Today, utility bills “eat up” a significant part of the family budget. The total installation of counters on everything that is possible will help to solve this question. But if with light and water everything is more or less clear, then with the installation of gas meters there are a lot of problems. Are gas meters required? Is it worth it to install? How much will all this result in and what kind of savings will result? All these issues are ambiguous, and it is worth discussing them in more detail.
Who will be put on the counter
For some time, the installation of the mentioned equipment has become mandatory for not all consumers. Whether or not to install gas meters depends on how you use it. The consumption of blue fuel depends on this criterion. If you use gas exclusively for cooking, and in your apartment from gas appliances there is only a stove, then setting the meter or not depends on your desire. But if, in addition to the gas stove, you have a heating boiler or hot water heater that runs on gas, you will have to install the meter, and it does not matter if you want it or not. The installation of gas meters for such consumers (the law “On Energy Saving”, as amended on 12/29/14) does not blow, the only question is whether they will install them voluntarily or forcibly.
Regulations
Residents of apartments in which metering devices are not installed pay for used gas according to the standards:
- 12 m 3 per person for those households where only a stove is installed; in terms of money, this amounts to a little less than 60 rubles / person. per month;
- 24.5 m 3 for owners of a gas boiler or water heater, which in money is about 120 rubles per person.
Who should install gas meters? We do everything according to the rules
Those who nevertheless decided to install a gas meter should understand that this equipment refers to high-risk devices. That is why only a specialist who has received the appropriate certification can install a gas meter in the apartment. In no case should you trust this matter to neighbors or relatives, even if they have “golden hands”. You also need to pay attention to the fact that the invited master must be an employee of the particular company that supplies you with blue fuel. If this is not so, then even a correctly installed device will not be registered and registered. So in this case, it is best to adhere to certain rules.
Set the counter: step by step procedure
Since we have already found out that the installation of gas meters must be carried out by a gas industry specialist, the first thing to do is to contact the help desk of this organization. If you do not know the phone, look at the back of the receipt for payment that you receive monthly. The dispatcher will explain to you exactly where you need to apply for an application, specify the address, cabinet number and reception hours.
The next step will be a personal visit to the gas service - there you will need to write a statement. In addition, you will be asked for a passport, a document proving ownership of the dwelling (or lease agreement), as well as a receipt for payment for the use of gas over the past month (or several months), and they will check for the presence / absence of debts. After this, the specialist will appoint a day when you should expect the arrival of the master, who will make the necessary measurements.
Before the arrival of the gas service employee, consider where the meter will stand, while several parameters must be taken into account:
- height from the floor can not be less than 120 cm;
- the distance from the meter to appliances (gas) cannot be less than 80 cm.
Based on these data, you can independently determine the location of the meter and express your wishes to the master. Sometimes the meter can be placed in a hanging cabinet or behind a decorative shelf. If, after taking measurements and calculations, the master says that additional pipes will be needed, and the cost of work will increase, agree. Total costs will increase slightly, but not too aesthetic device will not "call your eyes" for many years.
After discussing all the details, we again go to the gas industry. Now you need to pay the cost of the project and installation work, as well as discuss with the master the date of installation of the meter.
The last step can be considered as sealing the device and registering it.
Pros and cons of installing the device
Before deciding whether to install gas meters, you should also try to weigh all the advantages and disadvantages of this process. Perhaps this will help make the right decision.
Pros:
- payment only for actually used blue fuel;
- the seasonal factor - as a rule, in summer gas consumption is much less, especially for those who use it for heating, so the "summer" costs of a communal apartment will become meager;
- it doesn’t matter how many people are registered in your apartment and how many of them actually live - you will pay only for what “hit” the meter.
Minuses:
- if 2 people are registered in the room and 8 live, then you should think about the rationality of installing the device;
- if you install a meter, then turn on the gas in the winter in order to additionally warm the room, it will become an expensive pleasure;
- the cost of the device itself can be quite high.
Gas meter selection
Answering positively the question of whether it is necessary to install gas meters, the consumer often faces another difficult task: how to choose the meter?
- First of all, the meter must have a quality certificate, and only those companies that have a special permit can sell it. Feel free to ask the seller about the availability of such documents and carefully study them.
- All counters are divided into membrane and rotary. The second ones are a little cheaper, but it is better to give preference to the first ones nevertheless - they are more reliable, do not let gas through and keep more accurate records.
- When choosing a meter, pay attention to the direction of the gas flow - from right to left or vice versa - it depends on the location of the gas pipe in your home.
- You need to choose a meter based on what kind of gas appliances you have in your house: if you have only a stove available, one appliance is suitable for you, but you need a different one for the boiler and the boiler.
- Since it is very important to choose a good and high-quality device, it is best to consult with several experts and choose the most suitable option before buying.
How much is it
So, the choice is made. We buy a gas meter. Its price can range from 1,500 to 15,000 rubles. It all depends on the quality, country of manufacture, model and inter-calibration interval. The bandwidth of the device is also important - the larger it is, the more expensive the device.
The cost of installing a gas meter can vary significantly depending on the region of residence. On average, you can bring these indicators:
- 2800 rub. - installation of the meter in the apartment without changing the wiring of the pipeline and the use of welding;
- 4500 rub. - the same, but with the use of welding and a change in the existing gas interchange;
- 6000 rub. - installation of the device in households / apartments equipped with water heaters and gas boilers, with a change in isolation and the use of welding work;
In addition, some components may additionally be needed - taps, gaskets, fittings, etc. - and this is another 100–2000 rubles. Well, of course, you should separately “thank” the installer, otherwise after the end of the work you run the risk of getting a cracked tile and carbonized walls from welding - the size of the “gratitude” is usually 300-500 rubles. Having made some simple calculations, we can say that installing a meter can cost from 3 to 10 thousand rubles. Pleasure, frankly, is not cheap, but how soon the gas meter will pay off, the price of which, by the way, is not the largest expense item, let's also figure it out.
Economic expediency
For example, consider two options:
1. Apartments that have only a gas stove.
As already mentioned, the installation of gas meters (law No. 261) is optional in this case, but maybe it is really beneficial? We count.
An average family of 3 lives in an apartment with centralized hot water supply, heating and without a gas meter. The consumption rate in this case is 10 m 3 / person. At a tariff of 4.50 per m 3, the family will pay 135 rubles / month. If you install a metering device, it turns out that residents consume on average no more than 5-6 cubic meters of gas per month, which means that they will have to pay about half less, that is, about 70 rubles, and this in the most extreme case, but in practice usually comes out far less. However, if you calculate all the costs of buying and installing a meter, you can see that it will pay off in eight to ten years. But there is one more nuance: if 3 people live in your apartment, but seven are registered, for example, then the savings can be very significant.
2. The apartment is equipped with a stove and a speaker.
For the most accurate comparison, we take the same family of three. The rate of gas use in this situation is 24.5 m 3 / person. With the same conditional cost of a cubic meter of blue fuel we have:
24.5 x 4.50 x 3 = 330.75 rubles.
Based on practice, we can say that in fact, in such houses, the meter “runs” much more than the norm, especially in winter. So many consumers who installed the meters were not satisfied with this situation: with the installation of an meter, they have to pay more - about 400-450 rubles. But here there is a peculiarity: the fact is that the column and the boiler are used only for several months a year, and in the summer the gas charge using the meter becomes meager. Thus, the total amount for the year will still come out much less than the normative.
Conclusion
In general, whether it is necessary to install gas meters, everyone decides for himself. To date, there are no penalties for their absence, but who knows what will happen in a year. There is a real possibility that after 2019, consumers who do not install metering devices will be forced to do this, and then the cost of installing a meter can increase many times.