moved house and metered - how much should we expect to consume?

moneylover

Hello, in our last house we were not metered for water. Now we are and are just wondering what a ball park consumption might be for a retired couple not lots of visitors staying
We have been metered 107 cubic meters for the last six months roughly (196 days) - we have washing machine and dishwasher both of which run every other day. We use the basic flush on the toilet. No baths just showers (these are not even power showers!) Our only 'extravagance' with water is the pots in the garden, in summer about 6 large watering cans a day.
Many thanks

Cardew

The average consumption is approx 55 cubic metres per person, per year. So you have used roughly double the average.


Are you sure that you read the meter accurately when you moved in?


6 large watering cans a day isn't that excessive. Assuming they are 10 litre cans that means 1 cubic meter is used every 17 days.

spiro

Lots of the water companies have online calculators that let you input things like number of showers etc and says what you should expect to pay. See if your company has one.

matelodave

107 cu.m in six months sounds a lot to me. We are both retired, at home all day, have an automatic garden watering system and use under 70cu.m a year.


We've got lo-flush loos, low flow shower (5-6lpm) and spend less than 5 mins each in the shower - it's easy to use loads of water by spending a long time in the shower.


Only use washing machines & dishwashers when they are full, they use just as much water half full as when fully loaded. Don't waste water by letting it run down the sink, only use as much water as you need when filling the kettle. Fit flow restrictors to your taps (usually free from your water company)


Try reading the meter weekly to see how much you are using and when - it might even be worth checking for leaks. Try turning off the indoor stopcock and make sure the meter stops rotating - if it doesn't then investigate.