Nowadays, tariffs for electricity, water, gas are constantly growing. Living in an apartment, as well as in a private house, it becomes profitable to use meters. With them, a person pays less for utilities per month than at the general rate. Many citizens are wondering if a gas meter is required in an apartment. And some ask what the tariff for gas services will be if the device is not installed in the house.
There are rules for installing a gas meter in an apartment. It is worth getting acquainted with them in detail. We will talk about this later in our article.
Is it mandatory to install such meters in an apartment?
Since 2015, federal law obliged residents of homes, who consume more than two cubic meters of gas per hour, to install meters. For failure to comply with the law shall be fined.
The government is gradually preparing citizens to pass a law on the mandatory installation of gas meters in an apartment. Many support this decision and begin to install these devices in advance. There are also opponents of the said law. Before the legislation on the installation of a gas meter in the apartment is adopted, they categorically refuse to install them in their homes.
Many gas companies call residents of apartment buildings, offering free installation of appliances until a certain time. According to representatives of gas services, later the installation will be paid. Some scare people with sanctions.
People who have already installed gas metering devices note that they began to save on utility bills. The benefits have become tangible. To obtain a positive result, you need to responsibly approach the issue of choosing a counter. If you install a suitable device, then after the first month of use, cost savings will become apparent.
How to choose a suitable device?
Before buying a counter in the apartment, it is necessary to identify some nuances. These include:
- How many people in the apartment consume gas.
- What should be the air temperature for the meter to work properly.
- What will be the diameter of the thread on the counter.
- How the device is connected.
- What is the acceptable period of its use.
- What distance must be maintained between the gas exit centers.
You need to know that each counter has its own notation. Devices are marked depending on how much gas they pass through themselves. For example, if residents of an apartment consume about 2.5 cubic meters per hour, then the meter will indicate G-2.5.
In private homes, the controller is installed on the street. In such cases, you need to buy a device with a temperature compensator. It must be borne in mind that the temperature can be up to minus thirty degrees, and without a temperature compensator the meter will not work.
The size of the gas pipe in the apartment is different from that in a private house. The average size is 1/2 inch. In some cases, even an inch is installed.
The gas supply in the device can be on the left side, in some devices on the right side. To understand which device is needed, you need to know how the gas consumers are located around the meter fixation point.
Can I use the device after the end of its life?
It is important to know that after the end of the service life, the gas meter must be changed. Otherwise, deviations will appear in his testimony. They can be up, and down. The service life is calculated from the date of manufacture of the device. It can be seen in the passport of the device.Periodically, when using one device, it must be checked.
What should be done before installing the gas controller?
Installing a gas meter in an apartment is quite complicated work. It is best to invite experts to carry it out.
Before installing gas meters in the apartment, you must:
- Compose and send a request to the gas company. Together with her, you need to give some documents. It is important not to forget about the passport of the owner of the apartment, as well as take the project for installing gas in the house. You will need a subscription book and an apartment plan. The landlord must have a contract in his hands, which is drawn up for equipment maintenance.
- The next step will be to invite the master to the apartment. He must personally take measurements. The wizard decides whether additional measurements will be required. The total amount for work of this kind will depend on the place where the house is located, as well as on the type of work.
- The wizard installs the device. When the operation is completed, then the workers need to ask for paper with the calculations. These papers will be required to seal the room.
Is it possible to independently install this controller?
In order to mount the device yourself, it is important to know the installation standards of the gas meter in the apartment. So, it can be set to a height of not more than 1.6 meters. The operating instructions indicate the requirements in accordance with which the installation should take place:
- When working, you should indent from the wall to five centimeters. In this case, the meters will not corrode. In the room where the meter should stand, air ventilation is mandatory, mostly natural.
- If the gas controller is installed on the street, then it is better to make a special cabinet for it or install a canopy. The appliance must not be wet with rain or snow.
An important nuance is that a gas specialist evaluates the correct installation of the meter only before sealing. If he reveals any violations, the owner of the apartment will have to reinstall the controller again.
What is checked before putting the gas meter into operation?
Before starting to use the gas controller for its intended purpose, specialists find out whether it is suitable for work. Checks for malfunctions during the passage of fuel through the device. Possible gas leaks are detected. The main task of specialists is to check whether the device is really ready for work. With proper operation, the meter regularly measures the fuel consumed.
When the device is approved for use, the owner of the premises receives a special act. It states that the device is really working and can be used to measure gas flow.
What is a filling?
The law on the installation of gas meters in apartments requires residents to seal meters.
When the owner has in his hands all the necessary documents for sealing, he needs to buy a seal on his own. In the next five days, a gas service officer will come. He must check that the gas controller has been installed correctly.
If the specialist did not find any installation errors, then he will seal the device. There are times when the device does not pass the gas service test. In this case, he is considered illegal. When paying for gas, the readings of such a device will not be counted. Billing will take place at the rate set for all.
What is verification for?
The rules for installing a gas meter in the apartment say that periodically you need to check the instruments.
This procedure is necessary to identify inconsistencies of the devices to established standards. The gas supplier must be aware that the device is making accurate changes. There should not be deviations up or down.
According to the rules for installing a gas meter in an apartment, verification must be carried out before commissioning.And the next procedure is carried out after repair of the meter.
Each gas meter has a passport. This document has a specific deadline. After a specified period of time, verification must be repeated. The owner of an apartment or house is obliged to give a meter in a timely manner to identify defects in a timely manner.
What determines the price for the services of a specialist in installing a gas meter?
Many citizens note that installing a gas meter in an apartment by a specialist can cost differently in the same apartment building. The total amount for the work done is influenced by a number of factors:
- How many people living in the apartment use gas.
- Do you need welding work to install the equipment.
- How long pipes will be required for the meter.
- At whose expense were purchased fittings and pipes. It is also important who paid for the gas meter itself.
As a rule, the cost of installation work in apartments where there is only a gas stove is lower than in the presence of a column. When installing two counters or more, it is necessary to take readings from them monthly.
In different cities, the cost of services is also significantly different from each other. For example, installing a gas meter in an apartment in Volgograd will cost much less than in Moscow. On average, the cost of this operation is from 3 to 3.6 thousand rubles.
When working with controllers, you must observe safety precautions, as well as prepare the necessary tools. These include screwdrivers, scissors, and a drill.
Conclusion
So, we examined how and why the installation of a gas meter is performed. As you can see, there are a lot of requirements for controllers. It is also important to know all the installation rules. Only in this way will the installation be considered legal.