Domestic Smart Monitoring FAQs

Yes, but we are focussing on helping you monitor your water use. Meters are often linked to billing and charges which this project is not considering.

Instead, the aim is to provide detailed insights into water consumption to promote better water efficiency and conservation.

Smart monitors measure the amount of water that passes through the device and then send that data back to a central point at regular intervals. 

We intend to take one reading every hour from each monitor, and we will download the data once per day.

To preserve battery life, the monitors transmit data once per day instead of providing live updates. This approach balances functionality with energy efficiency.

This is a piece of street furniture often located on the pavement outside your house. The design allows for a meter to be installed quickly and easily without needing to dig or modify any pipes. If a boundary box is already present, installation can be completed with minimal disruption.

To ensure the trial is truly representative we need to include different property types, including older properties, which don’t have boundary boxes.

Monitoring older properties provides the opportunity to identify and resolve leakage on the supply pipe going into your property and improve our understanding of opportunities elsewhere in the country. 

We are installing just over 400 new boundary boxes at these properties, and we will minimise any inconvenience and disruption for you and your neighbours

You do not need to be at home for the monitor installation although we will need to temporarily shut your water off for a brief time.  

If we are installing a new boundary box your water supply will be off for no more than two hours while we install and connect everything back up.  

If you have a boundary box installed at your property, we will complete the installation within an hour unless we come across problems such as having to remove debris from inside the box. 

If we have to dig to install a boundary box we may take between two and four hours to complete the job. If we dig through tarmac, final reinstatement will be completed at another time but we will do this as quickly as possible to remove barriers surrounding the dig site.

We have engaged Clancy, one of our framework contractors, to carry out the installation of boundary boxes and monitors on behalf of Scottish Water. 

Suez UK, a European leader in smart water monitoring services, will install the communication network and provide your access to the data.

We will install your monitor in an existing boundary box, or one will be provided, on the pavement next to your property. We do this as it is the closest point between our pipe network and the pipework you own as it crosses your property boundary.

We won't ask to come into your home to fit a monitor.

Yes. Our smart monitors emit fewer radio waves than most Wi-Fi devices and significantly lower than other common items in the home like microwave ovens or mobile phones. 

The radio waves from a smart monitor represent a very small fraction of the total amount we come into contact with each day.

In the face of climate change, new rainfall patterns and periods of drought, water will become an even more precious resource which we need in our daily lives. 

The lessons from Dundee will shape future national strategies around water use for the long-term.

In the face of climate change water will become an even more precious resource. Each home taking part will be able to see the amount of water it uses every day, week and month, enabling customers to understand their water habits and make informed, sustainable choices about their water.
  
Working together with Scottish Water we can track patterns, spot issues and identify ways in which improvements can be implemented that make Dundee a water efficient city.

We use meter readings from various areas in Scotland to get a representative sample for individual homes. We call this our per household consumption (PHC) monitor and it is made up of 140 different areas with around 10,000 homes in total.

The project will provide evidence to develop a future business case for wider rollout. 

Until we have the results of the trial, we will not be able to say if providing better water use information leads to a significant and sustainable reduction in water use. 

If the benefits outweigh the costs we will consider rolling out in the areas where we project future water supply risks first.

No, any change to pricing and charging policy would require a Scottish Government ministerial decision and consultation.

There are approximately 1.5 million homes in the areas that may experience a water supply risk, in drought conditions, by 2050. This is one of many projects identifying the best way to maintain supplies for customers in the future.

The north-west area of Dundee represents a diverse cross section of Scottish homes and provides a representative sample for the whole of Scotland. 

There is also a good number of newer homes where we can install a monitor without digging, older homes where we can test more complex installation, and the area is a suitable location to test the communication network required.

Dundee City is also very active in leading discussions and projects around net zero and sustainability, so we want to support that and collaborate with other projects.

We want to test different ways to engage with our customers to see what works best with the information available. There will be a control group and four engagement groups.

We are delivering monitors to a diverse cross section of homes in the area. To provide a representative sample for our research we do not need to install a monitor at every home in the area.

The project will run for 3 years. We believe this is long enough to determine if changes made by customers are sustained over the long term. 

It also provides assurance that this is a research project that may not be extended beyond this timescale. 

We will however report throughout on the volumes measured and any benefits gained.

Scottish Water has reduced leakage by more than 50% over 17 years and we continue to target further reductions. 

The information that can be drawn from smart monitors will help us target leakage reduction more effectively. For example, if the smart monitor recognises a continuous flow of water overnight it is likely there is a leak between the monitor and the house or within the house. If we see this, we can support you to identify and fix the leak.

Encouraging customers to value water and only use what they need is a more efficient and sustainable solution than finding or creating new water sources. 

Reduced consumption also brings additional benefits, such as a lower carbon emissions and reduced household energy bills. 

If you are moving house, please let us know at this email address domesticsmartmonitoring@scottishwater.co.uk that there will be a change of ownership from a certain date. That way we can look out for, and understand, if there are any sudden changes in water use. It also protects your personal data under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

We can also send our new customer a letter explaining that the previous occupier was part of a trial and that we would love them to continue that.

The trial will cost around £2 million over three years. The results will help shape our future strategy for water demand solutions. 

This is part of our ongoing research to ensure we continue providing an excellent water service well into the future.

Only one of our engagement groups will be provided with water efficiency advice and devices. We are doing this in a controlled way so we can compare the results between different engagement groups.

No, you will not be asked to pay for anything. You will continue to pay for your water and waste water services through your council tax, as you do just now.

Yes, all your data will be managed according to current regulations.

We are using your data to help you understand your water use in more detail. 

We will also be analysing the information provided to see where there are opportunities to use less or waste less water. For example, if we identify a continuous flow of water overnight at your property, we will contact you to find out more and hopefully help resolve what is likely to be a leak either in your garden or within your home. 

We will also use the information to support analysis of the trial to determine if we should roll smart monitoring out further across Scotland.

We will have your address details and your water monitor data.

Beyond this there may be a reason for us to contact you, but this doesn’t mean we will record any further personal details such as name and number of people living at your address. If we do, we will ask your permission before we collect and store this information.

Your data will be available using an app or web page portal from any mobile device or computer. 

No, you don’t, but it would be great if you could participate and help inform future water use strategy in Scotland. 

If you have a question that hasn’t been answered here, please get in touch at domesticsmartmonitoring@scottishwater.co.uk and a member of the team will get back to you.

If you don’t want to be part of the trial you can opt out here

We'd love for you to get involved and play an active role. If you're not in the control group, please use the data provided by the monitor to track your water use, identify patterns, and consider making changes to help conserve our precious resource.

We might also reach out if we notice something unusual. We'd appreciate your help in determining whether it's genuine water use or a potential leak or misuse of water.