switching to water meter

nh

At the moment, there are two of us in four-bed house and buy.co.uk tells me we could save £90 a year by switching to a water meter. I read in Martin's book you could switch back within a year so can you not switch back after a year ever?

Once we have a couple of kids, it might be cheaper not to have a meter but that won't be for at least two years so could we swicth to a meter in the short-term and then switch back when the kids come and I have to do a load of washing every day?

halloweenqueen_2

I swapped to a water meter several years ago, there are four of us and it is still loads cheaper than water rates. Did you know you can claim a £30 discount every year if none of your waste water from the roof goes into the drains? If one does go into the drain stick a water butt there. You get in touch with your water company and ask for a form, going on the assumption thats its not just anglian water that does this. You can also get a free water saver that goes in the tanky bit of your loo so it uses a litre less water, or just get a litre pop bottle and fill and stick that in there, thats for the older loo, the newer ones are more water saving.
We use water exactly as we did before and still save money.

uih039

I paid £382 based on rateable value in 2002. I then switched to metered and paid £288 in 2003. Usage is similar and I have had 2 children all the time (and still do the last time I looked!).

Obviously it depends on the rateable value of your home being relatively high - I have no idea how you determine this!

When I switched I was told I could switch back within 1 year (or longer if I only received estimated bills). After the year is up I don't think you're allowed to switch back. My supplier (Three Valleys Water) provided a checker to persuade me to change and it has proven remarkably accurate.

I suggest you contact your current supplier and ask for any information they have on switching to metered.

Good luck, whatever you decide.

deanos

You have got 1 year to decide to switch which is plenty long enough, you cant swap back and forth when it suits you or else people will be doing it all the time which is not fair on the water companys as alot of money is involved installing and then reading a meter.

nh

Thanks for all you replies! I am sure a meter will save us a lot of money at first, it is just that I plan on a having a few kids in the future! On buy.co.uk it says we could save £100 a year based on the fact we use our washing machine and dishwasher twice a week. Once that goes up to four a week the predicted savings are wiped out, tho it doesn't say it will be more expensive, just as expensive.

guzzles

Hi ,

changed from rates (costing £50/mth) to a meter. We are a family of 3, always having the washing machine/dishwasher on, run baths, but use a water butt for the garden - our bill is now £15/mth - I consider it the best money saving decision I've ever done !!!!

jg

How many kids do you hope to have? The laundry/baths/etc really piles up when you have more than 2.5.

A family of 3-4 is no comparison to a family of 6 for water usage. Dish washing, laundry, bath/shower, all are much, much more.

nh

jg,

I was thinking of having one kid and seeing how I liked it! I have three sisters so I think I want a big family too. Tho I realise when they come along, I may not feel quite the same way.

We could save maybe £100 a year for two years (we pay £300 a year at the moment) but we will live there for maybe 50 years so will it save me money in the long-term?

Possibly not. One way to get the best of both worlds would be to switch now and then switch back at the last opportunity, saving £100 at least.

sjbilton

We are a family of 5 in South West Water's supply area. Rateable value puts our "unmetered" monthly bill at £67/mth.

Last year we averaged about £75/quarter on a meter, we don't particularly watch our water use - even to the point of using a sprinker on the lawn last summer, so it is definitely cheaper for us.

HTH

SteveB

nh

Thank you for that sj, I am definitely switching now!

jg

Put everything you save on this into an ISA, and it will give you a nice cushion in case, in 10 years time, it starts to cost you more.