Choosing Submetering Meters
Last reviewed September 2026NES Editorial, checked by the Billing & Compliance team
Five things that separate a meter you will trust for years from one you will be replacing soon.
What should I look for when choosing a submeter?
When picking a water or electric submeter, five things matter most. First is accuracy and reliability, since the whole point is measuring usage correctly, and cheap meters tend to fail far sooner than brand-name ones. Second is compatibility with your existing plumbing or wiring, including whether there is physical space for the meter. Third is ease of install and service, because batteries and parts need to be reachable. Fourth is cost, which is best judged over the meter's full lifespan rather than the sticker price. Fifth is features like daily monitoring, alerts, and reporting that help you manage usage and catch leaks. NES sells nonproprietary, brand-name meters that you own with a warranty, and we collect reads wirelessly every day. We focus on multifamily properties with 80 or more units across more than 43 states.
Five things that matter
- Accuracy and reliability: cheap meters fail sooner than brand-name ones.
- Compatibility: the meter must fit your plumbing or wiring, and the space available.
- Install and service: batteries and parts should be easy to reach.
- Cost over lifespan: judge total trouble-free years, not the sticker price.
- Features: daily monitoring, alerts, and reporting that help you manage usage and catch leaks.
Each factor, a little deeper
Accuracy is the whole job: a meter that cannot measure correctly cannot bill fairly, and the long-term durability of a cheap meter is usually far below a brand-name one. Compatibility means the meter connects to the plumbing or wiring you already have and works with any devices already in place, and the physical space available often narrows the choices. Serviceability matters because every meter eventually needs a battery, and a meter that takes an hour to open costs you on every visit. Judge cost by trouble-free years, not the purchase price. And feature sets differ: daily monitoring, alerts, and reporting are what turn a meter from a billing device into a leak-detection tool.
Why brand-name and nonproprietary
An established manufacturer means a longer, more predictable lifespan and fewer surprise replacements. NES sells nonproprietary meters, so you own the hardware, it carries a warranty, and you are not tied to a single vendor. That protects your investment if you ever change billing partners.
What the right meter earns back
A dependable meter is what makes the economics work. Residents billed on their own readings conserve, which for water typically means a 15 to 30 percent drop in consumption, and gas or electric meters move costs the landlord was absorbing onto the residents who created them. Most properties earn back the cost in 12 to 18 months. NES installs and services the meters, reads them daily, and bills residents monthly, for all property types from apartment communities to mobile home parks, townhomes, and condominiums.
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