Feedback on new water meter

lagoonwater

I'm in the midst of building a new water metering system to make the process of watching water usage and detecting leaks easier for people. I'm looking for feedback to see if there is interest and what people are looking for with water management systems.

Essentially its going to be the nest thermostat for water. There will be a display that can be placed anywhere in the house that shows water consumption for the month, day, etc. It can also alert for potential leaks and send a text or email.

Would you buy a product like this? Why or why not?

HappyMJ

lagoonwater wrote: »

I'm in the midst of building a new water metering system to make the process of watching water usage and detecting leaks easier for people. I'm looking for feedback to see if there is interest and what people are looking for with water management systems.

Essentially its going to be the nest thermostat for water. There will be a display that can be placed anywhere in the house that shows water consumption for the month, day, etc. It can also alert for potential leaks and send a text or email.

Would you buy a product like this? Why or why not?

No.

Water is relatively cheap. Spending anything more than a few pounds is too much.

What are the estimated savings to be made by using the product? Nothing...unless there happens to be a leak which is quite rare in any case.

Euphoria1z

HappyMJ wrote: »

Water is relatively cheap. Spending anything more than a few pounds is too much.

im paying £44 per month to severn trent water..:(

Southend1

I might buy it as a novelty if it cost under £5

HappyMJ

Euphoria1z wrote: »

My wife and I (and 4 children)

Euphoria1z wrote: »

im paying £44 per month to severn trent water..:(

As I said cheap...£44 per month for 6 people is 24 pence per person per day. Very cheap. You must already be saving quite a lot of water so would find it difficult to find further savings.

Your bill indicates you use around 73 litres per person per day which is very good....it's less than half the national average.

matelodave

I might be tempted if it cost £30 or less but I wouldn't pay more as it's easy enough to go and squint down the hole at the water meter once a week or so.

Others might pay a bit more if their meter was difficult to access but not a lot more.

I'd doubt that many people take all that much interest in their water consumption especially as water costs a lot less than other utilities so monitoring it remotely would only be an exercise in intellectual curiosity.

lagoonwater

Good to know. Thanks everyone for the feedback. We're looking in places where water usage is an issue i.e. drought areas in the U.S. Good to know what the general consensus is at this point.

Our research shows that people aware of their water usage will generally reduce usage by up to 15% after 6 months, so perhaps that could be pertinent.

Southend1

A sticker asking people not to flush the loo after every wee would probably be a lot more effective, and cheaper too!

HappyMJ

lagoonwater wrote: »

Good to know. Thanks everyone for the feedback. We're looking in places where water usage is an issue i.e. drought areas in the U.S. Good to know what the general consensus is at this point.

Our research shows that people aware of their water usage will generally reduce usage by up to 15% after 6 months, so perhaps that could be pertinent.

They have smart water meters already and you can log on and see how much has been used down to hourly levels so you have no market.

Water in the US costs half what it does in the UK...there's even less incentive to use less.

amorphix

HappyMJ wrote: »

No.

Water is relatively cheap. Spending anything more than a few pounds is too much.

What are the estimated savings to be made by using the product? Nothing...unless there happens to be a leak which is quite rare in any case.

I agree, I don't think people would pay much for it since water is so cheap and metered water usage is freely available already and people can see how much they're using. Nevertheless, it's an interesting concept and may have some social/industry use, even if offered freely. Since water is a resource like any other, that needs to be used sensibly.

But charging for the device, could be tricky unless its very cheap, unless there is some perpetual cost saving incentive.

In terms of application, I suspect the OP is thinking in terms of those devices that were given out a while back by electricity providers to hook up to your meter to see how much electric you're using and modify usage to avoid wastage?

In a family or business situation, that's useful, but for the majority of single people, probably only mildly. I got one of those electricity meter devices myself that tells you how much you're using and calculates your daily/monthly cost in real-time (since it was free). I checked out how much it cost to run certain appliances and leave things on stand-by etc.. it turned out to make surprisingly little difference to my monthly bill with most stuff, with a few minor exceptions.

Coming back to a water metering device, if we think about it from an insurance angle for a sec.. if this device COULD detect leaking pipes and alert sudden increase in water usage, maybe insurance companies would like that as it could potentially minimize costs of repairs/claims, and in turn, lower insurance premiums for those with this device fitted? But again, buildings insurance for most of us doesn't cost that much does it? I pay just £90 a year for my 1 bedroom property for £50k cover.

amorphix

HappyMJ wrote: »

They have smart water meters already and you can log on and see how much has been used down to hourly levels so you have no market.

Water in the US costs half what it does in the UK...there's even less incentive to use less.

Maybe he should target market this device for retail at high water cost countries then like US ;-) And for smaller countries like UK, try to do an industry deal to have it distributed freely.