Improve water use and save costs with suite metering

The cost of not metering

A typical 100-suite condo without suite metering can lose an estimated $1,800 a month, about $18 per suite, to poor water use. The reason is simple. In a bulk-metered building, no occupant has any accountability for what they consume, so no one has a reason to conserve. With municipal rates rising by as much as 10 percent a year, that waste compounds.

What submetering is

Water submetering measures the consumption of each individual unit instead of one bulk meter for the whole building. Property managers can then bill residents for their actual usage, which makes billing fair and accurate. Residents get clear data on their own consumption, which is the first step to controlling it. This sits alongside the broader conservation case we make in water conservation for buildings.

The benefits

• Fair, accurate billing. Residents pay for what they use, which ends disputes over shared charges.
• Lower operating costs. Accurate tracking surfaces waste so it can be reduced.
• A user-pay incentive. When people see their own use, they conserve.
• Higher building value. Transparent billing appeals to buyers and tenants.
• LEED credits. Conservation measures like submetering can earn certification credits.
• Less strain on plumbing. Lower consumption means less wear and fewer repairs over time.

How it works

Meters install at the cold and hot water shutoff valves for each unit. Once active, they are read remotely, and the data is used to produce accurate invoices, detect leaks and track consumption per unit. That dual function matters. The same meter that bills a resident also flags an unexpected flow, which makes submetering a quiet form of unit-level leak detection. Eddy's system monitors flow within the plumbing in real time and alerts on anomalies, and our team provides training and support for managers and residents.

Frequently asked questions

How much can a building save? A 100-suite building can recover on the order of $1,800 a month that was lost to unaccounted use, before counting the leaks the meters help catch.

Does submetering also detect leaks? Yes. Because each unit's flow is tracked, an abnormal pattern stands out, giving you unit-level leak detection alongside fair billing.

Is it disruptive to install? Meters install at the existing unit shutoff valves and are read remotely, so the setup is contained and the ongoing reading is automatic.