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by arethuza 5151 days ago
What I'd really want is a low-cost non-intrusive means of monitoring natural gas flow, that's where the bulk of my energy costs are.
2 comments

Couldn't you calculate this simply by monitoring the "run time" of the devices using the gas? If we can tell how long the furnace and/or water heater run, then you can do the math vs. the gas bill?
How far do you get by monitoring whether the blower for your furnace is operating?
Now that's a good idea! I could tell whether our central heating boiler is running by its electricity consumption (which will either be on/off) and measure what it actually consumes when it is on.

Kind of obvious once you mention it - as all the best ideas are!

I've thought about it quite a bit, it wasn't off the top of my head; I would also like some sort of usage monitoring, but I'm not eager to tinker with gas lines or the insides of a furnace.