How much H2O could you save?Welcome to England – home of inclement weather…and almost constant hosepipe bans. It seems ironic that with so much of the wet stuff falling from the sky, there’s such a scarce amount for us to use. With that in mind, all of us should be doing our best to conserve water. But, for those of us with water meters, there’s also the opportunity to save some pennies as well as saving the planet.
The Great Water Meter Debate
In England there are basically two ways which we pay for our water: on a ‘rateable’ basis whereby an estimate of your water consumption is based on the rateable value of your home. This value is based on a number of factors, including the size of your home, number of bedrooms, postcode and street. The other, is through a water meter which measures the amount of water being used in your home, in the same way that your gas or electricity meter does.
There’s always much talk of saving money by having a water meter fitted, but this isn’t always the case. Indeed a water meter will make you more conscious about the amount of water you are using, and if you can put into place water conservation methods, you could well find yourself saving as much as £125 per year*. But for houses where the water consumption is high, you might be best sticking with the rateable value.
A basic rule of thumb is that if there are more bedrooms than people in your home, then you are probably going to save money by having a water meter installed. Of course, there are some people who don’t have a choice of how they pay for their water, people moving into new builds, or properties where a water meter has previously been installed, those with a swimming pool or automated garden watering system and people living in areas which have been declared as ‘water scarce’ by the Secretary of State are stuck with metered water.
For those on the rateable system whose ears pricked up at the thought of saving £125 per year. Why not visit USwitch – enter your postcode into their calculator, answer a few simple questions and they’ll tell you whether you’re better off on a water meter or not. In most cases water meters are installed free of charge, and if you change your mind and want to return to your rateable bills you have 12 months from the date of installation to go back.
Whether you’re on a meter and trying to save some precious pennies, or if you want to preserve the environment – check back tomorrow for Babe’s top water saving tips.
* Information provided by USwitch
The Great Water Meter Debate
In England there are basically two ways which we pay for our water: on a ‘rateable’ basis whereby an estimate of your water consumption is based on the rateable value of your home. This value is based on a number of factors, including the size of your home, number of bedrooms, postcode and street. The other, is through a water meter which measures the amount of water being used in your home, in the same way that your gas or electricity meter does.
There’s always much talk of saving money by having a water meter fitted, but this isn’t always the case. Indeed a water meter will make you more conscious about the amount of water you are using, and if you can put into place water conservation methods, you could well find yourself saving as much as £125 per year*. But for houses where the water consumption is high, you might be best sticking with the rateable value.
A basic rule of thumb is that if there are more bedrooms than people in your home, then you are probably going to save money by having a water meter installed. Of course, there are some people who don’t have a choice of how they pay for their water, people moving into new builds, or properties where a water meter has previously been installed, those with a swimming pool or automated garden watering system and people living in areas which have been declared as ‘water scarce’ by the Secretary of State are stuck with metered water.
For those on the rateable system whose ears pricked up at the thought of saving £125 per year. Why not visit USwitch – enter your postcode into their calculator, answer a few simple questions and they’ll tell you whether you’re better off on a water meter or not. In most cases water meters are installed free of charge, and if you change your mind and want to return to your rateable bills you have 12 months from the date of installation to go back.
Whether you’re on a meter and trying to save some precious pennies, or if you want to preserve the environment – check back tomorrow for Babe’s top water saving tips.
* Information provided by USwitch
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