They run gas and water to your house and keep your heater and hot water running, but do you know where your gas and water meters are, what they look like, and how to turn them off in an emergency? We've created a guide (with pictures!) for all these questions and more.
Usually, your water meter will be located close to the front of the property, often just inside the front fence near a garden tap.
Here is a gallery of common Australian water meters.
There is a valve next to the water meter known as the shut-off or stop valve. Turn this clockwise when you need to turn all water to your house off (such as if there is a bad leak or flooding).
Your gas meter is normally located directly next to your house, normally on the front left or right of your house. If you live in a unit, apartment or townhouse, you will usually find your gas meter in the same location as your other meters, all in one central area.
Here are some pictures of Australian gas meters.
There is a valve attached to your gas meter. If the handle is in line with the pipe underneath, gas is flowing from the meter to your house. You can rotate the valve 90 degrees so that it reaches a horizontal position to turn your gas off (if there is a gas leak or related issues).
Water retailers are responsible for maintaining the water service up to and including the property meter.
For many suburbs north of the Melbourne CBD, Yarra Valley Water is the water retailer. View the list of Melbourne water retailers here.
As the property owner, you are responsible for monitoring and maintaining all of the plumbing pipework and fittings on your private property (including the pipe running from the water meter to your residence, and any internal plumbing within your residence). If a leak occurs in any pipe on your property, you are responsible for having the leak fixed and for the cost of the water.
Gas distributors, such as the Australian Gas Network are responsible for maintenance and work on the gas meter and the gas distribution network (the pipes and mains that connect to your gas meter from the street). Gas retailers take the meter readings, but are not responsible for meter repairs or maintenance. View the list of Australian authorised gas retailers here.
As the property owner, you are responsible for all the piping downstream (away) from your gas meter to your appliances. You are also responsible for the gas appliance themselves, and their associated fittings (flues/ducts etc). If a gas leak occurs in the piping between your gas meter and your appliances, you should contact a licensed gas fitter to arrange a repair, such as the team at Expert Plumbing (03) 9486 5907.
You can read your own meters to help monitor your electric or gas energy use. During the heating season, your energy use should be compared to the number of heating degree days for the same time period; during the cooling season, compare your energy use to the number of cooling degree days.
Heating and cooling degree days are a simple measure of the effect of weather on your energy needs: using the average temperature for each day, each degree Fahrenheit below 65°F is counted as one heating degree day, and each degree Fahrenheit above 65°F is counted as one cooling degree day. Your heating and cooling use should be proportional to the number of heating and cooling degree days for the time period in question. A comparison can be made against the same time period from the previous year.
You may also wish to contact your local utility companies for more information about reading your meter. If monthly information is good enough, your utility bills could have all the information you need. Just be sure the bills are based on actual, not estimated, meter readings, and be aware of when the meter was read, because the time period between readings can vary. Contact your local utility if you are uncertain about this.