Northumbrian Water and Welsh Water have joined forces to trial an innovative technology in smart water metering that could help their customers avoid large bills.

They are working with internet experts B4T to trial its Jellyfish device clips on to existing water meters, which are typically in underground chambers and do not easily connect to 4G or WiFi.

The device clips, however, help to connect wirelessly over 0G, a low power technology from Sigfox, with data analysed by B4G’s software to identify and prioritise leaks that helps prevent damage to people’s homes and reduce bills.

Leakage affects an estimated 30% of English and Welsh households and results in the loss of 24 million litres of water a day.

According to Northumbrian Water, preliminary results from the trial – taking place in Cardiff and Tywyn, north Wales – showed the device was 96% reliable, even from the most challenging of underground meter boxes.

Gary Adams, Head of Smart Programme at Northumbrian Water said: “This timely collaboration with Welsh Water and B4T presents an opportunity to further our understanding of new and innovative solutions in the smart metering space and proactive identification of leakage.

“Working closely together we can learn quickly and reduce the need to replicate costly large-scale trials so we can deliver value to our customers.”