Sometimes, a builder will include a lockable meter box when building a house. But normally a house is built without a locking gas and electrical meter box. You need this to ensure the safety of electrical devices and gas appliances in your home. Your gas and electricity supplier won’t provide a way for you to secure your meter box. It’s up to you for your own peace of mind to lock your meter boxes. This is also highly advised in any commercial business or workplace environments.
Reasons to secure a meter box.
It is absolutely necessary to install a viewing window and an approved lock to your gas and electrical supplies. There are many obvious reasons why.
- If your meter box is installed in a place where it may get exposed to rain and snow, using an approved metal enclosure is absolutely n
ecessary. Otherwise, it can lead to serious consequences.
- If you want to ensure the gas or electrical meter is not tampered with, then safeguarding it with a protective metal enclosure makes sense. You may also want to ensure it cannot be accessed by kids looking to cause trouble
Things to check
When your builder installs a gas or electrical meter box a few essential requirements need to be met
- Material- The material of typical domestic or commercial meter box must be 1mm galvanized metal and no less. They must be sealable to prevent vermin and insects getting in and making their homes. The commercial meter boxes are always a larger size and gas meter boxes will have venting in the front of the doors. They should be front or side opening and will be stacked with the gas on the bottom and electrical on the top.
- Locking mechanism- When considering a lock, only an approved WAS or Western Australian Services lock can be installed to your meter box. These locks are master keyed so your meter reader can access the meter box if required. Normal padlocks are not permitted.
- Installation- When your house is being bricked up this is when your meter boxes are installed in place. From there the building gets completed and after the roof is on your electrical services and gas pipes will be installed into the new meter boxes. Following that the actual meter will be inserted and tested for functionality and soundness.
You can specify with a builder that you want to have lockable meter boxes built into your house plans. If not you will get a standard meter box that can’t be secured and security must be fitted at a later date. Your gasfitter and electrician will know the legal requirements of where the meter box must be correctly placed.