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Would anyone kindly help with converting a very old imperial meter reading to kwh please?

  • March 7, 2023
  • 64 replies
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BPLightlog
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  • March 4, 2024

Hi @Richard Gascoyne , your gas meter normally reads in either cubic feet or cubic metres. 
Was your reading different somehow?

For kw, there’s no ‘imperial’ kw .. a kw is a kw  

The difference is in the meter reading in feet or metres

The conversion from those readings are 

Also, which particular price hike are you talking about?


Firedog
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  • March 4, 2024

… your gas meter normally reads in either cubic feet or cubic metres. 
 

Just to add to BP’s comment, some meters are capable of showing both volume and kWh, so you have to look carefully to see which number you’re looking at. I don’t think any gas meter produced this century will measure cubic feet (ft³, cu.ft.); they’re all cubic metres (m³) now. 

We have seen recently a case where a customer submitted the kWh reading from his meter instead of the m³ reading the system expects; the conversion is only approximate, so the supplier (e.g. OVO) will do the conversion using the appropriate daily CV as BP’s picture shows. Perhaps this is what you did back then.  


  • Newcomer
  • September 12, 2025

Can someone explain please- this gas metter reads in Single ft cubic or 100s of cubic feet?! 
 

I decided to give this metter reading to my gas company and they have treated it as : 

14.6990 Estimated reading

244.0000 Customer reading

229.3010 Units (100s of ft cubic) 

 

and this jumps my bill to 700£ debit even though I have paid gas regularly ! 
 

From gov website not all the imperial gas measure in 100s of ft cubic) but EDF wont agree! 
 When turn it into cubic meters they calculate it by 2.83 instead of 0.0283 ! 
 

Am i wrong? Can anyone help? Thnx


Blastoise186
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  • September 12, 2025

Hi ​@Evaaa ,

It looks like you posted a new thread by mistake. Don’t panic! I can get this fixed for you. I’ll arrange to have this merged back into the existing thread and we’ll carry on from there.

@Ben_OVO could I borrow the keys to the towtruck real quick? :)


Firedog
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  • September 12, 2025

Can someone explain please- this gas metter reads in Single ft cubic or 100s of cubic feet?! 
... When turn it into cubic meters they calculate it by 2.83 instead of 0.0283 ! 
  

The meter is measuring in single ft³, but for submission to the supplier, you should give only the first four digits and ignore the ones highlighted in red. The meter in your picture is reading 0244 (x100 ft³). To convert a volume in 100s of ft³ to m³, multiply by 2.83.

What was the last actual reading you submitted before this one?

 


  • Newcomer
  • September 12, 2025

They have been estimating it this whole time! Dont know if i have ever given a reading since moved in.

their bill was  :

14.6990 Estimated reading

244.0000 Customer reading

229.3010 Units (100s of ft cubic) 
 

in the gov web it says that not all imperial meters would read it in 100 of cubic feet! 
 There are single ft3 meters thaw would need to multiply by 0.0028…

and there are the 100s of ft3 that multiply by 2.28…

 


And my meter looks like reads it on single ft cubic instead of 100s of cubic feet?! 
From what i read online the single red 0 also indicates that it is in single ft3 


BPLightlog
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  • September 12, 2025


And my meter looks like reads it on single ft cubic instead of 100s of cubic feet?! 
From what i read online the single red 0 also indicates that it is in single ft3 

Actually no .. see the two red digits (at the end, one fixed, the other moving), both are to be ignored and are the two digits after the hundreds reading


  • Newcomer
  • September 12, 2025

So for example to get the used kWH for this reading! 
I need to convert it into cubic meters ! 

The conversion factor from cubic feet to cubic metres is 0.0283 therefore:

  • 1 cubic foot = 0.0283 cubic metres
  • 100 cubic feet = 2.83 cubic metres

MY METTER READING : 244 cubic foot

244 cubic foot x 0.0283 =  6.9052 cubic meters
 

Edf converts it using the 2.83 factor! Charging me for over 7000kwh and thai is why it does not make sense to me?! 
 


Firedog
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  • September 12, 2025

… to get the used kWH for this reading! 
I need to convert it into cubic meters ! 
  

No - that has little meaning. The reading is 0244. This represents the volume of gas that has passed through the meter since it was installed. Since that appears to have been 35 years ago, it’s likely that the meter’s dials have rolled over (passed 9999), possibly more than once. It’s impossible to say from your photo whether the total volume having passed through the meter is 24,400 ft³ or 1,024,400 ft³ or even more. 

You need to know what the reading was at some earlier date - when did you move in? There must have been a reading then to make it possible for you to open an account with a supplier. You should have taken it and submitted it yourself, but if you didn’t, your account may have been based on the last reading submitted before you moved in, either by the previous occupant or the landlord if this is a rented property. 

Once you have an earlier reading, you subtract it from the current one to find the volume consumed in the intervening period. Once you have the volume in 100s of ft³, multiply by 2.83 to convert to m³ and then use the formula BP showed you to arrive at the equivalent kWh used. 

 


  • Newcomer
  • September 12, 2025

Thank you very much for your time! 
so i found on my first bill that my first ever reading sent to EDF was 9424 on Feb 2023---


  • Newcomer
  • September 12, 2025

While the last estimation made from them  is  :

14.6990 Estimated reading

5 Sep 2025

244.0000 Customer reading

 

 

Consumption

229.3010 Units (100s of

f3


Firedog
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  • September 12, 2025

… my first ever reading sent to EDF was 9424 on Feb 2023---
  

Now we’re getting somewhere!  That was a long time ago, but we can now assume that the meter reached 9999 sometime after you moved in, started again at 0000 and has now reached 0244. Over those 2½ years, then, you seem to have used 820 units of gas, or perhaps 27 per month on average. 

27 x 2.83 = 76 m³ which equates to something of the order of 850 kWh, probably £50 or £60 each month on average, plus, of course, the standing charge of around £9 a month. If this is very different from the amounts you’ve been paying, you’re either in for a nice windfall or a major shock to the wallet. I’m afraid that with the latest estimated reading you showed above being so much lower than the actual one, you may be presented with a big bill. If it’s too big to manage, your supplier will make it easier for you by giving you time to pay, so call them when you get the bill. 


  • Newcomer
  • September 13, 2025

So i have been paying 60£ direct debit every single month for the past yeras for both energy snd gas! But once in three month EDF would sent me a gas bill usually for over 150£ which has been paid too! 
Now when i decided to give this metter reading they did sent me a 700£ debit! 
 

The reason why i was sceptic about is the fact that it is too much  and smth seems off because i have already paying and it still is to high debit after the redading! 

i have raised a complain to them but for the fact that i believe they mis calculate it...now i am lost ahha! Thank you very much for the explain! 
 


Nukecad
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  • September 13, 2025

I would also be pushing EDF to fit a new gas meter, the one in your image has a date of 1990 on it so it’s 35 years old.

(They may be reluctant to change it though, some gas meters could be certified for 40 years).