Looking after your meter box will go a long way towards ensuring that it will last for many years. Almost every household uses a power or gas meter box, and it must be cleaned, protected and maintained regularly. A well-maintained meter box implies a long-lasting solution, with no inconsistencies in your energy or gas bills.
“Keeping your meter box safe and secure is an excellent method to improve your home’s energy efficiency. A dependable meter box security and protection ensures that your power or gas usage will be precisely measured using a properly mounted and shielded electrical and gas meter,” says home and property expert and pest control specialist Harrison Hamblin of Habitat Inspections.
With that in mind, here are a few tips for looking after your meter box so you don’t have to worry about fixing it—or worse, experiencing electric or gas issues in your home or property.
Keep The Surroundings Clear And Unobstructed
The first thing you should do is maintain it clean of overgrown weeds, bushes or vines, and anything else that might obstruct access or damage the case.
Have A Professional Check On Your Meter Box
Contact a certified electrician or gas fitter to inspect if you see burn marks, frayed wires, or a weird odour coming from your meter box.
Keep Your Meter Box Dry But Out Of Direct Sunlight
Another fantastic meter box protection suggestion is to keep your meter away from moist locations so it can remain dry. It would be best to keep your meter box out of strong sunlight to avoid damage.
Apply Protective Coatings
Power and gas meter boxes are usually made from 1mm galvanised metal for standard domestic homes, while commercial meter boxes are thicker steel and are generally powder-coated. In comparison, special meter boxes located on the coastline are made from stainless steel—which lasts up to 30-40 years— to cope with the salty environment. You can protect your meter box by using metal coat paint, then high gloss outdoor type paints to cope with the sun. No protection – meter boxes last approximately 10 years, but they last up to 15-20 years with protective coatings. Moreover, you can save the rusted ones by sanding the rust away and using a rust kill, then apply a primer and high gloss coat.
Secure Your Meter Box
If you keep your meter in a shared or unlocked garage, use a lockable meter box door and lock the meter box to prevent unauthorised access and secure your meter box. You may prevent this by securing your lockable meter box door with a domestic meter box lock; not just any lock, but those certified for the purpose. Whichever power or gas meter box you choose, domestic meter box locks in Perth and the surrounding cities are provided by Meterbox Lock—the leading provider of reliable power and gas meter box locks for residential and commercial properties.
Have You Been Looking After Your Meter Box?
Power and gas outages may be caused by various factors, including storms and vehicles colliding with power lines, however, these aren’t the only ones. Now and then, burglars switch off the electricity to see whether a place is inhabited. A simple flip of the electrical meter box lock switch, a few moments of waiting to see if anybody comes to check and if no one does, they’ll switch the lights back on and find their way inside the house. It may sound so easy, but it is. You can protect your family and property from these situations by looking after your meter box. Consider the tips mentioned above and secure your meter box with a meter box lock.
Where To Buy Certified Meter Box Locks?
Meterbox Lock has been the leading industry provider of gas and electric meter box locks throughout Perth and the neighbouring cities. We’ve been helping home and commercial building owners secure their meter boxes by providing and installing meter box locks to safeguard their meter boxes. So if you think you need the added protection our meter box lock can provide, don’t hesitate to call us at 041 604 4420 or send us an email to meterboxlock@gmail.com. Your safety is our priority.