A high resolution digital meter will replace your existing mechanical water meter. The new digital meter will take multiple readings per minute of your household water usage. The data is uploaded on a regular basis to Yarra Valley Water's secure system. No data is stored in the meter and your water use data is protected. The digital meter will not impact your water supply or pressure.

By collecting household usage data we can establish a good starting point of baseline data. We will compare this baseline data against data collected after your shower head is replaced with a water efficient shower head. This enables us to measure the savings generated by installing efficient shower heads.

Yarra Valley Water will deidentify data obtained from your water meter by removing your name and address. This deidentified data will be shared with our research partners, who will analyse end uses and water savings achieved from your new shower heads. This data will not be shared outside of the research program and will not be used for marketing purposes.

Deidentified water usage data may be published for future research purposes.

For further info please see the Terms and Conditions

Yarra Valley Water’s research partners would like access to your electricity usage data to understand the impact your new shower heads have on electricity usage and understand how much energy and greenhouse gas emissions are saved. This information provided to Yarra Valley Water will be deidentified with your name and address removed to share with our research partners. This data will not be shared outside of the research program and will not be used for marketing purposes.

The study will run for 6-18 months from the initial installation to the final visit. You do not need to do anything during this time other than allow our partner plumbers access for three visits to install the meters and the shower heads, and exchange the meter at the end of the study.

We will reach out to you to arrange a suitable time and date for each visit required.

Your high resolution digital meter will be replaced with a standard digital meter at the conclusion of the study at no cost to you. You will not need to be home providing your meter is accessible.

For more information on the standard digital meter please visit the Yarra Valley Water webpage on digital metering

Yarra Valley Water has engaged New Plumbing Solutions (NPS) to deliver the plumbing works as part of this study.

Established in 2009, NPS provides high quality, safety-first plumbing maintenance. NPS are committed to providing the most experienced and competent field personnel on the job and ensuring the highest quality customer experience.

Once you have registered and your eligibility is verified, NPS will contact you within 3 weeks to schedule the first visit at the time that suits you.

The NPS plumber will carry YVW contractor cards and will be able to produce these on request.

A fully licenced NPS plumber will need to visit you three times during this study.

First Visit – assess your existing showerheads and flow rate to confirm your eligibility, assess your hot water system and replace your existing water meter with a high resolution digital meter. Please allow 1 hour.

Second Visit – replace your in efficient shower heads with new 5 star WELS rated efficient showerheads. Please allow up to 30 minutes.

Once your new efficient shower heads are installed you will be eligible for a $200 Prezzee Voucher

Final Visit – remove the high resolution digital meter and replace with your new permanent standard digital meter. If your meter is accessible you may not need to be home.

At the conclusion of the study to compensate you for your time you will receive a final $100 Prezzee voucher.

Yarra Valley Water's research partners would like to understand the impact of your new shower heads on your energy use, specifically your hot water system. 

This will assist in understanding how much energy is saved with your new efficient shower head.

The plumber will measure the flow rate on your existing shower heads so we can compare this to your new shower heads once they are installed. Provided your water meter is accessible, the installation of your new digital meter is simple. 

You do not need to be home and there will be no impact on your water supply. 

If your meter is located behind a gate or fence, or in an area with a dog, you will need to be at home to provide us an access. Please allow up to 1 hour for this appointment.

The plumber will assess your hot water unit and replace up to 4 inefficient shower heads. They may also request information on your electricity meter.

Please refer to our Terms and Conditions for more information

Depending on how many shower heads are replaced in your home, the appointment can take from as little as 10 minutes for a single shower head replacement. A home with multiple shower heads to replace will take a bit longer. As an indicator, we recommend you allow 30 minutes for your appointment.

The high resolution meter is a temporary device to monitor your water usage for the duration of the study and will need to be removed at the conclusion of the study.  

The plumber will replace your high resolution meter with your new standard digital meter, you do not need to be home and there will be no interruption to your water supply. If your meter is located behind a gate or fence, or in an area with a dog, you will need to be at home to provide us an access. Please allow up to 1 hour for this appointment if your meter is inaccessible.

There is no cost for your involvement the study, all products and installation are covered by Yarra Valley Water. 

Should you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment, please call NPS on 1300 994 559 and select Option 2 at least four hours before the scheduled appointment time. For appointments scheduled before 11 am, please advise NPS the previous business day.

If you need to get in touch with NPS regarding your appointment or your shower head installation, please call on 1300 994 559 and select Option 2. 

If you have any feedback or further questions about the shower head replacement and digital meter study, please reach out to [email protected]

A flow rate of more than 9 litres per minute (L/min) is considered inefficient, although the plumber will check this on this day prior to installation of your new meter.

If you would like to check your flow rate using the bucket method, you need a bucket of known volume and a timer.

1. Turn the tap on full
2. Time how long it takes to fill the bucket.
3. Divide the volume of the bucket by the time it took to fill.

Flow Rate (L/min) = [Bucket size (L) / Fill Time (sec)] x 60

For more information on eligibility, you can visit the terms and conditions

This study is by invite only due to the small number of participants. If you have not received an invitation and are a Yarra Valley Water customer and would like to be involved in the study, you will need to contact us at [email protected] to discuss this with you further.

This program has the potential to provide annual water savings of up to 20 kilolitres per household, saving up to $150 per year across water and energy bills.

Plus, each replacement shower head has a recommended retail price of $150 or more, and installation is free.

If you need to get in touch with NPS regarding your appointment or your shower head installation, please call on 1300 994 559 and select Option 2. 

If you have any feedback or further questions about the shower head replacement and digital meter study, please reach out to [email protected].

Explore our fact sheet for information about our available selection of products.

Some shower heads flow at a rate of up to 11 litres per minute whereas a WELs 5-star rated shower head uses just 6 litres per minute. In an average household, showers account for up to 30% of household water usage so installing a water efficient shower head that uses less water per minute, can make the biggest impact on water and energy bills through lower energy for heating water for the shower.

We are proud to offer quality replacement showerheads. We have carefully selected our products from retail brands including Caroma, Methven and Phoenix. All products are WELs rated, have a high-quality chrome finish, and retail at $150 or more.

Replacement shower heads are only available in a chrome finish and must be a like-for-like replacement with respect to the fitting.

NPS will carry a selection of shower heads to choose from on the day of your appointment. Depending on the type of shower fitting that you currently have and stock availability, you may have a choice between two products for your shower head replacement.

Water efficient shower heads help reduce the flow rate so it may take a few showers to adjust to your new shower head. While it may feel a bit different, you can expect consistent temperature and good water pressure so there should be a minimal impact to your shower experience.

The plumber will replace your current shower head with a brand new, like-for-like water efficient chrome shower head. For example, if your shower has an overhead shower rose fitting, your replacement shower head will be an overhead shower rose fitting.

Unfortunately, we are unable to fit a different colour or fitting style to the existing shower.

The shower head products offered as part of this program are only available in a chrome finish. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer other finishes or colours.

If you want to reduce your water usage and have a specific finish for your shower tapware, we encourage you to explore the wide range of water-saving products available on the market that you may like to buy and install at your own expense.

Each shower head will be in a chrome finish and comes with a minimum 5-year warranty.

Each shower head product has been selected for quality and is covered by a manufacturer’s warranty. For information regarding the warranty period for your new shower head, please refer to the link for the manufacturers website listed on the fact sheet

Your old shower head will be removed and disposed of.

If you need to get in touch with NPS regarding your appointment or your shower head installation, please call on 1300 994 559 and select Option 2. 

If you have any feedback or further questions about the shower head exchange study, please reach out to [email protected].