Submetering Heat with BTU/Flow/Energy Meters

[Elliot B.]

Hey all,

It's winter time and the oil is flowing. This gives me plenty of incentive to find a way to cut some of these heating expenses. Most of the time when the topic of submetering heat is brought up the consensus is to install one heating system per unit. This is expensive from an initial capital and maintenance standpoint and I've been on the hunt for a better way.

One option that I've found is installing BTU/Flow meters (Istec 4440) on the supply and return lines for each heating zone (one zone per unit). This will effectively measure the exact energy usage per unit. Several companies offer these meters in combination with a software platform for monitoring and billing. It is my understanding that the company works out the tenant billing rates based on your master utility bill to keep it consistent and fair.

So, the technology exists BUT is it legal in Maine to bill the tenants in this way? i.e. Measure usage with a BTU/Flow meter and bill them directly. Further, how can you enforce collections if you're not a utility? One suggestion I was given was to add a clause to your lease that payments are first applied to utilities then rent.

Is anyone in Maine / New England doing this type of submetering? Can anyone chime in on the billing/legality aspect?

Stay warm,

[Colleen F.]

Ok, so maybe I am not getting it but I have a hot water boiler with separate zones for each unit. I hear people talking about air flow etc. I did not think we were talking about forced air.  I thought  @Elliot B. was talking about installing meters on the supply and return pipes for each unit and measuring BTUs there. As for heat loss along the way why does it matter? Aren't you  billing in proportion to use?    I think it works if you have 1 zone per unit. However how do you come up with the billing amount per BTU?

@Tyler Bushey nice try, those of us with oil are often a mile or miles from natural gas and propane is $$$ and even if you had gas if  you have one boiler it doesn't solve the problem.