Submetering For Resident Billing

Submetering for Residential Tenant Billingair conditioner, dishwasher, refrigerator, or lights,
What is submetering?there is always room for conservation. Submetering is
Submetering provides multi-unit residential buildingsa sound ecological and sociological policy.
with individual unit meters so each resident will payHow much can my property expect to save?
for the actual amount of water, gas or electricityThe amount of savings depends upon the size and
they individually use. The building however, will still betype of building. It also depends upon how much the
"master-metered" and will retain its bulk rate serviceresidents reduce their usage. For example, residents
classification. The result include:of one 350-unit apartment, which was submetered,
1. Lower cost (10-39%) for those who use lesssaved over $45,000.00 in their first year. The amount
water, gas or electric.of savings for your building will vary. Studies indicate
2. Motivation to conserve by those who normallythe savings will average 17-20%.
waste water, gas or electric.Will the meter reader have to enter each apartment
3. Lower maintenance fees.to read the meter each month?
4. Increased NOI.It depends on the equipment installation. Usually there
5. Increased property values.is no need to enter any individual apartments to read
Multi-Family Apartment Buildingsthe meters. Sometimes meters are located in
Are you including any of your tenants' utilities in theelectrical closets in the public halls, sometimes in the
rent? If the answer is yes, you could be losingbasement, sometimes in a storage closet. Regardless
THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS each and every year.of the meter installation, meters are electronically
Let's say you own/manage a building that has nothingread each month through a central data collector
more than a "master meter" installed. This "masterlocated in the building by telephone/modem.
meter" measures the water or gas or electric usageHow am I billed?
for the entire building. Your building receives aThe building will continue to receive its Utility
monthly bill from your local utility company the utilityCompany bill every month; your private billing
is then distributed throughout your building (to thecompany will bill individual units (for actual usage) and
tenants) with no individual metering involved. Sincesupply an individually printed bill to each tenant (similar
there are no other meters in your building, there is noto a standard utility bill).
way to determine when, where, and how the utilityThe Benefits of Using Remote Reporting Submeters
is being consumed by your tenants or buildingThere are many meters on the market that can be
operations. When calculating your rental rates, youinstalled in your property. They range from
must predict how much a tenant will consume andelectromechanical meters (glass enclosed) to
factor it in.full-featured power quality metering/monitoring
But:devices. How do you determine which is best for
What happens when the utility rate increases?your particular situation(s)? Ask the following
What happens when your tenants have a runningquestions:
toilet or use portable electric heaters that draw largeWhat is needed to produce tenant-billing information?
amounts of power or crank up the thermostat andIt's important that you have all the information
open the windows?needed to produce monthly bills. If you don't have
What happens when you need to maintainthe proper information (accumulated data), you
competitive rental rates otherwise you can't make acannot produce a bill. Don't spend money for features
decent profit?and information that you will never need or use. For
The answer is: SUBMETERINGexample, you don't need to know about "line
By implementing submetering in your building:harmonics" in order to produce a tenant bill. So, why
1. You bill the exact amount of water, gas or electricpay for it?
consumed by each individual tenant all the timeMeter accuracy?
2. When the utility rate changes, your tenants' rateYou should only consider submeters that meet or
changes accordingly, maintaining your margins.exceed ANSI Standards. Why? Because most state
3. The cost of utilities is taken out of "rental ratepublic utility commissions require meters to meet
calculations". Therefore, you can lower your rentalthese standards for billing purposes.
rates to be more competitive.How long does it take to install a meter?
4. Your tenants have complete control over theirInstalling wireless meters is easier, quicker, and less
utility usage. Energy conservers will be rewarded.expensive than older hard-wired systems. Installation
Emphasize this benefit to them.time is usually less than 1 hour per meter.
5. Paying for utilities by metering is the fairest way!How are meters read?
Submetering is good public policy and good for yourWireless meters are read from a remote location
property.using RF radio communications. Installing remote
Submetering will save.reading wireless meters provides a "24-hour meter
Every property that implemented submetering hasreader". You may say, "Who Cares?" Well, when
benefited from substantial reductions in its utilitytenants are calling with billing questions and are
consumption. This is not to suggest that anyone is ainsisting that their bill is too high, your billing company
deliberate waster of water, gas or electric.can provide them with a usage history of their
Submetering and the monthly receipt of an individualconsumption.
printed bill simply provide a means, and an incentive,Submetering is beneficial to many different types of
to examine your individual monthly usage and reduceresidential buildings including apartment buildings,
it. Whether it is how you use your furnace, shower,cooperatives and condominiums.