How many times have you heard the phrases “It takes money to make money,”or “You get what you pay for?”The reason people keep repeating these statements is that they are often true. This even applies to utilities like water. You can go with the basic meter offered by your water company for little or no cost, or you can invest in submetering and automated meter reading and possibly save a lot of money in the long run.
The Traditional Water Meter
The great thing about a traditional water meter is that it doesn’t require much from you. It’s installed when your water lines are attached, it only needs to be checked once a month and it’s usually checked by the water company.
The downside is that you usually only get one meter per building, and the infrequent reading of that meter means that you really have no idea when and where most of your water is being used. This is especially true if you own a building that houses large industrial processes, multiple offices, or multiple rental units. Your use could be very inefficient and your system could be riddled with leaks without your knowledge, so your money could be literally going down the drain.
Submetering
With submetering, you can add as many meters as you want to your property. For someone who owns rental property, this could mean adding a meter to each rental unit, allowing you to accurately divide your water bill among your tenants. For a factory, a meter on each section of the factory that performs a specific task can tell you which processes are using the most water so you know where you might need to streamline your operation to save water, and thereby save money.
Automated Meter Reading
Most automated meter reading systems use radio tags that allow the meters to be read very easily. This means that reports can be generated on a daily basis, showing water usage, and that usage data can be analyzed in great detail. This data analysis can show if there is a sudden spike in water usage that might indicate a leak, a pattern of water theft or a new inefficiency in water use. Catching these problems early can save a lot of money in the long run, and without such frequent reading the problems might never be caught at all.
If you own a business or building and you want to get more control over your water usage, ABT Water Management can help.
