Master Meter’s Octave ultrasonic meter. |
The results were impressive. In the first year, revenue increased by $52,000, with a 39 percent increase in consumption registered on just one meter.
“The way we looked at it, we are simply measuring the amount of water we were unable to measure before,” Alvord said. “These meters not only help the bottom line in terms of annual revenue increase, they are also tracking every single last drop that goes through your system.”
Building on Success
Encouraged by the results from the first installations, Newhall moved forward with a program to replace meters that were deemed beyond repair, or those that clearly were not tracking usage accurately. For instance, in April 2012 an Octave was installed at an apartment complex where the need to effectively measure low flows was acute. “Because it is almost entirely inside uses, you really need to measure every single drop that goes through there,” Alvord said. Within a short time after installing the Octave, it became clear that plenty of water had been averting detection with the old metering system. Over the course of one year, Newhall recorded a 47 percent spike in consumption from the apartments, and generated a $48,000 increase in annual revenue.
All told, nine Octave meters have been installed between 2011 and 2013. While some of those meters do not service as large a customer base as the first two meters, the total annual increase in revenue from the other seven meters was $31,000, and a 41 percent increase in consumption was measured.