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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.


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.




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