Stop Pouring Money Down The Drain and Save up to £100 a Year

I’m sure you’ll agree that shelling out good money for something you don’t use seems rather pointless. However, did you realise that when you pay for the water supplied to your home it’s quite possible you’re doing just this.

Are you paying for your neighbour’s water?

The vast majority of homes in the UK still pay for their supply on a fixed price, water bill basis. If you count your home among them you’ll be please to know that it could be possible for you to save over £100* simply by changing the way your water usage is measured.

The standard water bills most of us receive are charged on a ratable basis, where the cost of your supply is determined by the size, value and location of your property. This standard charge encompasses the cost of providing water to, and removing sewage from your home and will be the same regardless of how much you actually use this service. In practical terms this means that even if you use much less water than your neighbour, in all likelihood your water bill will be exactly the same.

Unfortunately, unlike other utilities you don’t have a say in who provides this service to your home as your supplier is fixed depending on your UK location. However, although this means you can’t simply change suppliers, it may be possible for you to save a significant amount by switching to a metered supply.

Simply switch and save

Once you fit a water meter to your property you’ll only be asked to pay for the amount of water you actually use. If this is less than the amount estimated by your water company you could be looking to make big savings.

Most water suppliers will be more than happy for you to switch to a metered watered supply and may even insist on it when you move into a new property. Having said this, metering isn’t for everyone.

To make switching worth your while you need to be confident that its going to be a cheaper option for you than paying a fixed rate bill. As a rough guide, if you have more bedrooms in your home than people, are out at work for most of the day or are especially careful with your water usage, metering is likely to be a good option for you.

The best way to work out whether installing a water meter will save you money is by making use of the usage calculator available on your supplier's website (Click here for details). This will provide you with an estimation as to whether you’re likely to save money by switching to a metered supply.

Calculating any potential savings only takes a few minutes as you’ll simply need to answer a series of simple questions such as whether you use a dish washer, how many washing cycles you usually run per week, how often you use the outdoor hose or sprinkler and whether your household mainly take baths or showers.

If your provider estimates that metering your supply will save you money, you’ll simply need to notify them of your desire to switch, usually by filling in a simple form on their website. Again, something that takes just a few minutes.