Our thought leadership piece on smart water metering was featured in Energy Manager magazine. You can read the full article below.
With builds facing increasing costs, lower margins, and longer sales cycles, developers are searching out new ways to add value to their projects. Matthew Ling, director of business development at Leep Utilities, talks about why more developers are turning to smart water meters to improve build project outcomes.
The UK has an acute water scarcity crisis, with more areas moving into drought status. Helping to combat this issue, Ofwat is aiming for suppliers to reduce leakage by 17% between now and 2030. Essential to this project is the roll-out of smart water metering, without which, could lead to England alone experiencing a daily water shortage of more than six billion litres by 2055, according to the Environmental Agency.
Smart water metering, known as Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), does exactly as it says on the tin. It replaces traditional ‘dumb’ water meters that need manual reading with more advanced metering infrastructure. Sharing some similarities with smart electricity and gas meters, smart water meters automatically and regularly transmit meter readings to the water company using a proprietary data connection.
However, the benefits of adopting AMI and smart metering go far beyond automated meter reading and national leakage reduction. We see developers gaining significant benefits across the whole of the construction process, helping to redress increased build cost, lower margins, and a difficult house-building market that’s currently being squeezed.
Protecting profits and people
Utility infrastructure is at constant risk during the build process, from heavy machinery, excavation work, and human error. And when water pipes get damaged – and we see this happen regularly – the consequences can be severe on both timelines and budgets.
Without smart metering, a burst pipe during construction can keep flowing undetected for days or weeks, causing substantial water loss, potential contamination issues, and incurring emergency repair costs. On top of this, developers are then faced with significant bills for water they didn’t know they were using.
With AMI, water readings are sent to the water company every half hour, making it possible for the supplier to see water usage in near real-time across the entire site – and as a result, to quickly detect unusual or excessive water consumption, for example, if construction equipment has damaged a pipe.
A recent example shows the power of the AMI system when smart meters detected seven behind-the-meter leaks on the very first day of operation at a development site. These leaks would have stayed hidden with traditional metering and could have cost thousands of pounds in wasted water, property damage, and complaints from any future residents of the property.
AMI also reduces work site risk, helping to keep workers safe by removing the need for people to read meters. It means fewer people visiting active construction zones, which are inherently hazardous locations, and simplifies life for everyone by removing the need to make appointments and plan visits.
Maximising site potential
Fitting more units onto a development site can dramatically increase project profits, particularly in high-demand urban areas where land values are high. AMI helps developers to get the most from network capacity through sophisticated water balancing techniques that weren’t possible before.
Traditional planning approaches use conservative estimates of water demand, which can result in overbuilding on infrastructure that isn’t required, or artificial limits on development density.
With AMI, developers can get detailed usage data that allows more precise demand forecasting and water network optimisation. This data-driven approach can support planning for higher density developments on constrained sites, unlocking additional revenue potential.
Reducing infrastructure charges
One of the most significant financial benefits of AMI for developers lies in the potential for reduced infrastructure charges from incumbent water companies.
Recent Ofwat changes mean that connection rebates have now been replaced by environmental components that reduce the connection fees for developments that can demonstrate lower per-capita water consumption through design and technology.
AMI systems provide the robust usage data necessary to negotiate these reductions for individual properties. But by demonstrating efficient water usage patterns across completed developments, it becomes easier for developers to secure lower infrastructure charges for future phases or projects.
Making properties more attractive to customers
Today’s homebuyers increasingly value environmental responsibility and cost control, and properties equipped with smart water metering offer them both.
AMI technology enables water companies to offer more customer-friendly billing approaches. At Leep, for example, as well as offering traditional billing based on estimated usage, we’re looking into offering monthly direct debit billing based on actual usage.
We believe this approach improves affordability by enabling residents to spread costs more evenly and budget more effectively – particularly important given the current cost-of-living crisis.
Arguably properties equipped with smart water meters are less likely to experience water-related complaints, contributing to stronger developer reputations and improved sales prospects for future projects.
Supporting sustainable water practices
Water scarcity is becoming an increasingly critical issue, with London and the other major metropolitan areas now classified as water-stressed regions, according to the Environment Agency’s water stress report.
As environmental regulations tighten and water continues to become an increasingly precious resource, developments that can demonstrate compliance with emerging water efficiency standards will have clear advantages in planning applications and buyer appeal.
Creating competitive advantage
For developers, AMI can create real opportunity to optimise developments of any size. From protecting construction budgets and maximising development density, to enhancing customer satisfaction and future-proofing properties, AMI technology offers compelling advantages for developers willing to embrace innovation.
While we are working with forward-thinking developers who have begun adopting AMI in their projects, widespread use remains limited – seemingly due to a lack of awareness rather than cost or complexity concerns.
At Leep, we are now installing AMI as standard across all new developments, recognising the technology’s benefits for network management, customer service, and regulatory compliance. It gives developers access to advanced capabilities without additional cost or complexity.
As the property development landscape becomes increasingly costly and competitive, technologies that deliver measurable benefits across multiple dimensions will become key to success. The question isn’t whether AMI will become ubiquitous on property developments – it will – but whether developers will regret not choosing to adopt it earlier.
Link to the article: Smart water metering: The hidden advantage for developers | EM Magazine