Water Submetering System
A water submetering system consists of individual water meters installed in each unit of a multi-unit property to measure unit-level water consumption for accurate, usage-based billing.
Rising water costs, limited visibility into individual consumption, and increasing regulatory pressure often leave property owners paying for water used by tenants without a reliable way to recover those costs. Water submetering provides an effective solution, and Mainlink offers a practical, plug-and-play system designed for fast and efficient deployment.
After implementing water submetering, property owners often achieve a 25–30% reduction in water consumption, with some properties realizing even greater savings.
Modern submetering systems also enable early leak detection, helping simplify maintenance and reducing the risk of larger and more costly leaks going unnoticed.
What is Water Submetering?
In water submetering, individual water meters are installed in each unit of a multi-tenant property. Water consumption is then measured and billed separately for each unit. This approach gives property owners much more detailed visibility than traditional water metering, in which a single master meter measures total property consumption and costs are allocated using a formula.
With water submetering, each unit is billed based on its actual, individually measured water usage. As a result, residents are responsible for paying for the water they actually consume.
In flat-fee or RUBS (Ratio Utility Billing Systems) arrangements, property owners often absorb a significant portion of the overall water bill because costs are allocated rather than directly measured and, in some cases, cannot be fully or legally recovered from residents. Water submetering addresses this challenge by providing accurate and transparent unit-level consumption data, allowing each resident to be billed separately and held accountable for their own usage.
This represents a significant improvement over flat-fee and RUBS billing methods, which rely on estimated allocation rather than actual consumption measurements.
How Do Water Submetering Systems Work?
A water submetering system works by measuring individual unit-level water consumption and collecting this data, transmitting it to central platforms and databases, and analyzing it for use by property managers and utility companies.
The process begins by utilizing individual water meters installed where water enters the unit for data collection. These water meters continuously record and capture actual water consumption data, enabling precise, accurate measurements for each unit in a property rather than estimates.
In Mainlink’s submetering system, these highly accurate water meters transmit consumption data wirelessly using LoRaWAN to gateways. Other systems may utilize different wireless technologies or may consist of wired solutions. In Mainlink’s system, gateways securely forward data to a centralized cloud platform where property managers can access dashboards for advanced analytics, billing, and leak alerts.
Once the data reaches the platform, it’s processed into clear and actionable insights. Property managers can access this information to better understand consumption, automate billing data, and receive alerts such as leak detection events.
For residents, Mainlink offers a mobile app that lets them check their consumption. This is an important driver of personal accountability and enables residents to adjust their consumption based on their own utility budget.
This end-to-end flow enables proactive, data-driven water management.
Water Submetering System Consists of
Ultrasonic Water Meter
Smart ultrasonic meter designed for accurate measurement of cold and hot water.
Mainhive Cloud
Safe and easy-to-use platform for administrators, a stand-alone app for consumers, and an API for seamless integrations with other applications.
Ultrasonic Water Meter
The QALCOSONIC W1 is an ultrasonic water meter designed to accurately measure cold and hot water usage in residential and commercial premises, apartment buildings, and other multi-tenant properties. Its static flow measurement means that the meter has no moving parts and therefore no wear and tear. This allows for exceptional metering accuracy and ensures long-term stability and reliability. The QALCOSONIC W1 is an essential physical component of the water submetering system: its sophisticated ultrasonic technology enables accurate, precise collection of the water consumption data underpinning the entire submetering system.
16 years battery life | Maintenance-free | Live alerts for leak detection | Made in EU | NTEP Certified
KEY BENEFITS:
- Precise & accurate measurement
- Compact size & space-efficient design
- Versatile mounting options – any-angle installation
- Single meter for hot & cold water
Gateway for Network
Mainlink offers state-of-the-art LoRaWAN® gateways designed to ensure smooth and reliable data transmission for your IoT (Internet of Things) projects. Whether you need compact indoor coverage or robust outdoor connectivity, our gateways provide seamless installation, superior performance, and flexible deployment options. The LoRaWAN gateway wirelessly transmits water consumption data collected by the water meters to the network server and subsequently to Mainlink’s data management platform, serving as an integral component of the submetering system.
KEY BENEFITS OF LoRaWAN GATEWAYS:
- Simple power setup
- Backup power to redundancy and continuous operations
- Real-time network outage notifications
- No repeaters or transceivers needed
Mainhive Cloud
Easy-to-use platform for administrators to monitor consumption, manage meters, detect & predict non-revenue water, collect data for automatic billing, observe metering points and other purposes. The platform is a vital tool for property owners and managers to utilize consumption data and insights to make strategic, data-driven operational decisions.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS: AWS secure cloud | Advanced meter data management (MDM) & analytics | Customer information system (CIS) | Supports legacy meters
User-friendly app for consumers to track their water consumption. Provides critical notifications, such as water leak alerts. Available for iOS and Android devices. The user-focused app encourages residents to become accountable for their own water consumption, enabling them to adjust their consumption and behavior based on their own needs.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS: Customer engagement & real-time notifications | Convenient property updates
API for 3rd party integrations
Integrate the advanced meter data management platform with existing platforms to automate billing, exchange data and streamline your operations to make effective and efficient use of existing infrastructure and systems.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS: Seamless integration with read-bill-collect (RBC) billing infrastructure
Water Submetering System Use Cases
The most significant and common submetering use cases are explored below.
Automated data collection
Automated data collection delivers accurate, granular consumption data without the need for on-site visits. Our water submetering service improves operational efficiency, reduces human error, and saves time, labor, and operating costs.
Accurate data for billing
The AMI data management platform is designed for accountable metering. Meter reads are accurate, traceable, and explained. Clear data for billing can be seamlessly integrated via API into the billing platform. Accurate, precise unit-level consumption data enables utility costs to be passed directly to tenants.
Leak detection
Detect leaks as soon as they happen and prevent property damage. With the mobile app, residents receive instant notifications, which helps them react quickly. The average water and freeze damage insurance claim can cost around $15,400 , making early detection a significant benefit to submetering.
Benefits of Water Submetering Systems
Water submetering offers many benefits, but the following are the most significant for business owners and managers.
PROPERTY MANAGERS
- Real-time data & analytics
- Carrier-grade uptime
- Secure and reliable data collection and transmission
- Flexible submetering solutions for different property types
- Potential water savings of 25–30% or more
OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT
- All-in-one solution
- Plug-and-play submeter installation –around 15-30 minute install per unit
- Streamlined billing and reporting integration
- Dedicated technical support and trainings
- Maintenance-free ultrasonic meters simplify operations
BUSINESS DECISION MAKERS
- Increased property value through higher NOI
- Open-standards-based solution
- Interoperable with existing infrastructure to simplify submetering implementations
- Cutting-edge technology, advanced analytics, and future-proof design
- Highly scalable future-proof submetering system
ROI and Financial Impact of Water Submetering Systems
Water submetering solutions deliver real, tangible financial returns through reduced consumption, improved utility cost recovery, and greater operational efficiency.
Studies show that after implementing a submetering system, water consumption can drop between 25%-30% or more across the property, driven largely by behavioral changes as tenants become accountable for their own usage as well as early leak detection via alerts and analytics. While overall consumption decreases, property owners can also enjoy reduced utility costs, as accurate unit-level billing allows a substantial portion of the bill to be passed directly to the tenants who generate it.
Take the example of a 50-unit building with an annual water spend of $50,000:
- Annual water spend: $50,000
- 25% reduction in consumption (tenant behavioral changes): $12,500
- New annual water spend: $37,500
For property owners looking to learn more or explore more personalized figures, our ROI calculator is a helpful tool.
Water Submetering by Property Type
Below are the most common applications of water submetering solutions in multifamily, commercial, high-rise, and mobile home contexts.
Multifamily
Tenants can be billed for their personal water consumption, enabling significant increases in utility cost recovery. Our submetering solution utilizes LoRaWAN technology and advanced gateways, eliminating the need for expensive transceivers and repeaters, allowing you to save on hardware expenses while simplifying deployments and enabling massive scalability.
Commercial
Our plug-and-play, 15-30 minute install submetering system delivers valuable insights into water consumption, identifies usage patterns, and optimizes resource allocation. This can simplify utilities administration and frees up time and budgets for other important activities.
High rise
Our powerful, efficient hardware can transmit data between multiple floors and simplify smart-building infrastructure. Leveraging our submetering solution for your smart building needs reduces hardware costs and operational complexity while enabling you to obtain high-quality, accurate data for data-driven decisions.
Mobile home
Mainlink’s submetering solution is suitable for both indoor and outdoor installations, making it an effective choice for mobile home properties of all kinds. Our meters are dust and waterproof, ensuring that you benefit from reliable, accurate, and precise tracking regardless of weather conditions.
Frequently Asked Questions
The purpose of a water submeter is to measure water consumption at the individual unit level of a multi-unit property so that tenants can be billed on actual usage instead of a shared allocation.
Tenants are billed based on their own measured water consumption.
The typical ROI timeline for a water submetering system depends on your existing infrastructure and needs separate evaluation. Reach out to us and we will calculate it according to your project requirements.
Mainlink’s water submetering system integrates with third-party management and billing software via API, enabling simplified implementation using existing infrastructure.
Mainlink’s water submetering system is compliant with all relevant industry standards, such as NTEP and MID; compliance is at the heart of our systems, which have seen regulatory approval in all regions in which we operate.
Internet connectivity is not required for a smart meter. Instead of using wifi, smart meters share data using secure networks like LoRaWAN.
Installation of Mainlink’s water submetering system is simple and takes roughly 15 to 30 minutes per meter (depending on access and the complexity of existing infrastructure).
Mainlink offers a maintenance-free water submetering system. Our meters utilize sophisticated ultrasonic technology that has no moving parts, eliminating meter maintenance. Other aspects of the system, such as gateways, require minimal maintenance, such as a periodic system check.
The main drawback of water submetering is the initial installation and deployment cost. However, in most cases, the long-term savings from improved cost recovery and reduced water consumption more than offset the upfront investment.
Choosing between submetering or RUBS can be difficult. Ultimately, the choice depends on your need for accuracy, fairness, and regulatory considerations. Submetering is the only choice that provides precise, accurate, usage-based billing, with substantial benefits for consumption reduction and cost recovery.
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