Meter readings: the dullest data that settles the most arguments
Two numbers and two dates. That is all it takes to settle a bill, a tenant change, or a suspicious estimate.
Recording meter readings is the chore nobody enjoys, because there is no immediate reward. The reward always arrives later, and always at a moment when it cannot be recreated.
Why "current reading" is not enough
The number on the meter is not information on its own. The information is the difference between two readings, divided by the time between them. That is what tells you how much you used, whether a tenant’s consumption is normal, and whether the supplier’s estimate has any relationship to reality.
When it is worth taking one
- At every tenant change, in both directions. The most important one, and the most often skipped.
- Before and after a settlement bill — so you can check whether the estimated figure holds up.
- Before a long absence, if the place will be let or left empty.
- After replacing major equipment — a new boiler, a new AC. Six months later this shows whether it actually pays back.
How to record it so it stays useful
Three things: which meter, what reading, what date. Drop one and the other two become useless. A photo of the dial covers all three, provided the photo keeps its date — which is why it is worth typing the number as well, not only photographing it.
With several meters (electricity, gas, water, sub-meters), being able to tell them apart matters too. A label like "kitchen water meter" is worth more than the serial number you will never remember.
What a year of readings shows you
Record them for a year and you get something you could not see before: the shape of your own consumption. It tells you whether last year’s insulation did anything, whether the tenant really was heating with the windows open, and whether a sudden jump in water use is a silent leak behind a wall.
That last one is the most expensive thing you can catch this cheaply: a leaking cistern stays invisible for months and only shows up on the bill.