Water company says we're using too much water

[AintOverUntilTheCatLadySings]

And I can't work out why/how to use less.

Our water usage went up at the start of lockdown- not surprising as there was now x3 of us at home, it was summer and we were potty training a toddler.

Now our water company are saying we're using too much (we've got a water meter btw and pay for what we use) and sent someone round to talk to us about water conservation.

Thing is… We're quite water conservation conscious in general. Use eco setting on dishwasher, have a wet-room type shower so save shower and bath water in buckets for flushing toilets and watering plants (used the hose maybe 10 times in total this year and that includes filling small paddling pool - water that was also reused).

I even reuse pasta and veg water for watering plants.

Dh and I shower with our toddler so we're not having x3 showers per day or anything. And about 50% of that water is saved in buckets - including the cold water run off at the start.

I use the washing machine about x5 a week.

We don't have a car to wash. No ponds or swimming pool.

They're checking if there's an error but are certain that there's not.

Does anyone have any idea how to save water when you're already doing all the obvious things?

I would definitely get them to check the overnight usage for evidence of a leak. I would also be really annoyed that you do so much and they still want you to save more water.

I get water is an infinite resource (in terms of what we use is not replaced as fast as we use it) and everyone should be trying to save water... But you are doing way more than most and seem to have been met by a jobsworth. I would raise a complaint with the water company as it seems a very heavy handed approach...

[quote nancybotwinbloom]@ProfessorSlocombe

They can however fit an automatic meter reader to the meter if the water meter is pulsed. (AMR)

When the dials turn, when it completes a full turn it will send a pulse to the logger to indicate a full turn. They can then bill you accurately.

If the meter isn't pulsed then they can't fit it and would need to exchange the meter. They may do this free of charge.
[/quote]
How does that save water, like smart meters are supposed to ?

He asked us if we fill the kettle to the top every time we use it.

What a fecking moron.

Our last bill (for six months) was £200 (Thames Water) that is up on last year but not surprising with DH working from home during lockdown and DS not going to college. £33 per month seems very reasonable to me.

@ProfessorSlocombe

It just gives you the data. It's then up to you to see if you think you can make savings.

If you are already being economical then maybe not much use to you but it would give you the usage every half an hour so maybe it would offer some insight.

We have the ability on our gas and Electric meters which has identified when we have left heating on etc.

Are they going to get you a Covid 19 test for having a stranger who goes to many houses visit you?

I hope they call round here whilst DS is still home from Uni. I'd love to have someone else telling him not to shower for 30 mins or fill the kettle to the top every time (and then pour residual water down the drain before refilling it the next time). In spite of the undoubted increase in our water usage during Uni holidays ( and it's been a long one this Summer) I've never been contacted about increased usage. They only read the meter every 6 months so probably wouldn't notice anything unusual.

This could easily have been a phone call.

It just gives you the data. It's then up to you to see if you think you can make savings.

(pretends with very little effort to be a bit dim ...)

But my electricity supplier insists that its the smart meter that saves money. If I could just save money by turning off unused appliances, then why do I need a meter ?

They've still not managed to explain why I need one. Except to parrot from their script "it saves you money". Which isn't the case, so what is their real agenda for pushing them. Or, being pedantic, what is the governments agenda for getting them to push them ?

Call me old fashioned, but I'm not a big fan of lies or half truths in selling.

Cross post - if some nosy jobsworth from the water board told me to reduce my shower times to four minutes I would be taking twice daily baths! Can't believe how intrusive this is

This! Are you sure he was from the water board?

I am starting to think scam of some sort here.

Smart electric meters were shown in early trials to increase electricity use because people couldn't be bothered to argue over a penny for a light. They carried on regardless

Back to topic, are you in an area with high water stress ?

I just wouldn’t let them in. I pay my bill I use what I use. We pay £44 for a family of five and have fish tanks etc and many showers a day.

@ProfessorSlocombe

It won't save you money is the short answer. It will give you accurate bills off a reading rather than an estimate.

The only way it will save you money is if you look at the data and identify where you are using water or energy, whatever is being used and then identify you have left the heating on. Or if you see that your still using the same amount of electricity when you are out or in bed etc when you'd expect to be using less.

And then the usage it will show you is historical from a day or so ago so it's not live data.

Good for spotting behaviours that you can change I.e I saw it was higher and that is because I know I left the heating and the lights on all night etc. Or I knew it was higher Saturday as we had a bouncy castle type of scenario.

They insisted we had an electricity smart meter. It is unplugged and shoved in a cupboard.

@ProfessorSlocombe

For electric it's to ensure they balance the grid with supply and demand. For gas, I expect it's to balance take or pay which is when a gas supplier buys gas from the distributor of the gas (different entities) so the gas company can buy what they need for their customers so they get it at a cheaper rate. They will pay more for needing more and will probably need to pay for what they told the distributor they would need.

For water, I don't know.

@ProfessorSlocombe [] It won't save you money is the short answer. It will give you accurate bills off a reading rather than an estimate.

Oh, I know that. Which is why I get suspicious when it's pushed as "saving money". Clearly it's not, and there's another reason. And until I know that, they can keep it well away from my house.

@ProfessorSlocombe

If you ever do get a smart meter, only agree if it's a Smets 2 meter.

Smets one meters mean that if you move supplier then you will need a new meter to keep the smart functionality, the sending the data to the supplier.

Smets 2 you won't need to change the meter if you move supplier.

@easythatsfragile

They insisted we had an electricity smart meter. It is unplugged and shoved in a cupboard.

As far as I know you can't simply unplug a smart meter, are sure you haven't just got a measuring device.

This is bonkers.

You are extremely careful. Way more careful than us.

We've never even had a hint of a CF trying to give us a free showerhead.

Sorry to hijack but how does this work? An actual meter for water, how does it get measured?

Here your water is just lobbed with council tax so I know nothing about it. Do you pick a company of your choice like gas and electricity to supply you?

@Cornishmendoitdrekkly another SWW captive. Ours have dropped from £68/mth for two people to £32/mth. And we got a lazy spa this summer 😂 Nonsensical.

I'd have refused the visit tbh, only because I know what I do with my water, and I can afford my bills. If I was struggling, I'd accept all help offered (have had to in the past).

Definitely push the water leak question.

For water meters or any meter with an automatic meter reader (a separate device connected by a wire to the meter)

It gets measured by pulses.

When your meters dials turn, when the last dial completes a full turn, there is a magnetic strip that creates a pulse when it turns.

This pulse sends to the automatic meter reader which will be programmed to know how much water passing through the meter equates to one turn. The automatic meter reader literally just counts the pulses. Generated by the meter turning.

The counted pulses are then put into the suppliers internal system and then a bill is calculated based on the meter size (how much water or gas passes through the meter). I.e a meter in a big factory will generate more than a house so the calculation is different depending on the meter size.

@BlueThursday my last post was for you

@BlueThursday

You will probably be able to soon.

Water is currently where you live, that's your supplier no choice in the matter.

I think water is currently being deregulated so that you can pick your supplier like you do gas or electricity. You can't Pick at the minute I don't believe but it will be an option in the future. Or that's the way it's going.

I'm a bit sketchy on how far this is in progress as it's not an area I work in a lot.
But you can ask your supplier for an automated logger on your meter if you want accurate bills rather than being lumped in on a set bill regardless of what you use.

Sorry I do believe it will be an option. Fat fingers!