Is it worth changing to a water meter?

Street

Street

Street

Soldato
Joined
17 Jan 2005
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8,781
Location
Liverpool
Just wondering if any of you lot are on a water meter instead of a fixed charge, and if so, how much does it generally cost you?

I pay just over £350 a year for my water and I'm living on my own in a 3 bed semi and my GF comes round a few nights a week.. I'm generally out of the house by 8.30am and back and 7.30pm so none is used throughout the day. I shower every morning, but other than a few toilet flushes and washing up I don't really use much else.

I've put the figures into the "USwitch" website and it told me I would be spending about £100 a year on a meter so would save a fair whack but was wondering what other peoples general bills were on a meter?
 
You shower every morning? well la de da, Mr Posh :O

My neighbour switched to a water meter and his bills halved.

Sounds ideal in your situation.
 
If your flat is rented you might have to run it by the landlord/property firm. I am on the verge of moving over to one and have 13 months to make up my mind. If the savings aren't as I anticipated then I can revert to rated charges. But at £53 a month that is probably unlikely.
 
Efour2 said:
You shower every morning? well la de da, Mr Posh :O
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:D:p

Windle said:
Does your 350 include sewerage?
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Yeh thats everything for the year.

-BA- said:
If your flat is rented you might have to run it by the landlord/property firm. I am on the verge of moving over to one and have 13 months to make up my mind. If the savings aren't as I anticipated then I can revert to rated charges. But at £53 a month that is probably unlikely.
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Its all mine! :) Didn't realise you could convert back if it works out more though..
 
My experience is if you live on your own then expect to pay around £100-£150 per annum on a water meter, mine was billed quarterly by Severn Trent.
Now I have my own house, I was going to get a meter but my bill is only £134 for the year, so its not worth my changing to a meter and having to worry about me washing the car every week, or hosepipe in the garden.
£350 for one person is far too much.
 
I think the rule of thumb is that if you have more bedrooms than people then go metered. Make sure to pressue wash and top up everything before the change ;)
 
As the unmetered cost is based on your property type & the ancient 'rateable value' it can vary considerably.

We live in a 4 bed detached house in a good area & our Severn Trent water bill was £530 , now the kids have flown the nest we had a meter fitted in March, the meter is one of the very latest type that transmit the reading to a passing vehicle, lol but a bloke still turned up to read it.
As I can see the meter easily ( it's indoors) I kept a check at first & we used about 1.25 square Metres a week,the biggest waste of water is how long the hot water takes to reach the kitchen tap so one bowl turns into two :mad:

The first bill @ 6 months was £120 inc surface drainage & sewerage

If you live in a terrace then the surface drainage costs is lower because you have less guttering to collect the rain, that's how they work it out.

Use this calculator to see if you would save money

http://www.unitedutilities.com/WaterMeterCalc.aspx

If my unmetered bill had been around £350 I wouldn't have gone for the meter because you do find yourself watching money go down the drain every time you use it :p
 
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hood1971 said:
I think the rule of thumb is that if you have more bedrooms than people then go metered. Make sure to pressue wash and top up everything before the change ;)
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Haha.. I'll make sure to stockpile before I switch! :D

izzy eckerslike said:
the biggest waste of water is how long the hot water takes to reach the kitchen tap so one bowl turns into two :mad:
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Thats true, I always have to run the tap a little bit before its hot enough to wash up with! When my GF has a bath she always runs it for ages though..

izzy eckerslike said:
If you live in a terrace then the surface drainage costs is lower because you have less guttering to collect the rain, that's how they work it out.

Use this calculator to see if you would save money

http://www.unitedutilities.com/WaterMeterCalc.aspx
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Unfortunately (fortunately?), I'm not in a terrace anymore.. Thanks for the link though, I'm with UU anyway so I'll check it out and see what they say I will use!
 
From the United Utilities website it seems I'll use about 143 litres a day.. This seems quite high! But even with that usage and the standing charge it should work out at about £235 in total per year.
 
Ours comes in at about £200/yr on a meter, compared to £360 for a water rate. I'd say swap to a meter unless you're a VERY heavy water user.

I don't know how you would be able to use just £100 of water per year. I never completely trust USwitch type sites, take what they say with a pinch of salt.
 
You are in the same situation as me, I pay about £200 a year with a water meter. I use water in the garden and to wash my car.
 
Thanks for the replies.. I've just sent in my application for a meter! Hope I get some massive savings so I can spend more money on toys.. :D
 
i wish we wern't on a water meter!!! I have 3 large (ish) fishtanks and change about 500 litres of water every week + cars washed and garden watered in summer :(
 
tbh if you're in cornwall DON'T
unless there is only one of you in a tiny flat then it's WAY more on metered here!
madness!
 
jonno.co.uk said:
i wish we wern't on a water meter!!! I have 3 large (ish) fishtanks and change about 500 litres of water every week + cars washed and garden watered in summer :(
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Ouch! Thankfully, I've only got a lizard and he only needs a small bowl full every day! :)
 
Street said:
From the United Utilities website it seems I'll use about 143 litres a day.. This seems quite high! But even with that usage and the standing charge it should work out at about £235 in total per year.
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Does that include your sewerage charge?
 
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