I have a duplex in West Philadelphia's University City area. The property is all electric, no gas. I am having a challenge with one of my units. It is about 1500 sqft, 3stories, 3br, 2ba and being heated by an electric forced air furnace.
I lived in the unit for 5 yrs. And although the heating bills could be high, they were manageable (never had one more than $500) I kept budget billing which averaged the heat bill over a years time and I used utility choice after Peco got rid of its residential heating rates.
Now that I've moved out and put tenants in the unit, they are getting VERY high heating bills upwards of $900 per month. They cannot afford it of course. I'm trying to figure out the best way to manage this.
Should I add a gas line and put in a gas furnace? Change to baseboard? Put the heat on a separate meter and pay for/control it myself? Any other thoughts? Although the heat is not my responsibility, it's causing a major challenge in retaining tenants.
