thanks again for your help ahead of time.


my natural gas bill showed 179 cubic feet this month, compared with 33 last month and 15 the month before.
on average my usage is between 15-35 cubic feet per month in the summer in texas.

my bill was very high this month. the only nat gas products i have are, oven, gas heater, gas drier, and gas water heater. with no appliances on the meter was not showing flow. so i don't think i have a leak in the pipes or in the house. the stove, drier, and gas heater are all under 2-3 years old. the water heater is from 1989, and i think that it is the problem, should i just go ahead and replace it?

or does anyone have any other suggestions

thanks
tommie
ltw@pdq.net

 

Hello Tommie

There are always several possibilities why a gas bill is high. I could not cover each one in a text only format such as this. However, I could offer you two.

The meter was misread.
Ask the gas company to reread the meter or ask how you can learn to read it. Check your reading with that on the bill. Misreadings do happen and gas companies do billing corrections when an error is proven to exist.

There could be a hot water leak, especially in concrete slab flooring without you knowing it. A hot water leak small enough not to be heard around the house could exist and cause the water heater burner to cycle on for long periods of time. This would cause the bill to reflect a high cubic footage of gas useage and a high bill.

In the above possibility, your water bill will also reflect higher water useage. If you suspect a hot water leak in a slab floor, check for warm spots in the concrete. Check for water useage at the water meter when all water faucets and water useage appliances are not on.

Regards & Good Luck
Forum Moderator
Tom_Bartco
Energy Conservation Consultant & Natural Gas Appliance Diagnostics Technician.

 

thanks,

ill check the water meter and check and make sure they read the meter properly.

tommie

 

tom_bartco,

i have been watching the gas meter since i noticed the bill.
the reading they took was right. the reading that was on the bill for 8-16 was 9371. i read the meter on 9-5 and it was 9376 and read it again this morning 9-7 at 9377.

i think there probally was a problem with the meter reading before. what do you think? does this sound right?

thanks
tommie