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What Is Automated Meter Reading & How Does It Work?

Monitoring water usage is a must for any business keen to keep costs down wherever they can and make sure they’re not paying over the odds for this particular service. By far the most beneficial technique for doing this is automated meter reading, where water usage is monitored continuously throughout a property – also known as data logging.

 

By using a smart meter, you can identify any issues with your water quickly and bring in water-saving solutions as and when necessary. The meter can see how much water is being used at hourly intervals because it measures the water flow. If a sudden spike is spotted in this, you know you need to see if there’s an issue, such as a water leak. This means you can act quickly and solve the situation before it becomes incredibly costly.

 

When you sign up for this, you’ll have a smart water flow meter installed on top of your main water meter. Typical costs for this installation are about £700, but the money you could save as a result means you’ll see a quick return on investment. The meter will measure the same data that your main bill meter will monitor but the data is then fed back into a digital reporting platform to provide statistical evidence of water flow in real time.

 

Analysis of flow volumes compared to benchmarked levels means that any potential problems can be picked up quickly, so issues can be discovered weeks or months earlier than otherwise.

 

There are many benefits of opting for a smart metering service, from getting a positive return on your investment in just a few short weeks to making sure your bills are based on accurate meter readings, spotting water leaks quickly, and reducing your water consumption and maintaining savings over time.

 

But it’s perhaps leak detection where this kind of system really comes into its own. Water leaks can cost businesses huge amounts if they’re not detected and repaired in a timely fashion… mainly because the majority of water suppliers will charge on average about £3 per cubic meter for water supply and waste water taken away. So if there is a leak, unnecessary volumes of water are being added to this.

 

And, unfortunately, leaks can be very difficult to identify because they can be tiny and taking place deep underground. So you need to think that there is a problem before you can begin to investigate whether there’s a leak or not – and all too often, this is spurred on by the sound of dripping or damp on walls and ceilings, by which time the leak may well have already cost your business thousands and caused a lot of damage.

 

Smart meters mean you don’t have to wait to see any physical signs of a leak before you take action, so you can save yourself an awful lot of time and money if you do decide to go down this route.

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