Forced To Accept Water Meter

Ectophile

Danny30 said:

Lol, definitely no mansion or servants. We are 2 adults and 2 children in a 3- bedroom semi in London. We don't use that much water I don't think but have no idea how to estimate usage. With energy I have a spreadsheet so can keep tabs in my usage but am lost with water calculations.

If you get a water meter, you won't need to estimate your usage!

If you are an average usage family, then with 4 people in a 3 bed house, you're unlikely to save any money.  But if you learn to save water, then you get to control what your water bills are.

The winners from water meters are often households where the number of people is less than the number of bedrooms.

twopenny

Are all 4 of you at home all day?
Does everyone stay in the shower for 10mins at a time?
Do you run lots of seperate baths every night?
I'm single so it's easier to control but my cost went from 70 pounds + to 11 pounds a month when I went on a meter.
I'm out a lot of the time so saves on loo flushing and tea making. Learned to turn off while teeth cleaning and I shower at the pool and such.
What I save from short showers goes towards a long hot one when wanted so I'm not deprived 
And there's the pleasure of a refund when you use less than expected.
So think about how your family use water. There's usually the chance to try metering and opt out if it doesn't work for you.

Annemos

I love Water Meters now. 

My water main had burst and a lot of water was running away and the little wheel was spinning.

The water could not be seen on the surface, nor was it visible in the house. 

But nobody had ever told me to check my water meter regularly. And the water board only reads the meter every year. So I did not catch it very quickly and 1000 pounds worth of water had run away. 


After this event, I now check the water meter every 2 to 3 weeks to make sure it not spinning with a leak. And I am so pleased to be able to do that. 

theonlywayisup

We have a meter and are not at all frugal.  Our private dwelling has a small pool and hot tub.  We do have a holiday cottage business which is rated separately but even that is good value in my opinion.  The South West have extortionate water rates and a meter is definitely the way to go down here. 

Have a read of this https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/nonhouseholds/surface-water-drainage/reducing-your-surface-water/ you may be able to (or already do it but don't claim) for reduced surface water or have private drainage. 

thegreenone

We are with Sutton and South East Water and they told us we had to have a meter a couple of years ago but ...... if we didn't like it after a year we could have it removed.

We are three adults in a three bed bungalow.  Pre-water meter bill:  £560 p/y   Meter Bill:  £350 p/y   Even through Covid with everyone at home.  We kept the meter!

rach_k

If you're sensible, I think you will save money.

We are a 2 adult, 2 child family.  For a while, we were in a 1 bedroom flat with unmetered water, where (presumably) the charge was based on average occupancy of a 1 bed flat, so probably 2 people.  When we moved to this house, we had to have a meter installed and our payments went down.  

We are sensible e.g. turn taps off to brush teeth, but aren't mad water-savers.  For the first couple of years here, we had a child in cloth nappies and we don't use disposable paper stuff like kitchen roll so we do more washing than most I think.  We have a small garden and do use a paddling pool too, so not counting every drop... and it's still cheaper than we were being charged for the flat.  

If you don't save money, you are probably being wasteful and, while this is MSE not Water Saving Expert, you should probably address that.