Once my meter is installed, will I ever need to change it?

Perhaps. A water meter typically lasts about 20 years. Domestic meters, those that are 5/8” x ½” and meters that are 5/8” x ¾” in size are guaranteed by the manufacturer to be accurate for 20 years. All domestic meters that reach that age will be changed to assure that your meter reading remains accurate. Malfunctioning or damaged meters will be changed sooner, if necessary.

What is an MXU and do I need one?

An MXU is a device that allows us to read your water meter remotely by a radio frequency. Normally MXUs are set near the water meter and are spliced into the wire between the meter and the outside remote. MXUs have batteries that have a 20-year life expectancy. An MXU that malfunctions or is damaged may need to be changed sooner than 20 years. MXUs can only be activated by our meter reading equipment. We turn it on when we want to take a reading and it goes off automatically when the reading is completed. MXUs are required for all future meters.

I’ve heard that MXUs give off radiation. Is that true?

A Sensus MXU transmits very miniscule amounts of radio frequency energy significantly below ever-present RF emissions such as TV stations, radio stations, cellular networks, etc. For example, the power output for the latest models of cellular phones is about 250 milliwatts. If you assume a person uses the phone 30 minutes per day, then that individual could be exposed to a RF energy level of 225,000 milliwatt minutes during a 30-day period (250 milliwatts x 30 minutes per day x 30 days = 225,000 milliwatt minutes). A typical water meter reading occurs once each month, during which the MXU can transmit up to four transmissions, typically of a duration of .00063 minutes per transmission. At the power output of 200 milliwatts, the RF transmit energy of the MXU over a period of one month will be about 0.5 milliwatt minutes (200 milliwatts x .00063 minutes per transmission x 4 transmissions = 0.5 milliwatt minutes). Compared to the cell phone, the energy output of an MXU is 400,000 times less than the average use of a cell phone. The energy emitted by an MXU is even less than those fields already present in a typical home (such as cordless phones, TV, radio, microwave).