Reply to: Water meters

[vetran]

Child #3 has gone from being pressurised into a three minute shower a couple of times a week, to 20 minutes every morning. I occasionally shout "What are you doing in there?" but mercifully he doesn't elaborate!

wait till he is 3 minutes in and start the washing up & washing machine, he will be out in seconds.

[SeekingIT]

Indeed!

Say nothing.

+11

You've contacted them (as a good citizen should) they have told you officially, you are in credit...
If it turns out they have made a mistake, then they should pay for their mistake...
Boat not to be rocked...

[vetran]

Can't they 'shower' in bed for heaven's sake? I know it's embarrassing to have to use a pickaxe to change the sheets but it saves money.

and again a neat traverse to the gutter!

[xoggoth]

Can't they 'shower' in bed for heaven's sake? I know it's embarrassing to have to use a pickaxe to change the sheets but it saves money.

[hyperD]

Child #3 has gone from being pressurised into a three minute shower a couple of times a week, to 20 minutes every morning. I occasionally shout "What are you doing in there?" but mercifully he doesn't elaborate!

[mudskipper]

We have two teenage boys so their 'showering' routine it must cost is 10% more! Countdown timer on the door soon put a stop to that and brought the bills back down

Child #3 has gone from being pressurised into a three minute shower a couple of times a week, to 20 minutes every morning. I occasionally shout "What are you doing in there?" but mercifully he doesn't elaborate!

[vetran]

we tried a water meter, it was horrific, 3 females = showers 24*7. And multiple flushes on the eco loos.

combine that with washing machine that runs most days, you get a nasty bill. I pay £600 ish in water rates.

The big problem was despite having not fitted an imperial meter for years its still possible for them to set your meter as imperial. My bill was looking to be £2k. The muppets couldn't fix and kept helping themselves via direct debit it so I went back to rates as I would only save a few quid on the meter even if they could get my bill right.

Fridges over 10 years old can be very hungry we replaced one with a big F&P fridge (twice the size) and our electric consumption fell nicely. worth buying a watt meter (£10 from Maplins) and attaching it for a week. Same for the freezer.

[northernladuk]

Talking to my neighbour about this this morning (she's got a leak under her driveway which has added 40% to her bill).

She reckons her metered bill (2 adults + 2 (big) kids) is £240 per year. We're paying £540 not metered, but with 5 of us living here and a big bath and power shower not sure whether we'd save...

We have two teenage boys so their 'showering' routine it must cost is 10% more! Countdown timer on the door soon put a stop to that and brought the bills back down

[mudskipper]

Talking to my neighbour about this this morning (she's got a leak under her driveway which has added 40% to her bill).

She reckons her metered bill (2 adults + 2 (big) kids) is £240 per year. We're paying £540 not metered, but with 5 of us living here and a big bath and power shower not sure whether we'd save...

[RSoles]

I live out in the sticks of the wild North West,
water comes from a well.
Do occasionally get tiny freshwater shrimp though.
Protein, Bonus!

[VectraMan]

Thames Water seem to have forgotten to charge me for my water usage, I fear for some time. I'm not sure whether to call attention to it - I probably should phone them and face the music.

Turns out they haven't been charging me because I'm in credit. And I'm in credit, because I've used zero, according to the bill. Just been out and checked the meter, and sure enough it reads the same as the bill shows from a year ago, and turning on the kitchen tap full blast doesn't make any of the numbers change.

Should I tell them, or just keep quiet for a bit longer?

[hyperD]

An eye-opener, that site.
Thought the fridge would be massively higher.

Yeah, me too!

[evilagent]

An eye-opener, that site.
Thought the fridge would be massively higher.

[hyperD]

Whilst the kettle, dryer, are used sporadically, the fridge/freezer is on constantly 24/7.

I reckon that eats through loads of leccy.

The fridge normally has to be on 24/7 so it's not really something you can control. Interestingly has the same power footprint magnitude as a kettle being used according to this site but the kettle is something that you can control - I've seen a lot of people automatically fill a kettle to the brim just to make a cup of tea for instance.

Best way of viewing your consumption is looking at the wattage each appliances uses: classic case is 100W bulbs - imagine how many of those are on at night compared to the sporadic use of a 2.5kWh tumble dryer.

[evilagent]

WPS.

The sewerage costs are a proportion of the water you consume, so look into minimising the consumption (things from my previous post as an example).

For those that don't have those eco-loos, try a couple of concrete blocks in the cistern.

And don't keep the taps running when you clean your teeth.

And only boil your kettle with the appropriate amount of water required - not a full kettle (saves on leccy as well).

Kettle, tumble dryer and a fistful of lights are the biggest consumers of leccy btw.

Whilst the kettle, dryer, are used sporadically, the fridge/freezer is on constantly 24/7.

I reckon that eats through loads of leccy.