You will note that we show this as a benefit to the installer and owner. The reason is that some jurisdictions levy a one-time fee for the meter, while others will add a monthly fee. The owner would be stuck with the monthly fee, so any reduction here may benefit the owner as well as the installer.
A larger meter is usually needed when sprinklers are installed. Water authorities have some curious notions when it comes to residential fire sprinklers and water meters. When a larger meter is requested, they automatically think that more water will be used and therefore the owner should pay more. The reverse is actually true; When sprinklers are installed, the water used in a fire will be one tenth the amount used by firefighters, so sprinklers significantly reduce demand on the water system.
But unless water authorities are educated about this very simple fact, they will continue to think "larger means more water." One way to get more money is to charge so-called "commercial" rates for the larger meter. One would think that a slightly larger meter would have a slightly higher cost. In fact, the cost can more than double, and this tells us that water purveyors are using this simply as a way to increase revenues.
A typical 1-family home will have a 3/4" supply line from the water main, a 5/8" meter and 1/2" plumbing lines. If sprinklers are installed, designers may ask for a 1" supply line, and they will always ask for a 3/4" meter - even if the 3/4" supply line will suffice.
The reason for needing a minimum of a 3/4" meter is because a 5/8" meter does not have enough capacity to flow the amount of water to supply the sprinklers, which is a minimum of 26 GPM at the two remote sprinklers. This applies to all types of sprinkler systems including the new multi-purpose system that uses 1/2" plumbing pipe. This sounds counterintuitive, because why do we need a 3/4" meter if it goes to 1/2" pipe? It is because the 1/2" multi-purpose system uses a different type of sprinkler fitting with four ports. At least three of the ports must bring water into the fitting, so the sprinkler is actually being supplied by three 1/2" lines.
If the water authority is using the meter larger issue as a revenue enhancer, this is a good candidate for a cost reduction incentive. As we said at the top, it will take some education to show them that sprinklers actually reduce demand on the water system so there is absolutely no logic for homeowners to pay commercial meter prices. After the education, some arm twisting might be needed. Water authorities that have used such devices to increase revenues will need to find ways to replace it or do with less. One good way to approach them is to tell them that the reduction can be their contribution to solving the community's fire problem and conserving water at the same time.