Water meter

[Leisure]

Just received an email from United Utilities offering me a water meter, which would save me £100 per year. It would be fitted free and I could switch back within the first 2 years if I'm not making a saving. Anybody got any experience of having one or have any comments?

[Clive 1960]

Just received an email from United Utilities offering me a water meter, which would save me £100 per year. It would be fitted free and I could switch back within the first 2 years if I'm not making a saving. Anybody got any experience of having one or have any comments?

I would say if you live on your own you can save a little, when i lived in the UK i tried to get one fitted outside but they didn't have enough room so they tried inside and again same problem so because i lived on my own they subsidised my bill and i saved about £50 a year..

[Bordeauxclaret]

Martin Lewis has been doing a bit on it lately.

Worth having a read on his moneysavingexpert website.

[Suratclaret]

When I lived in the UK, I had a water meter and saved a considerable amount of money so would certainly recommend having one fitted. Having a water meter also prevented me wasting water which wasn’t really a consideration before.

[Quickenthetempo]

Martin Lewis reckons if you have more bedrooms than people living in the house then get a water meter.

I'm not convinced by them too be honest, they are there to stop people using water.
My sister has one and feels guilty about watering the garden etc.

[lakedistrictclaret]

My water bill has halved since I had one installed.

[dsr]

Depends what the water rates are. The rateable value is based on what the house was worth 60 years ago, so if it's an old back-to-back terrace like mine (well, two back-to-backs) then the water rates will still be cheaper.

[Paul Waine]

Just received an email from United Utilities offering me a water meter, which would save me £100 per year. It would be fitted free and I could switch back within the first 2 years if I'm not making a saving. Anybody got any experience of having one or have any comments?

Thames Water said they were fitting them all across their area about 2 years ago. Then I didn't hear anything for a year. They finally fitted ours Feb last year. First thing they did was cancel the water rates bill I'd just received to be paid from April 2023. Then, some how, they re-estimate what I'd paid in water rates for 2022/23 and that credit appears to have taken me through the whole of 2023 with no water charges. I contacted them last summer, asked why I hadn't had a bill. They sent someone out to read the meter and I was still in credit. Usually, the intention is that the meter is read remotely, but it's possible that my meter falls on the boundary between two signal masts. I expect sometime this year all the credit will have gone and I'll start paying for water again. Based on the information they sent out I expect to be saving about half what I used to pay; 1, 2 even 3 people in a house may be less than the old water rates bills.

[Quickenthetempo]

My water bill has halved since I had one installed.

People in the lake district shouldn't have to pay for water. Your region provides half the country with clean water.

[Commy]

I'm on my own and it costs me about £200 a year. My water rates used to be £400.

[Granny WeatherWax]

There are 2 of us in our house and a water meter was a no brainier vs water rates.

[Zero]

We had one fitted for 12 months 5 years or so ago.

We had a leak on our toilet (cistern overflowing), which we weren't aware of.

Bill ended up being higher than the standard RV calc.

After 12 months we decided not to go with it - didn't like to be too wary of watering garden/car or what the extra cost would be if we did get another leak.

At the time we had it we were are able to trial the water meter for 12 months before deciding to keeo it or not.

Not sure if those are still the rules now.

[HollandsPies]

Severn Trent fitted one for the two of us last October.
Both our two kids are no longer at home, so it seemed a good idea - as ST will remove it for free at any point within 12 months of fitting.
I submit a reading on the 1st. of every month, and we are currently paying £18 per month. Seems like a bargain.

I do get a bit twitchy when the kids are back, mind.

[alf_resco]

We're on South Staffs Water.
4 bed detached house, just the two of us here these days.
3 yrs ago it was £66 per month x 10 month cycle = £660 pa.
Water meter now and DD is £14.40 per month on a 12 month cycle = £172.80 pa.
So saving nearly £500 saving per year.
Our personal usage hasn't changed but I'm not a keen car cleaner and we never need to water the garden !

[Sproggy]

I did some work for a water comany a (good) few years ago and they had a policy of asking people if they wanted a water meter fitting. A new CEO came in and stopped it immediately as he saw it as a policy that basically reduced people's bills at the company's expense.

[Eloise Laws]

We had a water meter fitted about 12 months ago. Monthly payments went from £58 monthly to £33 within 2 weeks, then dropped again to £28 after 6 months. Don’t need to read the meter it seems the bin wagon does this remotely as it passes. There are only 2 of us here in a 3bed house
Think it was a win win for us cost wise

[beddie]

I daren't even look at a water meter. Car, watering the garden and power washing would cost a lot more even though our current w/rates are expensive imo. I’ve looked into how they calculate it and I don’t agree with it.

[Rileybobs]

Changed about 6 years ago and a meter was considerably cheaper.

[ClaretTony]

Had mine fitted in October 2018 and couldn’t believe how much less I was paying. I was suddenly paying around 60% less.

[Tribesmen]

This may come as a shock to some but we don't pay for water here in Ireland

[IanMcL]

Just received an email from United Utilities offering me a water meter, which would save me £100 per year. It would be fitted free and I could switch back within the first 2 years if I'm not making a saving. Anybody got any experience of having one or have any comments?

Have large house (so high water rate) and only 2 at home, so save a fortune. It also encourages you to think.

[South West Claret.]

Anything that makes us aware of unnecessary wastage has to be a good thing I think.

[LeadBelly]

Did they really say it "would" save you £100 per year rather than "could".

In my (largely newish) town we went (I think non-voluntary) metered quite a few years ago. Before that I would've been paying the same as the house 2 down from me on my terraced row where there were 2 adults and 4 teen children v me living alone. Obviously they'd be using a lot more water than me.

I expected to save a lot after the switch and did. Living alone and taking fairly brisk morning showers rather than baths + having relatively fewer washing machine runs than average + I don't water my garden (other than via the water butt in which I collect rainwater).

On the other hand, my two-down neighbours are presumably paying a fair bit more now (even if they've become more careful with wastage).

The switch has probably made me use even less water than I used to do re, quicker showers, not leaving taps running when washing up and choosing washing machine programmes carefully.
Win/win for me.

[AfloatinClaret]

Strange stuff water. For many years we lived on a sail boat so our water usage was dictated by how much was still in the tanks and where/when we could refill them next. Since coming back to live ashore I've reckoned that by lunchtime of each day, we've used more fresh water just to flush the toilet, than we'd been using in total each day when we were afloat; the boat's toilet was flushed with seawater.

[DCWat]

It’s a no brainer to have one installed for free, with an opt out if you don’t see a benefit.

Aside from more easily detecting leaks, through metered usage, it’s pretty likely that you’ll make decent savings, when compared to your RV.

They are compulsory in new houses, now.

[aclaretinstevenage]

My water bill has halved since I had one installed.

Yes pretty similar here, decent saving since it was installed. I wasn't in favour and wouldn't have elected to have one, however the choice was taken away by the supplier. Now I would respond positively if asked by anyone whether to have one or not.

[Leisure]

Did they really say it "would" save you £100 per year rather than "could".

In my (largely newish) town we went (I think non-voluntary) metered quite a few years ago. Before that I would've been paying the same as the house 2 down from me on my terraced row where there were 2 adults and 4 teen children v me living alone. Obviously they'd be using a lot more water than me.

I expected to save a lot after the switch and did. Living alone and taking fairly brisk morning showers rather than baths + having relatively fewer washing machine runs than average + I don't water my garden (other than via the water butt in which I collect rainwater).

On the other hand, my two-down neighbours are presumably paying a fair bit more now (even if they've become more careful with wastage).

The switch has probably made me use even less water than I used to do re, quicker showers, not leaving taps running when washing up and choosing washing machine programmes carefully.
Win/win for me.

Could. Obviously they can't guarantee any savings, as they don't know yet how much water I'll be using.

[RHansburyEsq]

I’d be very surprised if a meter didnt save you money provided there is only one or two of you in the house. Conversely we (family of four) moved into a house with a meter already installed. Didn’t properly consider the implications when we moved in. I am sure we could do better on saving water, but the bills are eye watering(!) compared with what we paid in our previous house which had no meter. Once you have a meter they won’t take it away. I have no complaints about paying for what we use and the onus is on us not to waste, but it is a bit galling that people next door without a meter can pay less than us for the same (or more) usage!

[RHansburyEsq]

I’d be very surprised if a meter didnt save you money provided there is only one or two of you in the house. Conversely we (family of four) moved into a house with a meter already installed. Didn’t properly consider the implications when we moved in. I am sure we could do better on saving water, but the bills are eye watering(!) compared with what we paid in our previous house which had no meter. Once you have a meter they won’t take it away. I have no complaints about paying for what we use and the onus is on us not to waste, but it is a bit galling that people next door without a meter can pay less than us for the same (or more) usage!

Sorry, I should clarify for you Leisure if you are the person getting it fitted, that normally you have a fixed period to change your mind (I think it is 2 years in Yorkshire for example), but after that (and in the case of anyone buying) you I don’t think you can change.

[Wokingclaret]

We had a meter compulsory installed last Autumn, but Infinity Water are giving us a year or so to compare usage prices against the annual price

[burnleymik]

You know that it must be ultimately profitable for the water companies because once they install them at a property, they won't remove them. ( as my neighbour found out when he moved into his house with one installed).

If you have a family sized house it's worth thinking about for future selling purposes before you go ahead and get one for short term gain.

[Leyland Claret]

Water meter all day. It’s a no brainer because if it’s no cheaper you can switch back to rateable value. I would be very shocked though if you didn’t save money and quite a bit as well as long as your aren’t changing the water in the swimming pool weekly

[Commy]

My mum is on her own but won't have one as her friend had a leak and it cost her a fortune.

[Wokingclaret]

My mum is on her own but won't have one as her friend had a leak and it cost her a fortune.

Yes, they have a boundary delivery point, beyond that is the householders responsibility

[Leisure]

Many thanks for all the responses. On the basis that there are only 2 of us in a 3/4 bedroom house, it seems reasonable to assume that we could save a few hundred pounds per year, which is good. However, against that, there seems to be probably 3 issues - 1) the high cost if I have leak (especially if I'm not aware of it!); 2) it may put off prospective large family future buyers, if we ever came to sell the house, and 3) whilst I'm conscious of the need to save/use less water, I don't want on a daily basis to be monitoring how many times we wash up, flush the toilet, water the garden etc etc. Decisions, decisions.

[DCWat]

Many thanks for all the responses. On the basis that there are only 2 of us in a 3/4 bedroom house, it seems reasonable to assume that we could save a few hundred pounds per year, which is good. However, against that, there seems to be probably 3 issues - 1) the high cost if I have leak (especially if I'm not aware of it!); 2) it may put off prospective large family future buyers, if we ever came to sell the house, and 3) whilst I'm conscious of the need to save/use less water, I don't want on a daily basis to be monitoring how many times we wash up, flush the toilet, water the garden etc etc. Decisions, decisions.

We moved to a meter a few years back - my other half works for Yorkshire Water (and I used to).

I had a similar view to you but was swayed by the option to switch back to RV. I’ve not monitored my usage, nor changed my habits in terms of water usage, at all. I don’t have the exact figures, but safe to say that I’m occasionally reminded that being metered is saving on the old RV charges. Should our bill suddenly increase significantly, that’d be the sign for me to check that we don’t have a leak.

You have a point about potential buyers, but realistically, how many people are going to be put off buying the house that they want, because it has a meter? I suspect that most people wouldn’t even ask the question.

With regard leaks, you won’t be charged for additional usage (assuming other water companies work in a similar way to YW).

It will help you to identify a leak, if you have one, which could potentially save you thousands on not resolving a hidden leak, quickly.

I assume it’s still the case, but once a leak has been identified and fixed, the charges will be adjusted to reflect your average usage outside of the period of the leak.

[kentonclaret]

The water companies keep urging people to Save Water but a hefty chunk of any bill is the Standing Charges.

[Hipper]

This may come as a shock to some but we don't pay for water here in Ireland

I never knew that.

I see there is a maximum usage over which you have to pay an excess charge. I calculated that this is about 563 litres/day. My usage is 69 l/day!

https://switcher.ie/guides/water-bills- ... ve-to-pay/

[South West Claret.]

The water companies keep urging people to Save Water but a hefty chunk of any bill is the Standing Charges.

Ah the joys of privatisation.

[Gordaleman]

Depends what the water rates are. The rateable value is based on what the house was worth 60 years ago, so if it's an old back-to-back terrace like mine (well, two back-to-backs) then the water rates will still be cheaper.

That's right. I live alone in a two bedroom semi and I've filled in the online form to switch, twice in the last three years. On both occasions I was told it would be cheaper to stay as I am.

[Nori1958]

We moved to a meter a few years back - my other half works for Yorkshire Water (and I used to).

I had a similar view to you but was swayed by the option to switch back to RV. I’ve not monitored my usage, nor changed my habits in terms of water usage, at all. I don’t have the exact figures, but safe to say that I’m occasionally reminded that being metered is saving on the old RV charges. Should our bill suddenly increase significantly, that’d be the sign for me to check that we don’t have a leak.

You have a point about potential buyers, but realistically, how many people are going to be put off buying the house that they want, because it has a meter? I suspect that most people wouldn’t even ask the question.

With regard leaks, you won’t be charged for additional usage (assuming other water companies work in a similar way to YW).

It will help you to identify a leak, if you have one, which could potentially save you thousands on not resolving a hidden leak, quickly.

I assume it’s still the case, but once a leak has been identified and fixed, the charges will be adjusted to reflect your average usage outside of the period of the leak.

We once had a very small leak which was picked up by the water company within days, they wrote to inform us, and as a result it was fixed before any damage.

[ClaretTony]

Just seen that some have had compulsory installation of meters. That was never the case for me and I was recommended by a friend of mine to consider it. I did the quick check on the UU website and it told me I'd be paying less so went for it.

https://myaccount.unitedutilities.com/W ... Calculator

[dougcollins]

I inherited one when I bought the house, overall its been a good thing.

[Clovius Boofus]

Had a look at the Water Meter Calculator site and it looks like our household might save £80.00 quid a year. It's not worth us getting a meter to chase £1.50 or whatever per week. A dry spring/summer and using the watering can every evening would quickly eat into any savings.

https://www.ccw.org.uk/save-money-and-w ... alculator/

[Clovius Boofus]

Oops. TC already posted one.

[boatshed bill]

Haven't got one and probably won't unless forced.
What happens to charges for water and sewerage management?

[dsr]

Had a look at the Water Meter Calculator site and it looks like our household might save £80.00 quid a year. It's not worth us getting a meter to chase £1.50 or whatever per week. A dry spring/summer and using the watering can every evening would quickly eat into any savings.

https://www.ccw.org.uk/save-money-and-w ... alculator/

Just done mine. It estimates that my charge would double if I got a meter!

[ClaretTony]

Just done mine. It estimates that my charge would double if I got a meter!

You must be using a hell of a lot of water. I’ve taken a look back and I was paying £58 pm until I had the water meter fitted and it then went down initially to £15 with the meter. I’m now paying £19 pm.

[NorthIsCool]

All the replies just mention the charge for water.
Is there an additional bill for the sewerage aspect?
At the moment my standard water rates include both water and sewerage.

[nil_desperandum]

All the replies just mention the charge for water.
Is there an additional bill for the sewerage aspect?
At the moment my standard water rates include both water and sewerage.

The sewage and run-off water element is included in the metred bill.
When we moved house there was no metre, (we had previously had one).
We got one installed in the first couple of months and our monthly bill almost halved compared to what we were scheduled to pay.
This has saved us hundreds of pounds over the years - in fact not far from a thousand now.
(4 bedroomed semi-rural property, 2 occupants and water garden when necessary)