The Thames Water Smarter Homes Visit Offer
I wasn’t looking forward to the Thames Water Smarter Homes Visit. When they called to offer us one I felt forced into accepting. I should point out that the caller was perfectly polite and friendly so the pressure was more how I felt, rather than due to his behaviour. He said we are using far more water than the average family of 4, but I pointed out that we were a family of 5 and he didn’t have the data for average use for larger households. I accepted the visit because they said part of what they would do is check for leaks and having been made to feel we were using a large amount of water I felt we should check if there was a problem.
Having A Smart Meter for Water
We have had a smart water meter for 2 years now. I held off as long as I could as I knew that having a family of 5 our water bills would go up. However due to being in the Thames Water region it is compulsory to have a meter (unless one can’t be installed for some reason) and they said they would switch us to a much higher tariff if we refused by a deadline.
The first year after install is a comparison period where you can see how much you use, but are still charged a fixed amount. Our bills have reflected the meter readings for the last year now. And yes our water bill has gone up after having the meter installed.
Our Current Water Use
When I was called to book an appointment I was given a figure for the average water use of a 4 person household and what our water usage had been over the last 3 months. He wasn’t able to provide any historic data for us.
Before the appointment I looked at our Thames Water online account which shows monthly water use for the last 2 years and we are generally using around 15000 litres a month. That works out to around 100 litres per person a day. I tried to look for the typical daily water use per person and 100 litres a day isn’t high. During the visit they said the average for Thames Water customers is currently around 140 litres a day and they are trying to get it down closer to 110. So based on the size of our household we are fairly efficient, but we had triggered being contacted for a Smarter Home Visit by Thames Water because of our total usage (which is high because of our household size).
My partner noticed on the graph that on one of the days we were away 13 litres of water were used. This suggests that there is some level of water lost through a leak. You can see the water use by hour for the last 7 days so next time we are away we will have a look at that and see if it’s a continuous low level of water lost or if it’s the person feeding the cat using a surprising amount of water. I would recommend having a look at your daily use online, particularly for days you are away as this is a good indication of problems. You shouldn’t be using any water while no one is home.
Who Is Eligible For A Smart Homes Visit?
The Thames Water Efficiency team contact account holders who are using higher amounts of water. This appears to be based on total water usage so those in larger households are more likely to get a call. Obviously for them to identify your water usage you need to have a smart meter.
They appear to only be offered to Thames Water customers (which covers London and some surrounding areas) because London and the South-East have been designated areas of ’Serious Water Stress’ by the Government. While the advisors wear Thames Water uniforms and ID, the service appears to be supported by Groundworks. They have contact information here so if you think you would benefit from a visit it might be worth a call.
What does the Smarter Homes Visit from Thames Water Involve?
During the visit they check the smart water meter is working properly, they check the taps and toilet for leaks and they ask about how you currently use water, giving advice where appropriate and offering devices that can decrease the use of water. Our visit took about 40 minutes.
During our visit the advisor installed water saving devices on our taps and shower to reduce the flow of water and put a bag in the toilet cistern which reduces the capacity by about 1 litre. All of these things can be easily removed if we choose. Given that our most wasteful use of water is probably the children putting the bathroom tap on full blast and the length of my daughters’ showers these should hopefully reduce our water use slightly. He also gave us an egg timer device for 4 minutes to try and encourage us to have shorter showers. That one will definitely be a work in progress.
The advisor also identified that our toilet cistern is continuously dripping and he booked someone to have a look at it. They came the next morning (the time had been pre agreed) and changed a part to stop the drip. They also identified a small leak from a pipe next to the toilet which was also fixed.
Cost of the Thames Water Smarter Homes Visit
The initial visit was free and we didn’t have to pay for any of the devices we were given. The follow up visit with the plumber to fix the toilet leak was also free (including the replacement part).
Was the Smarter Homes Visit worth it?
As an autistic person who dislikes having strangers in the house and hates being given advice that feels like I am being told off, worrying about the impending visit caused me a high amount of anxiety. If I could have cancelled it easily I would have (I never received the text message confirming the details as I was advised so didn’t know how to cancel). I was also a bit put out that as we are paying for the water we should be allowed to use as much as we want and this visit feels like it is telling us we must use less.
Thames Water offers these visits because they are trying to reduce daily water usage to an average of 110 litres per person by 2050 (in line with national targets). Thames Water's targets to reduce overall use is not my problem though so I was initially annoyed by having the inconvenience of a visit.
However during the visit I didn’t feel the advisor was being judgemental and some of the devices provided will be useful. Offering a follow up visit to help fix leaks is also impressive. I don’t know what the scope of these visits are and if they would cover any repair for a leak wasting water, but if they can fix something for free that will reduce our water use (and therefore our bills) that seems worth a try.
Despite the anxiety the visit caused me in advance it was worth it for us and it will be interesting to see if the devices and leak fix reduce our water bills. We have a good idea of what behaviour and how machines (like the washing machine and dishwasher) are using water so there aren’t really behavioural changes for us to make. With the exception of the length of showers we are pretty water efficient anyway, and ultimately I am so grateful when my teenager actually showers I’m not going to spend the whole time yelling at her to hurry up.
In short the visitors from Thames Water arrived on time, were polite and provided solutions for free that should have a small impact on reducing our water bills. If you get offered a Smarter Homes Visit and you can arrange one at a convenient time I would recommend it.
