Where gas shows up in a laundromat
When dryers and water heaters burn natural gas, the meter records fuel volume converted to therms. California IOU test work on a 30-pound gas dryer found an average of 0.36 therm per load and 0.35 kWh per load for electrical components—96.8% of that dryer's energy from gas. Modeling 5.52 loads per day yields about 732 therms per year for a single 30-pound unit, a useful order-of-magnitude check against your bill.
Water heating may be gas or electric. DOE places water heating at about 50% of commercial laundry primary energy category-wide; if your store heats water with gas, washer cycles add therms beyond dryers. Long operating hours—CLA's 2024 survey mean of 16.6 hours per day—extend the window when burners run.
Bill sections: meter read through total due
Most LDC bills open with account identifiers and the billing period. The meter read section shows previous index, current index, and sometimes a pressure or temperature adjustment converting CCF or MCF to therms. A customer or service charge is a fixed monthly fee. Delivery charges recover pipelines and local mains; commodity or gas cost sections reflect fuel itself where unbundled.
In Georgia's Atlanta Gas Light framework, marketers may appear as a separate supplier line while AGL handles delivery infrastructure—a pattern distinct from a single bundled municipal bill.
| Line item | Meaning for laundromats |
|---|---|
| Therms used | Total gas energy consumed in period |
| Commodity / gas cost | Fuel portion when unbundled |
| Delivery / transportation | Regulated LDC pipeline and distribution |
| DDDC or capacity tag | Peak-day or design-day allocation on some LDC tariffs |
| Taxes and riders | State/local levies and tariff surcharges |
Sanity-check formula without inventing your rate
Use sourced per-load data to test whether billed therms are plausible—not to predict exact dollars without your tariff.
Estimated therms from dryers ≈ (number of gas dryers) × (loads per dryer per day) × (days in bill) × (therms per load from equipment spec or test data).
California IOU testing provides 0.36 therm per load for a 30-pound gas dryer as a benchmark. Adjust downward for smaller capacity or lower gas input, upward for larger tumblers, always labeling assumptions.
Divide total billed therms by estimated dryer therms; a large unexplained gap may mean water heating, space heat, leaks, estimated reads, or a misread meter.
Supply versus delivery on gas bills
Procuring gas supply—choosing a marketer or contract—is separate from reducing therms through efficient dryers or shorter idle pilot settings. Delivery remains regulated; in Texas the Railroad Commission oversees gas LDCs and marketers must register, but statewide choice programs differ from ERCOT electric REP selection.
When comparing bills month to month, hold delivery rate changes separate from commodity spikes tied to index markets.
Monthly gas bill checklist
Work through this list before disputing or rebidding supply.
- Match meter serial to physical meter at pad or riser.
- Confirm billing period aligns with your reported revenue weeks.
- Note actual versus estimated read codes.
- Compare therms per day to same month prior year.
- Flag new riders, weather normalization, or balancing charges.
- Archive PDFs with account number for CLA-style due diligence packets.
