The use of gas consumption meters is not only a matter of saving when paying for the resource received, but also a legal requirement. In accordance with regulatory documents, gas meters are mandatory devices at all facilities where “blue fuel” is consumed, including in every apartment. The only exceptions are those rooms in which there is only one gas appliance and this is an ordinary kitchen stove. Therefore, for those consumers who have not yet managed to acquire measuring instruments, the relevant question is not only where to buy a meter, but also how to install a gas meter in an apartment and how much it costs.
Why are gas meters needed in private households?
Every day everything becomes more expensive and often utility bills make up quite an impressive part of the family budget. Paying for water using a meter is much more effective in terms of savings, but no one is trying to calculate the benefits of a “penny” energy carrier. If everything is very clear with water, then with the installation of a gas meter a lot of questions arise: is it necessary to install such devices in households, how feasible is this and what savings will be achieved in the end?
Prudent owners of communal apartments have already managed to purchase and implement devices that take into account the consumption of gas resources. And now the installation of a gas meter in private housing has turned out to be necessary not only for thrifty citizens, but also for the state itself, which has issued a decree on calculating the costs of all natural resources.
Relocating a gas meter in an apartment: price and scope of work
In apartments, meters are most often installed in the kitchen. According to technical conditions, the metering device must be located at a height of at least 150 cm from the floor level. That is, this is either an open position or an area of wall cabinets. That is why during repairs there is a need to move the meter.
Despite the fact that the device is not gas-using, you cannot move it yourself. This can only be performed by a qualified specialist. The procedure for moving the device may be as follows:
- write an application to the company supplying gas to the consumer;
It won’t take much time to move a gas meter if professionals do it
- contact the organization performing the design work to make changes, where specialists will first assess whether it is possible to move the gas meter;
- after making changes, the project should be transferred to the company that monitors the operation of gas networks.
To carry out the work, a team of three people usually leaves: a worker, a welder and a manager. The worker turns off the gas supply, the welder carries out the direct transfer, the foreman carries out control and draws up a report on the results of the work.
Helpful advice! Any organization that has a license for this type of work can carry out a meter transfer. Still, it is better if it is a company that provides gas supply and is responsible for the operation of networks - it is easier to put the device into operation.
Payment for work is carried out in advance - in accordance with the tariffs approved by the organization and according to the volume (use of additional pipes, number of joints, etc.)
Although the device is not gas-using, you cannot move it yourself
What happens if you don't install the device?
In 2014, a rush began related to the installation of gas metering equipment. According to the law, metering devices had to be installed in all individual households by December 31 of the current year. The entire process of installing equipment had to be carried out at the consumer’s own expense and at the consumer’s own request. Companies that installed metering devices were practically overloaded with work during this period. But what about those who did not have time or did not want to install such a device before the beginning of 2015? Will they face any penalties?
Frankly speaking, no sanctions are expected. Recently, the installation of gas meters has not become mandatory for all categories of consumers. The most unpleasant thing that can happen in this situation is an increase in gas tariffs above the norm or an unexpected visit from the gas engineer and installation of the device. If the consumer does not currently have the required amount to pay for the services of a gas supply employee, the cost of the work performed and the device itself will be divided over several months and included in utility bills.
The disadvantage of such a program may be that the equipment may be supplied to you from a more expensive series and the cost of the work will be calculated at the highest possible prices. The result: everything turned out to be much more expensive than if the metering device had been installed on time. Then it would be possible to choose independently both the type of device and the installation company according to your financial capabilities.
The need to install the device depends on what kind of blue fuel you use. The volume of fuel consumed depends on this. If you only need gas for cooking, and your home has only one stove with gas, then the question of whether to install the equipment is up to you to decide. If in your house, in addition to the stove, there is also a water heater or a heating boiler that runs on gas, then installing a blue fuel consumption meter will be more than advisable. For consumers with such a set of devices, installing a unit that takes into account fuel consumption is not a problem.
USEFUL INFORMATION: How to connect a gas cylinder to a stove: diagram, components
Therefore, many people take a wait-and-see attitude and are in no hurry to necessarily obey the law. After all, the absence of a device does not threaten them with anything.
Who is required to install a gas meter?
According to the Federal Law “On energy saving and increasing energy efficiency and on introducing amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation” dated November 23, 2009 No. 261-FZ, metering devices should have appeared in apartments and private houses that are heated with gas, even before 1 January 2015. For residents of Crimea and Sevastopol, a delay has been introduced until January 1, 2021.
It is not necessary to install a meter if the gas consumption is less than 2 cubic meters. m per hour.
Apartments where only a stove is the only gas appliance that fits this definition. It is better for owners of water heating systems to check the fuel consumption in the characteristics of a particular device. Those whose house was declared dilapidated or in disrepair before January 1, 2013 can also do without a meter.
From 2021, and for Crimea and Sevastopol - from 2021, gas companies will be forced to install metering devices. The owner of the house or apartment is obliged to allow employees to the installation site of the device and pay the costs.
If he refuses to do this voluntarily, court costs and forced collection of money will be added to the costs. By default, the amount will be divided into equal payments that will need to be made over five years - with interest not exceeding the key refinancing rate of the Central Bank. The payment period can be changed if desired.
Pitfalls, or the pros and cons of installing a gas meter
Those consumers who have already been affected by this problem have thought many times and weighed the pros and cons of installing a natural fuel consumption meter.
Before deciding whether you specifically need the installation of this equipment, make the right decision for yourself by finding the pros and cons of the process.
pros
- You only pay for the fuel that you actually use.
- Payment by season: in summer, utility costs are almost negligible.
- The amount of gas payment is not affected by the number of people registered in the apartment.
Minuses
- If you want to turn on gas for additional heating of the room in winter, it will be expensive and impractical.
- High cost of the device.
- You should think about the rationality of installing the device if there are 3 people registered in the household, but more than 5 live.
Fire safety of multi-apartment residential buildings according to SNIP
In multi-apartment residential buildings, fire safety is ensured at the project development level.
In the future, responsibility for the safe maintenance of public facilities rests with management organizations, which bear financial and sometimes criminal liability for violation of fire safety rules.
The legal framework on this issue includes federal laws No. 69 of December 21, 1994 and No. 123 of July 22, 2008, with all amendments, which contain the basic requirements for ensuring safety from fires.
Snosna from the document on Federal Law of the Russian Federation No. 69
Note!
On fire safety issues in multi-apartment residential buildings, SNIPs 01/31/2003, 01/21/97 and a number of others have been developed.
The listed documents deal with the requirements for engineering equipment, provision of escape routes, fire resistance of structures and provision of alarm and fire extinguishing systems.
The penalty for non-compliance reaches 200,000 rubles. or 7 years imprisonment if people are injured as a result of the fire.
Building managers pay special attention to maintaining evacuation routes; for this purpose, the condition of stairwells is regularly checked, even if there is an elevator in the building. Residents are forced to remove trash and are not allowed to obstruct public staircases and balconies.
The condition of attics and basements, where garbage and objects that can become a source of fire usually accumulate, is also monitored.
The most dangerous in terms of fire are low-rise buildings, especially old ones, during the construction of which modern fire protection requirements were not met.
Officials are responsible for compliance with safety rules in public places, and each property owner decides independently whether it is necessary to install a fire detector in an apartment. The exception is new buildings, in which sensors are installed during the construction phase.
Features and rules for installing the device
Installation of the device must be carried out by an organization that has licenses to carry out such work. It is not only the Gorgaz service that installs the units. Before installing an accounting device, it is advisable to find out in advance how much such work costs in different organizations. It is important to know that standard gas tariffs will be formed taking into account the design features of the device and the location of the pipeline and gas pipes.
- Before equipping the gas network with a metering device, you must submit an application to the Gorgaz energy saving point. You will also need your passport, a photocopy of the registration certificate for the living space and a certificate of timely payment for gas for the last month. First, you should contact the organization’s help desk by calling the hotline. The number is usually located on the back of the receipt.
- After the dispatcher accepts the application, you will be given a time when a specialist will arrive. He will determine the technical feasibility of installing the device, and will also announce the exact cost if additional work is needed.
- Before the technician arrives, you must determine the location where the device will be located and tell him your preferences. You can place the equipment behind a decorative shelf or in a hanging cabinet. It is necessary to take into account that the unit must be placed at a height from the floor of no less than 120 cm. There must be a distance of no less than 80 cm from the device to gas appliances.
- Gas workers perform all the work themselves, as they thoroughly know the procedure for installing the device. The owner is obliged to take the settlement document and act from the contractor. This is necessary for subsequent sealing of the device. After installing the seals, the owner will be able to pay for gas according to the readings. From this moment on, the consumer bears administrative responsibility for damage to the device and seals. It is strictly forbidden to break the seals yourself!
USEFUL INFORMATION: Individual heating in an apartment: dream or reality?
Readings from the device should be taken every month. The gas supply company has the right to control the transmission of readings from the device. Most often, control is carried out no more than once every six months. If an enterprise has doubts about the authenticity of the indicators, they have the right to order an examination. If it is discovered that there are violations on the part of the consumer, he pays for the inspection, dismantling and installation of the device, which will be sent to an expert for inspection. During periodic checks, maintenance of the device is carried out at the expense of the organization that installed it.
Helpful advice! You can buy a fuel consumption meter, flexible hose and gaskets yourself. Most often, organizations involved in installing devices inflate their costs.
Possible problems
The installation procedure may present some difficulties. Having decided to install a gas meter, the owner will have to thoroughly run through various authorities:
- First you need to conclude a contract for servicing the stove in Gorgaz.
- Then a specialist from Gorgaz will come and evaluate the scope of work.
- Then you will have to go to Gorgaz again to discuss in detail the nuances of choosing a meter, how much the device and work will cost, where to install it, etc.
- On the appointed date, the technician will come and install the device.
Only after this you need to contact the service company . These walks require a lot of time and effort, and you will have to incur financial costs, which should be taken into account in advance.
How to choose the right blue fuel consumption meter
If you have already decided to install gas metering equipment, it is important to know how to choose it correctly.
- You must buy the device from companies that have special permission. Therefore, it must have a quality certificate. If the seller does not immediately provide you with such documents, you have the right to demand them.
- These devices are rotary and membrane. The former are a little cheaper, but preference should be given to the latter. Membrane devices do not allow gas to pass through and are therefore reliable and safe. They are able to keep more accurate records.
- When deciding on a device, you should rely on what gas devices you already have in stock. If you only have a stove, then you need one type of unit, and if you have a column and a stove, then another.
- It is also necessary to pay attention to the direction of the gas flow: from left to right or vice versa. This is due to the location of the pipe in the house.
- Before purchasing a device, it is recommended to consult with specialists competent in this matter.
Is Android susceptible to viruses?
The Android system, like any other OS, was created by ordinary people who have the right to make mistakes. Constant updates and improvements to vulnerabilities indicate quite serious problems with Android devices licensed by Google. And if we take into account the fact that Chinese exports clearly disregard US legislation, then every third Russian who bought a phone in the Russian Federation can be counted among the potential victims of cyber fraudsters. Virus program specialists are increasingly seeing cases where a pre-installed (factory) operating system already contains a “dropper” virus in the source code, allowing data to be stealthily stolen and sent to the server when accessing the network.
Android developers, despite having their own anti-virus program for applications from the market (Play Protect), cannot give a 100% guarantee that downloads from the Play Market will be “clean”. Hackers develop such viruses that when scanning, the Google system does not see a threat (suspicious activity) in the source code. And the application is approved, becoming available to millions of users. And this is not the main problem of Android developers who have an open security policy.
All versions of Android are susceptible to infection by viruses, especially the latest, “raw” firmware. And how quickly a smartphone is attacked by malware depends largely on the owner himself. Any activity on the network that follows a virus attack causes the system to become infected and banking and other personal data to be stolen. Before clicking on a link from a pop-up window or sending a reply SMS to an unfamiliar number, you should find out information about the original source.
Also, do not forget that viruses are transmitted through memory cards and USB flash drives. Even the simplest phone with a web connection can leave the owner without funds in the linked accounts.
Russia is consistently among the TOP 5 countries in terms of the number of infected Android devices, and this does not take into account daily attacks that are successfully repelled by antiviruses. Compared to OS iOS, Andoid is seriously inferior in terms of security, because its open source code causes the development of viruses, Trojans, worms, and various malware and scareware. All the attackers need to do is request permission during installation, and then the seemingly harmless application will collect information about the user and use it against him.
How much will it cost to purchase the unit and install it?
And now the most important question: how much does a gas flow metering device and its installation cost?
Depending on the manufacturer, quality, intercheck interval and model of the device, its cost ranges from 2,000 to 16,000 rubles. The greater the throughput of the device, the more expensive it is.
Depending on the region of residence, device installation prices may vary significantly.
Here are the average equipment installation costs:
- RUB 3,000 – installation of the device in an apartment without welding or changing the pipeline layout.
- 4,700 rubles – the same work, but with a change in wiring and the use of welding.
- 6200 rubles – installation of the device in an apartment equipped with a gas boiler and water heater, changing the junction and using welding work.
USEFUL INFORMATION: Allowed time for repairs in an apartment: how not to quarrel with neighbors
Additional components may be needed: fittings, gaskets, taps. Therefore, add another 1000-2200 rubles to the cost. If you wish, you can “thank” the master: this is another + 400-600 rubles. With simple calculations of the cost of installing equipment, we get a figure from 4 to 11 thousand rubles.
It is the high cost that scares consumers. Therefore, you need to calculate whether the installation of the device is rational?
Is it profitable to install a gas meter?
Let's figure out how installing a meter will affect the family budget if installation is mandatory, and whether those who are not covered by the law should think about it.
Due to the difference in the cost of metering devices and the services of the organizations that install them, the volume of gas consumed, tariffs and other characteristics, the calculations will not be universal. But based on them, you can find out for yourself exactly how the installation of a device that records gas consumption will affect your budget.
The cheapest counter on Yandex.Market costs 1,079 rubles. For greater versatility of calculations, we’ll take a slightly more expensive option - for 1,980 rubles.
The device can only be installed by a specialized company Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation dated July 21, 2008 No. 549 (as amended on September 9, 2017) “On the procedure for supplying gas to meet the household needs of citizens”, which has a certificate from a self-regulatory organization for admission to this type of work. Often such organizations provide meters and their price is included in the cost of services. But there are also those who are ready to use the customer’s device.
The cost will depend on how many gas appliances you have, whether you need to install additional sections of pipes, gas taps, and so on. Sealing of a new meter is free of charge.
As a rule, the service life of such equipment is not 5 years. Therefore, we will take this period as universal for all metering devices and long enough to draw conclusions, and also apply the tariffs and standards of St. Petersburg.
If you only have a gas stove
Standard The consumption standards for utility services for gas supply of natural gas in residential premises in apartment buildings and residential buildings in St. Petersburg per person for an apartment with a gas stove is 10.4 cubic meters. m per month. For a family of two people, gas costs per month will be 130.6 rubles (20.8 m³ × 6.27983 Retail prices for natural gas sold by the closed joint stock company Gazprom Mezhregiongaz St. Petersburg to the public). If tariffs increase annually by an average of 5%, over five years the family will spend 8,661 rubles.
Let's say they actually consume only 5 cubic meters of gas per month. Then, under the same conditions, over 5 years they will spend 2,082 rubles. Add here the cost of the meter - 1,980 rubles - and its installation. For example, the St. Petersburg Gas Service agrees to install the customer’s device for 1,970 rubles.
As a result, it comes out to 6,032 thousand - and this is provided that the installation of the meter cost a minimal amount and the gas consumption is really small. If a family spends 10 cubic meters of blue fuel per month, then there will be no savings.
The more people are registered, the more profitable it is to install a counter.
The actual gas consumption with each new family member increases uncritically, but according to the standards it increases significantly. For example, if four people were registered in the apartment, then it would cost more than 17,000 rubles a year to pay for gas. Moreover, the standard for an infant is the same as for an adult.
If you have a gas stove and water heater
The standard in this case is 32 cubic meters per person, and the tariff is the same. This means that a family of two people will already pay 402 rubles per month. Over 5 years this will result in 26,656 rubles.
Installing a meter on a stove and a column already costs 2,970 rubles. And the benefit depends on the actual gas consumption and the efforts made to save it. As a rule, the older the column, the higher the consumption. Some units can produce more than 10 cubic meters per month just by burning the wick.
But even in this case, “catching up” with the standard will not be easy. Especially if there are more than two people registered in the apartment. 10 cubes for the wick, 5 for the stove, and there are still 49 cubes left in stock.
If you have gas heating
There are no options here whether to install a meter or not, so we’ll just figure out the standards and tariffs.
In St. Petersburg, the standard is 8.2 cubic meters per month per square meter of space. As a result, even to heat a modest Khrushchev apartment of 33 square meters. m will need 270.6 cubic meters of fuel and 1,700 rubles per month. House of 100 sq. m will already require 5,150 rubles. Gas used for cooking will have to be paid separately.
The counter is definitely a beneficial device here, and here's why:
- According to the standard, you would have to pay the same in January, when the boiler is constantly running, and in April, when you only need to periodically heat the house in anticipation of a full spring.
- In most months, and even always, less gas will be spent than indicated in the standard, since average parameters are used to determine it.
- Without a meter, fees according to the standard can be charged in the summer. On imposing the obligation to recalculate the payment for natural gas, excluding payment according to the standard for heating from the amount of debt. A device that records actual consumption in this case reliably insures you against overpayments, but only if you did not miss the time to replace it.
Who does the installation
Article 158 of the Housing Code [2] imposes costs associated with the maintenance of residential premises on their owners, therefore the purchase and installation of an accounting device is carried out at the expense of the consumer.
Citizens who wish to equip their home with a gas measuring device must submit a corresponding application to the gas supply organization.
You must have a passport, title documents for the occupied premises, as well as the latest payment receipts.
Installation of the meter is carried out exclusively by qualified employees of the gas organization. Involving random people in the work threatens with disastrous consequences.
New store with Xbox services integration
Many colleagues note the updated application store built into Windows 11. Unfortunately, I did not notice any major changes.
However, the complete integration of Windows and Xbox services cannot be ignored: in addition to the fact that games can be purchased through the corresponding shortcut, the entire collection is available on PC.
Owners of the Xbox Pass of the corresponding version can do without a discrete video card altogether by using the Microsoft cloud service directly from the system shell.
To do this, you will have to carry out a number of simple manipulations described in our material. It works like a charm, and a subscription for a couple of years costs only 3 thousand.
How to correctly take gas meter readings
After installing a gas meter, the consumer must monitor the amount of fuel consumed, submit monthly information to the organization that monitors the gas supply, and pay for the fuel used.
The algorithm for taking readings from a gas consumption meter is as follows:
- record the final meter readings;
- subtract from them the previous readings, that is, for the last month. The difference will be the number of cubes intended for payment;
- then you need to multiply the number of cubes by the tariff - you will get the amount of payment for the past period (month).
If the installed gas meter does not automatically take into account the temperature coefficient, that is, the excessive influence of temperature and pressure on the gas supply, then it must be used independently. First, you need to multiply the difference in readings (between the final and previous ones) by a coefficient (it varies for regions), and then by the cost of gas.
All first digits up to the decimal point are taken into account when taking readings from household gas meters
Difficulties in calculating the total amount may also arise if a limit is set. Payment for gas before its mark will be charged at one tariff - the lower one. Cubes that exceed the limit must be multiplied by another, higher price. The sum of the two calculations will reflect the full cost of the gas used.
Helpful advice! For areas with significant temperature fluctuations, it is better to install meters with a compensation function. They make it easier to control gas consumption and provide more accurate indicators.
Upgrade or clean install?
In the previous article, I performed a clean installation on a laptop, after which I installed frequently used software. There were no problems with any of the programs.
This time, for a change, I tried to update using a program downloaded from the official website and run under Windows.
I must admit, it’s faster, more convenient, and everything stays in place without requiring re-installation. There were no problems, so I can recommend it to everyone.
Microsoft Office, a set of Adobe CS6 programs, Chrome with built-in environments, Punto Switcher, various instant messengers, programs for mathematical modeling (MathLab and Mathematica), and a number of engineering applications launch without problems.
Epic and Steam behave similarly, as well as freely installed games - at least those released after 2010.
Everything that was in startup, including Chrome services, remains in startup. All application settings are also saved, no bugs have been noticed yet.
Of course, it would be worth checking the possibility of restoring registry backups and installed applications, but we haven’t gotten around to it at the moment. If anyone is interested in this moment, please mention it in the comments.
Therefore, in order to try Windows 11 at the moment, I recommend updating. After it, restoration to the previous version of the operating system is available without saving artifacts.
Again, this is faster and in some cases more reliable than migrating from a backup if for some reason you don’t like the new environment.
Performance and Visuals
Despite its freshness, Windows 11 doesn't just look good. It works very well.
Under the same load, you may notice that performance management works slightly better than in the previous version. System processes also go to sleep quite well, saving battery power.
Network interfaces work surprisingly correctly under the new Microsoft OS: they turn on faster, communicate without interruption, and turn off unnoticed and on time to save money.
Of course, all this is about the processes taking place on a moderately powerful laptop computer. What happens if you install Windows 11 on a “machine” that is maximally allowed by its system requirements?
It's OK. It feels like Windows 11 not only fits more compactly on the hard drive, but is also more careful with memory and other system resources during operation.
Long-term practice will show more. As a last resort, disabling unnecessary effects and correctly configuring system services will make it possible to install it on any more or less modern tablet or sublaptop.
And use it for office tasks without any noticeable problems.
Pre-installed services. Useful and not very useful
While the Android subsystem for Windows has not started working, the main role among third-party tools is played by “My Phone,” designed to connect with Android smartphones.
It works much better than before: all phones are recognized, and there are more functions.
So, now you can determine through which speaker (smartphone or computer) the sound will come; make calls and write messages; control the volume of played content; turn on silent mode.
Cortrana is completely absent for the Russian user. And this is disappointing: Microsoft’s voice assistant turned out to be quite high-quality, and in the realities of Windows 11 one could expect even greater capabilities from it.
The Linux subsystem for Windows is no longer present on the original system. It must be installed through the application store.
This may seem inconvenient, but now:
- no need to remember about WLS during installation
- no distribution required to install it
- it can update itself
Given even the current capabilities, this tool may be of interest to both system administrators and ordinary users - for example, for educational purposes. Together with a number of implemented client-server useful things, Windows becomes more flexible.
There is a theory that in the distant future Microsoft plans to switch to the Linux kernel, finally optimizing the company's business processes and development. For full integration with Android and server systems, this will be a very serious move.
However, the matter is long, the matter is difficult. In the meantime, Android applications on Windows still do not launch. And Internet Explorer is still there.
Hopefully we'll see a big update this year. There is still a lot of unnecessary, useless stuff.
Widgets: convenient and useless
The system bar is used not only for the new Start menu interface, described in detail in the previous material.
The release introduced fully functional widgets that can be viewed, shuffled, or pinned to the corresponding menu.
They do not bring much benefit, since they duplicate the “Live Shortcuts” previously used in Windows 10, available in the “Start Screen” quick access list.
However, there is hope for the development of the subsystem. Let's see how third-party developers behave, perhaps they will be able to pull out the current backlog.
Possible problems when installing Windows 11
Personally, I haven’t encountered any bugs with the new system. Perhaps due to the software currently in use and prepared by the developers for porting, perhaps due to the small number of specific and system functions currently used.
However, a number of users say that the system is quite problematic. And this must be taken into account.
Thus, Vietnamese fans of Microsoft products report that the local browser is not working. I tried to run the most common ones in Russia, I didn’t notice any problems.
Many people have noticed a decrease in the performance of computers that simultaneously use Windows 11 and AMD processors. Unfortunately, I cannot test this combination - I use Intel 3rd and 8th generations, on which such problems have not been noticed.
The system may be deliberately limiting performance. It is possible that a number of instructions are not processed correctly.
In any case, Microsoft specialists are aware of the problem and are already working on fixing it.
