Natural Gas Meter Sizing & Demand Calculator

Licensed CPC pulls gas permit — Your licensed plumbing contractor (CPC) submits the gas permit to your FL county. Permit includes updated appliance list and total BTU load calculation showing meter upgrade is needed.

Contractor contacts utility — CPC or homeowner calls Peoples Gas / FPL Gas / TECO to report the added load. Utility sends field technician to measure current meter and verify capacity. This is a FREE utility service — no charge to request a load study.

Utility load study / approval — Utility calculates total connected load using diversity factors. If current meter is undersized, utility schedules meter upgrade. Typical FL timeline: 2–6 weeks for residential meter swap.

Meter upgrade installed — Utility installs new meter at no cost to homeowner (meter is utility property). New gas line or regulator changes on homeowner's side: contractor's responsibility. Utility shuts gas briefly (~30 min) during meter swap.

Relight and inspection — After meter swap, licensed contractor relights all pilot lights and verifies appliance operation. FL county inspector reviews gas installation. Final inspection signed off. Project complete.

Peoples Gas (Emera Florida) — Serves most of Florida outside of South FL and Tampa Bay. Service area: Jacksonville, Orlando, Gainesville, Tallahassee, Sarasota, Fort Myers, and more. For new load: call 1-877-832-6747 and request a "New Service / Meter Upgrade" study. Online: myfloridanaturalgas.com. Typical timeline: 2–4 weeks for residential meter upgrade after permit.

FPL Gas (NextEra) — Serves South Florida: Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie counties. Call 1-800-375-2434 for gas service upgrades. For large additions (pool heater + generator): FPL Gas may require a formal load study — submit through your licensed contractor. Timeline: 3–6 weeks for commercial-tier meter upgrades in HVHZ service area.

TECO Peoples Gas (Tampa area) — Serves Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, Hernando, and surrounding counties. Call 813-228-1234 or visit tecoenergy.com. TECO typically does a complimentary load analysis for customers adding pool heaters or generators. Same Peoples Gas parent company — similar process to statewide Peoples Gas.

Diversity Factor — Why Your Meter May Be Adequate — Gas utilities don't size meters for 100% simultaneous load. They apply a "diversity factor" — typically 0.5–0.75 for residential. Example: pool heater (250K BTU) + tankless WH (199K BTU) + range (65K BTU) = 514K total, but with 0.65 diversity factor = 334K CFH effective demand. This often means a 425 CFH residential meter is adequate. Your utility calculates this — don't assume you need an upgrade without their study.

Service Line Size — Critical for Large Loads — Even with correct meter, if the underground gas service line from the main to your meter is undersized, flow will be restricted. For very large BTU additions (pool heater + generator + tankless), utility may need to upgrade the service line — this is utility responsibility and typically free, but adds lead time (4–8 weeks). Ask utility to confirm service line size during load study.

Propane (LP) Alternative — If natural gas service is not available at your FL property (rural areas, some coastal communities), LP (propane) is a full alternative. LP tanks are utility-owned (leased) or privately-owned. Propane has ~2.5x more BTU per cubic foot than NG — smaller volume needed but different pipe sizing. NFPA 58 governs LP tank installation. For FL pools and generators in non-NG areas: LP is the standard solution.