Can I say something about the usage of an AC unit

[Melissa Matthews]

Rent my home which includes utilities. Well renters have put in a window AC unit...without saying anything. Now it runs for 12 hours in a day in a city that has a few heatwaves per summer. Can I ask them to say use it for 8 hours...and only when it's hot? My electric bill has doubled! And I know what it regularly runs. It's getting out of hand until I need to say something. Can I? 

[Joe Splitrock]

Originally posted by @Melissa Matthews:

Rent my home which includes utilities. Well renters have put in a window AC unit...without saying anything. Now it runs for 12 hours in a day in a city that has a few heatwaves per summer. Can I ask them to say use it for 8 hours...and only when it's hot? My electric bill has doubled! And I know what it regularly runs. It's getting out of hand until I need to say something. Can I? 

 For future reference, it would be better to have tenants pay utilities. If you do pay utilities, you will want to include some rules in the lease detailing items that require approval, such as AC or space heaters.

Depending on the BTU size, a window AC unit like this should only use $15 to $45 of electricity per month. It could be an older less efficient unit if you are seeing more than that?

In this case, I would talk to the tenant about the situation. Explain that the electricity usage has doubled and that they should have gotten your approval to install the window AC unit. Ask them to limit usage to help with the electricity bill. I wouldn't push it too far. If they insist on using it, just deal with it for now and address it when the lease renews.