To bill tenants for utility usage, landlords can either divide the total bill among the tenants or employ a submeter. Submetering is commonly applied to three utilities: water, gas, and electricity. For electrical submetering, a power meter is installed to measure energy use after it reaches the primary meter. Utilizing submeters makes it simple to monitor electricity use for individual tenants, departments, or pieces of equipment.
Billing Without a Submeter
In situations where a submeter isn't used, tenants are most commonly billed on the square footage of their rented space. The landlord receives an electrical bill for the entire building and divides the bill among the tenants. The cost per kilowatt hour (kWh) is multiplied by the individual's usage based on the square footage they rent. Although this strategy works, billing tenants based on energy consumption of the building instead of individual usage is not the most effective method, especially when looking to reduce electricity use.
Billing With a Submeter
Submeters allow landlords to bill each tenant for exactly the energy they consumed. Revenue-grade power meters installed at each tenant location make billing easy. With a submeter, landlords can charge each tenant for their exact energy consumption during that billing period instead of making a manual, time-consuming estimate. Submetering can help reduce landlord-tenant disputes by providing accurate and precise information.
When landlords use a submeter, tenants can guarantee they are billed accurately. Holding tenants responsible for their energy consumption encourages them to cut down on their electricity usage. Tenants monitoring their own energy consumption can help reduce overall energy usage up to 15%.
Installing a power meter can help save thousands of dollars over time and improve the building's sustainability. Setra's new Power Meter is a revenue-grade meter. Built with a versatile and powerful platform as well as options for 3, 12, or 48 load configurations, Setra's Power Meter can meet the demands of any submetering application. Multi-load monitoring yields the specific information necessary to promote energy savings.
