An electric meter is a device that measures the amount of electricity you use. The electricity flows through the meter and determines the amount of kilowatts per hour used. You will either have 4 or 5 dials on a meter. Some meters may be digital and have no dials.

A kilowatt is equal to 1 watts X 1000. If you have a 50 watt light bulb on, how many hours would it take to amount to a kilowatt? The answer is 20 hrs. 50 watts x 20hrs = 1000 watts or 1 kilowatt.

It may seem overwhelming to read a meter at first, but in fact it is quite simple -- it's just like reading a clock.

Your meter either has 4 or 5 dials that turn clockwise and counter clockwise. Read each dial separately from left to right.

If the hand happens to be between 2 numbers, the smallest number must be recorded even if it is closest to the bigger number.

To compare your monthly kilowatt-hour consumption be sure to do your readings on the same day of each month to maintain accuracy. If your consumption for last month was 14590 and this month was 16590 you must subtract this month from last month.