Often when landlords announce that they are moving from shared water billing systems to individual bills through sub metering water, tenants have some pushback to the idea.
A lot of these issues is simply in a lack of understanding about the use of smart meters and the myths that were hyped with the first use of these meters. The reality is the security, accuracy, and efficiency of these meters have increased, which is a benefit to both tenants as well as to landlords and property managers.
To help to understand three common myths about the use of smart meters in sub metering water, here is the latest information that will help tenants to understand their value.
Myth: My Bill Will Increase
It is true that some people may see an increase in the water bill, but they now can control that by limiting their water use. The high users of water that have been subsidized by other renters will be the ones that see the increase. On the other hand, those that use less water will see a decrease in the shared bill, which will be a positive.
Myth: Information is Transmitted That Can Be Hacked
There are security and encryption services that are used on all transmissions from smart meters. They have to meet industry standards of both security as well as RF transmissions, so they are not harmful and produce much less RF (radio frequency) than a typical cell phone.
Myth: Submetering Provides Private Information On Behaviors
This myth about sub metering water is puzzling in its origin and its message. There is no way that any meter, either a manual read meter or a smart meter can detect how the energy or the water is being used. All it does is measure the flow through the meter from the main to the residence.
Planning and learning as much as possible about the benefits of submetering and smart meters will help you to provide accurate information to tenants.
