Early access · Sydney apartments

Your hot water bill, finally in plain sight.

Metriq reads the hot water meter already in your building and turns it into live usage, a bill forecast and a price check against every retailer. All without touching the meter.

Join the waitlist Try the live demo

Read-only. The meter's seal stays intact.

Unit 4B · hot water Live
Meter reading
L
Today
130 L
Bill forecast
$375.68
likely $370–$381 · 25 days left
$ Cheaper plan found
$141 less on this bill
! Night-time flow
50 L between 1–5 am

Sample figures from the live demo

2.25¢

the real price of a litre of hot water, worked out from the gas bill's tiers, supply charge and conversion factor.

184 L

of hot water a day on average, measured from pulse reads through the day and an optical read every midnight.

$141

less on one 89-day bill with the cheapest open plan, about $558 a year.

80

gas plans from 12 retailers, each priced on the apartment's actual usage.

The problem

Shared hot water is billed in the dark.

In many Sydney apartment buildings, hot water comes from one central system and each unit is billed from its own meter. You rarely get to see that meter, and the bill explains very little.

Quarterly, and often estimated

You find out what you used three months later, and the reading may not have been taken at all.

Litres turned into megajoules

Your water is converted to gas energy with a building-wide factor you can't check, then priced on tiers.

Comparing plans is guesswork

Every retailer prices differently. Without your real usage, you can't tell which plan is actually cheapest.

How it works

Three steps. Nothing invasive.

  1. 1

    Clip on

    A small reader sits on the meter's optical port and its pulse output, two connections the meter already has. Nothing is opened, rewired or written to.

  2. 2

    Stream

    Running on battery, it sends a reading over WiFi every time hot water flows, so your data is never a quarter old.

  3. 3

    See and save

    Your dashboard shows usage, forecasts the bill, flags leaks and finds the plan that would cost you least.

Hybrid reading

Two ways of reading the meter. Each covers the other.

Metriq combines the meter's pulse output and its optical port. The pulses make your usage live; the optical read is the meter's own absolute value, so the total can always be trusted.

Pulse

Live, through the day

The meter sends a pulse for every 10 litres. Metriq counts each one as it happens, so you see hot water as you use it: by the hour, not by the quarter.

A count can miss a pulse, so on its own it can drift.

Optical

Absolute, and reliable

Every midnight Metriq reads the meter's own register through its optical port. It's the actual number on the meter, not a count, so it's the figure to trust.

It's a snapshot, so it can't show the day as it happens.

Together Pulses fill in the day. The optical read anchors the total to the meter itself.
00:0006:0012:0018:0024:00 Pulse reads: one every 10 L, as the water flows Optical read, 00:00 207,410 L Optical read, 24:00 207,630 L 22 pulses × 10 L = 220 L✓ matches the optical difference
  • Live and exact. Real-time usage with the meter's own reading underneath it.
  • No drift. The midnight optical read re-anchors the count every day, so a missed pulse can't build up.
  • Read-only. Both read what the meter already provides. The meter is never written to.

What you get

Everything your bill doesn't tell you.

Live usage

Litres by day, hour and weekday, from two readers working together. Outages and estimates are clearly marked.

Bill forecast

What this bill is heading for, a likely range, and how many days until it arrives.

Your real price per litre

Worked out from your own bill's tiers, supply charge and conversion factor, not an average.

Retailer comparison

Every plan on your network priced on your usage, step by step, exactly like a bill.

Alerts

Leaks, unusual days, a silent meter or a bill running high, flagged long before the bill arrives. See them

Bill check

Compare the bill's readings with what the meter actually measured, and spot estimates.

See it with sample data: no account needed.

Open the live demo

Alerts

Know before the bill does.

Metriq watches your meter around the clock and flags what's worth a look, right in your dashboard, in plain words.

  • Leaks and dripping taps

    Hot water flowing between 1 and 5 am, when nobody is using any.

  • Unusual days

    A day far above your normal, with how many times your average it was.

  • A silent meter

    No readings for a day, or gaps in the data, so you know when to check the reader.

  • A bill running high

    The forecast is climbing well above your last billing period.

AlertsThings worth a look this period
  • Night-time flow on 3 nightsCheck
    Up to 50 L between 01:00 and 05:00 (7 Aug). Could be a leak or a dripping tap.
  • Unusually high usageWarning
    9 Aug: 360 L, 1.8× your daily average.
  • Bill trending higherWarning
    On track for $376, 15% more than the last billing period.
  • Meter offlineCritical
    No readings since 20 Oct, 11:39. Check the reader battery and WiFi.

Sample alerts from the live demo.

We don't touch your meter.

Your hot water meter is a sealed, calibrated billing instrument, and it stays that way. Metriq only reads the outputs the meter already provides. The pulse reader is electrically isolated from the meter, and nothing is ever sent back to it.

For strata and building managers

Check the number every unit pays.

Every apartment's hot water is priced with the same conversion factor, worked out from the building's gas and hot water meters in the boiler room. Residents can't see either one.

Metriq can monitor the boiler room as well as individual units, so the owners corporation can check that factor every billing period, with timestamped data to take to the retailer if it's wrong.

Talk to us about a pilot
Building gas usedMJ
÷
Building hot water usedL
=
Conversion factor e.g. 0.395258 MJ/L applied to every unit's litres

Early access

Be first in your building.

We're starting with apartments in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs. Join the list and we'll be in touch when Metriq can be installed in your building.

  • Shared hot water with a meter for your unit
  • Owner-occupiers, renters and strata committees welcome
  • No commitment: this is an expression of interest

Questions

Good to know.

Will Metriq change or damage my meter?

No. Metriq only reads outputs the meter already has, its optical port or its pulse output. Nothing is opened, rewired or written to, so the meter's seal and calibration are untouched.

Do I need my strata's permission?

Usually, yes. Hot water meters are generally common property, so installing a reader needs the owners corporation's OK and access to the meter. We can help you put the request together.

Can I actually switch hot water retailer?

Where your unit has its own gas account, usually yes, but not every retailer supplies bulk hot water, so check before you switch. Metriq shows what each plan would have cost you, based on your real usage.

Why read the meter two ways?

Pulses show your usage as it happens, but a count can drift if a pulse is missed. The optical port gives the meter's own absolute reading. Using both gives you live data you can trust, and a daily check that the two agree.

What does the reader need?

WiFi within range of the meter. It runs on battery, so it doesn't need a power point next to the meter.