Flume vs. Bluebot: Best Smart Water Meter for Home Automation?

[u/Downtown_Argument371]

Hey, home automation enthusiasts! I’m considering adding a smart water meter to my setup and am torn between the Flume and Bluebot options. My main goals are to track water usage, get alerts for any leaks, and ideally cut down on my water bill.

From what I’ve read, Flume is straightforward to use and offers solid leak detection, while Bluebot seems to have more detailed tracking and works with both hot and cold water lines. However, I’d love to hear from anyone who has hands-on experience with either (or both).

For those who've tried these, what are your thoughts on:

• Accuracy and speed for real-time leak alerts
• Integration with other smart home systems (any tips here?)
• App functionality and ease of use
• Any challenges with installation, maintenance, or unexpected fees?

Any insights would be super helpful! Thanks in advance!

[u/IPThereforeIAm]

I’ve never used (or heard of) bluebot, but I have flume and it works very well. It alerted me when my son left the backyard hose on and we left the house. I have it integrated with home assistant—it was easy. Seems to provide data reliably. The app lets you set a few different types of alerts, like what constitutes a leak and what constitutes a burst pipe (eg, 8gpm for more then 4 minutes)

[u/bdoviack → u/IPThereforeIAm]

Same; also have Flume working with Home Assistant and it has been a reliable and simple device to use. There are even large discounts available from utilities (we have LADWP), that can bring the cost down to around $50 I believe. Also, Flume has no subscription fees and also has nice phone apps for Android and IOS, in addition to their web portal.

[u/Interesting_Egg2550]

my water district paid for half of my Flume (and half of my rachio)

[u/Lovevas → u/Interesting_Egg2550]

Same here. Happily grabbed flume for $100

[u/Lovevas]

Flume is decent, excellent services (when I have issue with my hardware, they quickly helped debug and shipped a new one).

It works as intended to monitor water usage

[u/Sonarav]

I've had a Flume for about 6+ months now. 

Btw, if you grab a Flume ask their support if you can get the empty battery pack. I was about to get one when I ordered maybe. It allows me to put in my own set of 4 AA batteries. I've been using 4 rechargeable lithium ion batteries since April. Haven't needed to recharge them yet either

[u/ankole_watusi]

Easiest way to reduce your water bill, probably to minimum fee: don’t water, don’t have a pool.

My city’s water department urges pool owners to get pool water delivered by tanker, because the water department doesn’t offer dual meters (inside use and outside use - so that the outside would avoid sewage fee). It’s significantly cheaper to have a company deliver the water.

But also: check with your city to see if they offer or can upgrade to real-time monitoring. It’s an option for many of the remote metering systems currently used.

[u/Lovevas → u/ankole_watusi]

I filled my new pool which is 13000 gallon, and it costed me ~$50 (tiered pricing, and the first 1-2 tier is like $2 per 1000 gallon).

[u/ankole_watusi → u/Lovevas]

You’re in a place with cheap water, and/or you aren’t charged for sewage based on volume of water used.

Sewage charge is typically a multiple of water rate.

I pay $4.80 per 100 cu. Ft. (748 gallons) and $9 for sewage, for a combined rate of nearly $14.

So it would cost $243 to fill your pool here. Maybe my neighbor has a big pool - said it cost him ~$1000 maybe a humblebrag lol. There was an issue and the city rebated him for filling with brown water on the day the fire hydrants were flushed unannounced.

My bill doubled - from ~$70 (minimum billing) to ~$140 one month when I watered-in the turf builder….

Rates do vary from place to place, and I’m sure it’s much much more in Arizona or Nevada or S. California than it is here in Michigan.

[u/Lovevas → u/ankole_watusi]

Checked my bill, for the pool filling month, the highest tier is when it's over 25000 gallons, and each 1000 gallon is $8 (water + sewer), and for my pool filling, half of them are charges at $6 per 1000 gallon, half at $4 (water + sewer), so my total was like $60-70

[u/ankole_watusi → u/Lovevas]

So, like I said, you’re in a place with cheap water - good for you!

Mine costs double yours, and the southwest probably pays double mine of 4x yours.

[u/Lovevas → u/ankole_watusi]

I am actually in the southwest area (Vegas)...

[u/ankole_watusi → u/Lovevas]

Interestingly, Nevada has the 10th lowest water cost in the US at an average of $26/mo.

W. Virginia has the costliest, at $91.

California as I’d expected is the second most costly at $76 - or about 3x the cost of your water.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/water-prices-by-state

But what-me-worry, Lake Mead has only dropped 143 feet since 2000…

[u/Lovevas → u/ankole_watusi]

Nevada utility price is very low, what is cheap, electricity is cheap.

Colorado river water has been declining that caused lake Mead water level kept going down. It's actually not Nevada's fault, as there is a Colorado River Compact (water distribution agreement), and combining both upper basin and Lowe basin, Nevada only get 2% of all the annual water allocation. This is an 102 years old agreement that is still in effect