If you live in or own an apartment in a block of flats or you own a business in an office complex where there’s just one water meter, it means you’re splitting the water bill with neighbours whose consumption could be much higher than yours. This means you’re paying more for your utility costs than you should be paying, which is patently unfair. But what can you do?
A retrofit submetering system is the answer.
If your apartment complex or commercial premises was built before 2008, it probably has just one water meter for the whole block and water bills and expenses paid on pre-determined apportioning. And there are plenty of these buildings tenanted in Australia, so the odds are that many people are paying more than their share for water.
What is Retrofit Submetering?
Water submetering gives many buildings and multi-unit property managers and owners the ability to collect data, measure their water usage and be charged only for their own consumption. The typical users of submetering systems also include building owners and managers of townhouses, units, duplexes, commercial buildings, as well as apartment complexes. Each tenant, office or apartment owner has their own water meter, which means they pay for the water they use, not what someone else has used.
A submetered system is worth the initial investment since it will exactly measure the water usage in each separate flat, office or commercial area, rather than recording all the meter data in an entire building with the standard metered system that then divides the bill equally amongst the tenants.
Retrofit submetering is a positive attribute for body corporate property owners who want to pay only for the water they use and not for water used by a neighbour and to secure long term savings.
How Does Submetering Save Money?
Apart from only paying for what each person or family uses, submetering can help reduce the amount of water used in a building. How? When each person can see how much they use, they can then alter their usage habits and lower the cost of their water for substantial savings.
Tenants and building occupants who are high users of water can see exactly how much they are using and this can motivate them to cut costs so that those who don’t use as much water are not subsidising other tenants. This especially applies where a holiday apartment or a home is lived in only during holidays e.g. compared to permanent residents with their families who use water daily.
How do Sub Meters Save Money for Property Owners/Landlords?
By installing submeters in a building, a property manager or landlord can also save money on accounting costs, reading meters and maintenance costs.
Sub meters can save costs for property owners and landlords with mid month move in or move out tenants. When tenants move out or in during the month, the cost of their water bills is hard to outline using a single water meter. Often, property owners or landlords need to absorb some of the water costs themselves or charge them to other tenants which may cause disputes to arise.
Apart from the cost, collecting payments, information and transcribing data is labour intensive and time-consuming and is the first hard cost for property owners and landlords. A bill-based system that entails sending invoices can add up to several thousand dollars in costs per year. In addition, by having a worker physically visit one building at a time to read and record meter data the costs can be high.
But the installation of a submetering system can eliminate these costs entirely.
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The skilled plumbers at The Water Meter Guys are the experts in water meters.
We install secure, individual water meters in almost any building or new construction as an investment to help you reduce consumption and keep down the cost of your water.
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Which Properties Can Be Retrofitted With Submetering?
Submetering requires a tap that isolates each unit so the water can be turned off at individual sites. This is where submeter installation technology and equipment can be used to retrofit a water meter for tenants and building owners, saving money.
It’s often the case that a residential or commercial property will have individual water meters, however, they may not be approved by the local council or water authority. This means the meters are not read individually so the data is inaccurate and an appropriate water meter needs to be installed for this purpose.
At The Water Meter Guys, our staff are fully Insured, trained and fully Licensed Plumbers who work under Safe Work Management Systems and use state-of-the-art materials, equipment and new technology. This is a specialist field in which we are comprehensively experienced allowing us to work fast and efficiently ensuring accurate data collecting, lower costs and a good value option to all our customers.
To get our new meter installed in Brisbane, Gold Coast, or anywhere else in Queensland, call us at The Water Meter Guys now on 1300 202 962 for a quote.