Residential Submetering: Why It Will Save You Money

How residential submetering works

A submeter goes on each unit's water line, underneath the property's single master meter from the utility. NES reads those submeters daily and bills each resident for the gallons they actually used, instead of the owner absorbing one bill or splitting it evenly. The master meter still measures the whole property, and common-area water such as irrigation and the pool is measured separately and stays with the owner.

Where the savings come from

• Residents pay for their own usage, so the owner stops carrying the master-meter bill in rent
• Consumption usually drops 15 to 30 percent once residents are responsible for what they use
• Daily reads flag a high-usage unit or a leak within about a day, not on the next monthly bill
• A single running toilet can waste 200 or more gallons a day, and catching it early prevents a large bill and water damage
• Lower utility cost and recovered expense raise net operating income and property cash flow

Why it pays off for apartments, condos, and mobile home parks

These property types share the same problem: many units, one utility bill, and no resident incentive to conserve. Submetering fixes the incentive and recovers cost the owner used to absorb, so it tends to pay for itself in 12 to 18 months. It also makes the property more attractive, because prospective residents see that they only pay for their own use rather than subsidizing the building.

Designed around your property, run by NES

NES designs the submetering plan around each property's plumbing and unit count, then installs nonproprietary meters that you own. The same in-house team reads the meters, bills residents, and answers resident questions in English and Spanish. The daily usage data points maintenance to high-usage units and leaks, and NES tracks the state and local rules so billing stays compliant. NES specializes in multifamily properties with 80 or more units.