An intelligent water meter is supposed to be installed in my apartment soon. My landlord says it saves water and costs. But I'm skeptical - do you really need that, or is it just the water company trying to make money? Does anyone have one of these meters and can tell me if it actually makes a difference?
The main advantage is that you can see your consumption in real time - that makes leaks immediately visible, and it can save you hundreds of euros if, say, a pipe starts dripping. Otherwise it brings less benefit than many think, because most people don't actually consciously reduce their consumption anyway, but the transparency is definitely worth it.
Wait, are you currently paying based on consumption, or is it a flat rate for water?
The leaks thing is obviously a good argument, but I'd take a closer look at it. A smart meter only helps you if a) you actually check it regularly and b) you notice when something's off. A lot of people install one of these things and then just ignore it completely. Plus: if you're paying based on consumption and a pipe is dripping, you'll spot it eventually in your bill anyway - it's not that delayed. It just happens faster, but "saving hundreds of euros" is pretty optimistic. A dripping pipe does cost something, yeah, but we're not talking about disaster scenarios in most apartments.
Here's the thing: for landlords it's attractive because they can bill more easily and have more precise data. Whether it actually saves you money? Depends on whether you really change your behavior. If you're already frugal, you won't see a difference. And data protection is also a thing - your meter collects information about your habits. My take: it doesn't hurt to have it installed (you don't really have a choice anyway), but don't expect miracles from it. Check it now and then to see if anything looks weird - that's all you need to do.
I think this gets seen in black-and-white too often 🤔 It's neither pure moneymaking nor the miracle cure for high bills. It really just depends on how you want to use it and whether you're actually willing to change your habits.
We've had one of these meters at home for about half a year now, and honestly: just having the thing doesn't automatically lower your bill. Sure, it shows you how much water's flowing, but if you're not going to shower differently or stop lingering at the tap anyway, nothing changes. The real value is more that leak-detection thing other people mentioned - that's actually worth something. For me it quickly turned out that the toilet's constantly dripping a tiny bit (you can't even hear it normally), and that costs real money over the course of a year. Without the digital meter I probably never would've noticed 💧
As for you as a tenant: the important thing is how the billing works. If your landlord used to charge you a flat rate and now wants you to pay a share based on actual usage, you need to be careful - that could actually end up costing you more. Ask exactly how the billing will work before the meter gets installed. Otherwise: it doesn't cost you anything extra, and even if you don't consciously save water, at least you've got control and you'll notice right away if something's off.
The thing is: the whole setup only has a real downside if your landlord starts using it to monitor your water consumption or suddenly slaps you with higher utilities because the billing is now "more accurate." Some landlords use meters like these to adjust old flat rates - so it's worth checking beforehand whether your utility bill changes after that. Otherwise: if you're already paying by usage, it's pretty handy to see your water consumption in the app and notice when the toilet's running or the shower's leaking. That actually saves you money.
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