Spending a penny has never been so expensive. Households in the UK are today using an average of nearly 55,000 litres of tap water a year; that's enough to fill a private swimming pool. That may not sound a lot but if you filled that pool with bottled mineral water instead, at a rate of roughly fifty pence a litre, you would be looking at spending around 27,500 GBP each a year. Luckily for us, tap water is considerably cheaper than the bottled variety however with current pressure from rising gas and electricity bills, expensive water rates are simply unwelcome extra burdens. Installing water meters is a great way to cut your outgoings and control how much water your household consumes. Having a water meter installed in your home allows you to take control of your consumption. Some have suggested annual savings of up to two hundred pounds as a result of doing the switch. If you think that sounds too good to be true, you can test it out online before you buy. Many companies have an online calculator to help customers decide whether a meter would help cut their outgoings. Houses with a meter use on average ten percent less water, according to Ofwat. At this rate, 'spending a penny' will in fact cost you just that. Comparison websites that will ask you about your water usage, to determine how best to save you money. Questions include how often you shower and bath or use the washing machine, to calculate how much water your household actually use. These websites are then able to calculate whether a meter will cut your bills. Or if you are after a more accurate reading, ask your water company to provide you with a water meter calculator. As a general rule of thumb, if you have more bedrooms in your house than people, you should check out getting a meter. This is because unmetered bills are calculated on the rateable value of a property, which takes into account its size. If you do decide that a water meter is for you and have found one suitable for your home, water companies will be able to fit them free of charge upon request unless it's justifiably impractical (for instance, those living in blocks of flats with shared pipes). On the rare occasions this occurs, if your water usage is limited, request an assessed charge bill where rather than rateable value, your bill is worked out using details such as how many people are living in your flat. Whether you decide to switch will inevitably depend on how much of a saving you are forecasted to make. For the cost of a phone call (and a water meter), you could find you save yourself a bundle each year and with online calculators giving you the chance to 'try before you buy', the question is not 'Should you switch?' but 'When?'
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