Welsh Water has begun rolling out smart water meters in Cardiff, as part of an EU-funded water usage project.
The not-for-profit company will install 250 new digital smart meters in Cardiff, with plans for another 3,000 to be fitted over the next three months.
The meters will help customers see how much water they are using and detect any problems, such as leaks, earlier.
The company’s water demand manager Andy Blackhall said: “In our recent customer engagement surveys, customers have informed us that they would like to see us trialling new and innovative ways to help reduce the demand for water, and to help customers manage their bills.
“We will use the results of the trial to help inform our future long-term business planning activity, and ensure we understand fully the costs and benefits of delivering a world-class service to our customers.
“All customers in the Cardiff trial will be offered a free water efficiency and usage survey, along with installation of free water-saving products, such as a water butt or more efficient shower head where required.”
The meters will measure water usage wirelessly at selected properties in Cardiff, sending information back to the customers every hour so that they can monitor how much they are using, see peak usage times and help manage their household utility costs.
The information also gets sent back to Welsh Water who will be able to detect if any leaks or bursts have occurred at the property and get the leak repaired much more quickly, reducing wastage and saving customers money.
The smart meter trial is part of a wider EU-funded project called the WISDOM project.
Last year the not-for-profit company invested £7.2 million in innovation projects, which Welsh Water says have improved services for customers and enabled them to continue to protect the environment.
Welsh Water serves 1.4 million homes and businesses, and supplies 828 million litres of water every day.
The company said reducing wastage is one of its “top priorities”. It finds and fixes around 26,000 leaks a year, and leakage rates have halved since the early 1990s from 400 Ml/d to around 180 Ml/d.