an article from sunsonic®
Let’s talk about a situation most people don’t see coming.
You haven’t changed your habits. You’re not watering your lawn more. You didn’t install a new showerhead. You didn’t spring a leak. But your water bill shows up, and it’s higher than usual. Sound familiar?
The problem might not be you. It might be your meter. Most water utilities are still relying on mechanical meters (technology that’s been around since the early 1900s). These devices were great back when homes didn’t have six faucets, a dishwasher, and a tankless water heater. Today? They’re outdated. And the worst part is this: they can still impact your bottom line.
Here’s how.
Mechanical water meters have moving parts, and much like us, moving parts wear down over time. This means they won’t measure as well, especially at low flows, and will only get worse over time.
If you have a slow leak in your kitchen, a mechanical meter most likely won’t catch it accurately for years, or it might misread it entirely. Then the utility pro comes by and replaces your “old faithful” meter with a brand-new mechanical one. That new meter might read better, but even though your habits haven’t changed, your bills go up. Why? Because now, for the first time in a while, your actual usage is being captured (until it isn’t, and the cycle repeats itself). Same habits. New meter. Higher bill.
Same tech. New bills.
Here’s another scenario. Mechanical meters can stick from the particles in the line or pressure surges sticking to its components, which can cause them to over-register. We’ve seen cases where an older mechanical meter wasn’t just under-billing—it was inconsistent. It would miss low flows, then spike during normal usage. When that’s replaced, the new mechanical meter suddenly levels out the readings. But “level” doesn’t always mean “accurate.” Sometimes, it just means “consistently wrong." The problem is there’s no alert. There being no red flag makes this invisible until it hits your wallet.
Let’s break this down. Mechanical water meters require more frequent maintenance and replacement. They demand manual reading. They miss leaks. They create gaps between real usage and real billing.
Ultrasonic water meters don’t.
With no moving parts and smart reading capabilities, ultrasonic meters track real usage from day one. They’re accurate at low flow and high flow. They can detect trends over time, and they don’t degrade with age in the same way. If anything, you’ll just replace a battery after about a decade or longer.
Upgrading your water meter to ultrasonic isn’t just a tech upgrade. You’re actively eliminating billing blind spots.
Most utilities aren’t upgrading because they want to. They’re upgrading because they have to. Supply chain issues, labor shortages, and rising costs are making it harder to stick with the old ways. As those old mechanical meters fail, replacements go in, and customers are left asking why their bills suddenly changed.
The answer is simple. Old tech wasn’t telling the truth.
If you’re going to make the leap, then leap forward and not laterally. Don’t swap one outdated meter for another.
