By Russ ad Tiña De Maris
Spend any amount of time at all in a commercial RV park and you’re apt to get a power bill. Since power is expensive anywhere, it’s a bitter pill for RVers when they’re likely to be presented with a bill for rates higher than the locals pay. We’ve all heard the “cost of reading the meter,” “administrative overhead,” and “Huh?” excuses.
How do you know if you’re actually being billed for what you’ve used? In many parks, old-style clock-type electric meters are used. Many folks just don’t have a clue as to how to “read” them. Digital meters are a lot easier, but not nearly as common.
Here’s how to read a clock-type meter
Remember that each of the hands represents a single digit of the present reading. It’s helpful to recall that some hands turn clockwise, others counterclockwise. When the hand is between numbers, that hand is always read to the lower number.
In the picture, the reading on the meter is 43304. It may be difficult to discern that the second three (or the third hand reading from left to right) is really a 3.
Why difficult to discern? When the pointer is close to being directly on a number, you have to determine whether it has actually reached the number yet, or not. The giveaway is simple: If the hand to the right of the one in question is past the zero, then the hand in question is to be read as higher. And remember: When meters are read, they are NOT reset to zero.
So when you “check in” to your RV site, read the meter and write down the figures, or take a picture with your cell phone. To practice, you might read it every day to get the hang of it, and to see how little power RVers use—unless, of course, you’re running the air conditioner!
To know how much power or kilowatt-hours you’ve used, simply subtract the earlier reading from the present reading. Knowledge, as they say, is power.
RELATED
- Is there a meter to test campground outlets for amps?
- Can campgrounds legally charge a flat fee for electricity when pedestals are metered?
DID YOU KNOW that RVtravel.com includes more than 700 articles about RV electricity? Wow! Check out the long list of topics.
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RVDT2826
Flip the breaker to confirm the meter disc stops spinning else you might find you’re paying for the shower house.
I have hosted at several parks and read meters to bill campers many times.
you need to be up on state and county laws.
Arizona statues say that a Rv park cannot charge over the residential price per kw hour.
So if the residential charge is .15 per kw hr that what is charged.
or supposed to be charged.
With a service charge applied.
I live in Southern California, and our electric bill has 18 rows of charges and credits. On one page, Southern California Edison states that my average cost per Kw is .18 cents. Which is a total lie. It is like saying the gasoline cost is this, but that is before we send it to the gas station and before we add taxes. When I divide the actual cost by the Kw used, my cost is .42 cents a Kw. So more than double what SCE says it is.
I’ve always taken a picture of meters. I also have a power watchdog that has Bluetooth connection. I can see just how much I am using with each device turned on and how much total until reset.
Now, how do we read the digital meter?