You can measure the amount of electricity or natural gas you use in your home much the same way you measure the distance you travel in your car. For example, when you want to find out how far a particular destination is from your home, you check your vehicle’s odometer before you begin your trip and again after you reach your destination. Your electric and gas meters work in a similar way. To find out how much gas or electricity you've used in a day, month or billing cycle, simply read your meter before and after a given period of time. This will help you manage not only your energy usage, but also your costs associated with electricity or natural gas use.

Imagine that your meter dials are numbered 1, 2, 3 and 4, from left to right (note that some meters may have 2, 4 or 5 dials. However, the sequence of rotation and the readings are the same).  The hands on the odd-numbered dials (1, 3 and sometimes 5) move counter-clockwise, while the hands on the even-numbered dials (2 and 4) move clockwise. The hands on all of the dials move from 0 to 9. In reading the meter, start on dial 1 and note the last number the hand passed, not the number the hand is heading toward. Follow the same routine for each dial until all have been read.  The illustration shows a reading of 5-1-3-9.

A month later, you check and note the readings on your meter again. This time the reading is 5-6-9-5. Simply, subtract the previous month’s reading from the current month’s reading. The difference is the number of kilowatt hours you have used since the first reading (5695 - 5139 = 556 kilowatt hours).

You can follow the same procedure with your gas meter, but be sure to disregard the test dials at the top of the meter. Also remember that your measurement reflects hundreds of cubic feet of gas used rather than kilowatt hours.