels recorded in my account are :

156.45   168.25   190.97   179.76   191    168.11    123.35     134.42

The later entries seem well out. I used the highest amount of 16.11 on the 6th but usage in my account is a lot less than several other days. Also the usage on the 8th was the lowest at 10.7 yet a lot higher than the previous day in my account. 

What is the explanation?

Apologies! The KWH usage levels in the last post should read :

144.39    156.69    179.53    168.31    179.53    156.69    111.92    134.42

I errorneously sent the combined gas and electricity usage in the last post.

I can also now see that despite the fact that I’m entering the date of the reading it might actually be recorded as a day early in my account as there is a far greater correlation between the 2 sets of figures when read that way. But there’s 2 usages of 179.53 and 2 of  156.69 recorded but the cubic metres used have never been identical. 

On the Gas Details page of every bill, you will see this information. It shows the calculation that is made to convert meter units to kWh. I have underlined the most important part of this statement. The calorific value changes each day (and is different in different areas of the country) so that is why the same unit usage on different days may be produce a different result when converted. 

I have underlined the most important part of this statement. 
  

Old pedant back again … the OPSS guidance on calculating gas bills states quite categorically that “gas transporters are required to maintain [the CV] within 38 MJ/m³ to 41 MJ/m³”. I haven’t been able to find where this requirement comes from. 

This means that the kWh/m³ quick conversion factor (you quoted 11.2) ranges from 10.8 to 11.6. If the kWh figures you see are outside this range, there’s something wrong.

Using Lindsay’s revised figures and applying her one-day shift between readings and consumption, the reverse-calculated CVs are within the permitted range - apart from the latest. That’s not totally surprising: CVs are usually published the day after sampling sampling, but they aren’t finalized until a day or two later.

The actual day-by-day CVs for each zone are published by National Gas.

Lindsay’s figures look quite reasonable.