Why Water Submetering Is Complicated
Water metering looks simple. Let's talk about all the ways that's not true and what that belief might be costing you.
Water metering has been around forever, so it must be easy, right?
If only! Water submetering is like drawing something from memory – it’s much harder to get right than it sounds.
Let us count the ways.
Common Water Submetering Challenges
Here are the seven most common reasons utiliVisor has seen water recovery go wrong:
1. Hard-to-read meters
Reading extra zeroes and counters + dials can be confusing. The fact that CCF and HCF both mean hundreds of cubic feet doesn’t help.
2. Conversion errors
The meter and the utility bill aren’t always in the same units, and conversion mistakes are all too easy to make.
3. Quarterly billing
The fact that water is billed quarterly makes it more challenging to straighten out when it’s wrong.
4. Inaccessibility
Water meters are typically the hardest to physically get to, which makes the readings harder to get right. We’ve seen them in pits, behind walls, behind stoves, and in ceilings.
5. Wrong meter for the job
Often, the plumber is asked to buy and install the water meter but is given no information about what’s needed to make the meters useful.
6. Tricky to allocate
Water is used all over: bathrooms & kitchens but also cooling towers & irrigation. Leases aren’t always clear about how to bill tenants for these different uses.
7. Encoder issues (devices that transmit the reading for collection)
- Problem #1: The encoder only communicates with proprietary devices.
- Problem #2: Encoders don’t always send the readings in the same units as the meter, which may not be accounted for in the billing calculations.
All of these factors have the potential to create errors in your billing... which lead to disputes with your tenants... which lead to problems re-leasing, problems getting loans and incentives, and increased legal risk. But because water metering seems straightforward, it’s easy for these issues to go unnoticed.
We would read this as "10 hundred gallons" (aka 1000 gallons).
Photo source: utiliVisor
The Cost of Inaccurate Water Metering
What kind of money are we talking about when we talk about lower recovery than you're entitled to? A few weeks ago, we talked about how utiliVisor's research has found that “imprecise” water metering can lower a property’s recovery by 20%. Now add onto that percentage any or all of the factors we just talked about that cause billing errors. That’s a loss baseline of 20% + incorrect readings + misunderstood encoder units + conversion errors + meter communication errors + ….
Without knowing your specifics, we can’t tell you if your water recovery is down by 25% or 50%. But the likelihood that you’re not recovering costs you could be is about 100%.
They say the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, and the second-best time is today. The same is true in submetering. Given the time value of money, it’s best to start off with an accurate submetering system so you’re consistently recouping costs. But if Doc Brown’s DeLorean isn’t available for this road trip across time, how about plugging those water cost leaks today?
Water Submetering FAQs
Q: Why is water submetering harder than it looks?
A: Because meter faces and units can be confusing (for example, CCF vs HCF), meters can be hard to access, billing is often quarterly, and allocation rules across uses like cooling towers and irrigation are rarely simple.
Q: What are the most common causes of water submetering billing errors?
A: Typical water billing errors include unit mismatches between meters, encoders, and utility bills; conversion mistakes; encoder communication and proprietary device limitations; and installing the wrong meter without the right specs.
Q: What is the financial impact of inaccurate water submetering and what should owners do?
A: Inaccurate water billing can materially reduce recovery (often starting around a ~20% baseline hit and potentially more), increase tenant disputes, and legal risk. The practical fix is to audit meter readability (including access), verify readings and units end-to-end (meter → encoder → bill), and confirm allocation rules before billing.
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About utiliVisor
Your tenant submetering and energy plant optimization services are an essential part of your operation. You deserve personalized energy insights from a team that knows buildings from the inside out, applies IoT technology and is energized by providing you with accurate data and energy optimization insights. When you need experience, expertise, and service, you need utiliVisor on your side, delivering consistent energy and cost-saving strategies to you. What more can our 45+ years of experience and historical data do for you? Call utiliVisor at 212-260-4800 or visit utilivisor.com
