How can I reduce my electric bill?

[Harry Standafer]

Hey BP,

I just bought an older house (1910-ish) split into five apartments (~2700 square feet total). They aren't separately metered so the utilities are included in their price of rent. The electric bill was about double what I anticipated. The property has window units and has electric heaters built into the walls, which the tenants pretty much leave running non-stop in the winter from what I've seen. I'm waiting on a quote for someone to install mini-split AC and heat throughout the property to help with this. Does anyone have any suggestions on what the best way for me to reduce this expense would be?

Some of my ideas are:

Re-caulking around windows

Figuring out a way to motivate the tenants to be less liberal with their electric use

Buying them newer, more efficient heaters that just plug into outlets inside

I'm in Kentucky and it has been a cold month, so my assumption is this would be one of the most expensive months of the year.

Worth mentioning there is a small amount of living space (~400 square feet) in an attic apartment with no insulation.

Thanks!

[Bryan Parmenter]

@Harry Standafer I have a Sense Smart Energy monitor on my personal home and have had it for a couple years. Very easy to setup, in my opinion. It learns and starts to identify different items in the home. I can see when my electric oven goes on or a small space heater. It does take time for it to learn but there are also smart electric baseboard heater thermostats.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/My...

https://sense.com/