Submetering Solutions for Multifamily Housing

Streamlined Utility Management for Multifamily Residential Communities

Choosing Tehama Wireless empowers your multifamily property with smart solutions that enhance efficiency and sustainability. Our submetering technology provides accurate measurements for billing of individual water, gas, and electric usage, fostering transparency among tenants.

By adopting our systems, property stakeholders can effectively manage rising utility costs, promote responsible consumption, and improve tenant satisfaction, all while increasing operational efficiency and Net Operating Income (NOI), making it a valuable investment for any multifamily property.

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Key Challenges Faced by Multifamily Properties

Managing water, gas, and electric usage and utility costs in multifamily properties comes with several challenges:

  • Rising Utility Expenses: Increasing utility costs can significantly impact property profitability. When utility fees are bundled into rent, tenants often lack awareness of their usage, leading to higher consumption.
  • Fairness in Billing: Without individual submetering, many properties rely on the Ratio Utility Billing System (RUBS), which may not accurately reflect each tenant's consumption. This can create issues of perceived unfairness and dissatisfaction among residents.
  • Tenant Complaints: Discrepancies in utility charges often result in tenant disputes, affecting satisfaction and retention rates.
  • Installation Challenges: Retrofitting older buildings with submetering technology can be complicated, especially with outdated plumbing systems. Ensuring compliance with local regulations can add to the complexity.
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Utility Metering Solutions for Multifamily Housing Properties

Tehama Wireless’s technology allows for individualized billing across water, gas, and electricity, encouraging responsible resource usage among residents and tenants.

Water Metering for Apartments, Condos, and HOAs
  • Individualized Billing: Accurately charge each unit based on actual consumption—whether it's a rental apartment or an owner-occupied condo or townhome—promoting fairness and accountability.
  • Leak Detection and Conservation: Real-time monitoring helps detect leaks and inefficiencies early, allowing property managers or HOA boards to reduce water waste and avoid costly damage.
  • Homeowner and Tenant Engagement: Clear visibility into utility usage builds trust, supports conservation, and reduces disputes across both rental and owner-occupied units.
  • Student Housing Considerations: In student housing communities, where tenant turnover is high and utility usage varies widely, submetering ensures fair billing and simplifies tenant onboarding.
Gas Metering for Apartments, Condos, and HOAs
  • Safety and Oversight: Track individual gas consumption at the unit level to flag anomalies and promote safer operations across shared utility systems.
  • Conservation Awareness: Usage-based billing encourages tenants and homeowners to reduce unnecessary consumption and cut costs.
  • Usage Transparency: Regular access to gas usage data fosters communication between residents and property managers or HOA boards, reinforcing shared sustainability goals.
Electric Metering for Apartments, Condos, and HOAs
  • Energy Monitoring: Identify high-usage patterns to drive energy-saving initiatives, whether at the individual or building level.
  • Fair and Accurate Billing: Ensure each resident pays only for their own usage, eliminating guesswork or friction over shared utility costs.
  • Higher Satisfaction and Retention: Reliable, transparent billing contributes to better resident experiences and long-term occupancy.

How It Works

Tehama Wireless’ submetering solutions streamline utility management for multifamily housing communities through a collaborative approach. Here’s how the installation process works:

How It Works
  • Case Study | Guardian Water & Power

    Guardian Water & Power encountered significant challenges in outdoor submetering due to harsh weather conditions. Frequent disruptions led to costly repairs and inconsistent data collection, adversely affecting service delivery and customer trust. Recognizing the urgent need for a reliable solution, they sought innovative technology to enhance their operations.

    Challenge

    • System downtime due to harsh weather
    • Repairs were difficult and costly
    • Cellular technology meant inconsistent data collection
  • Case Study | Kimco Realty

    Kimco Realty Corporation faced considerable challenges in billing their 7,000 tenants accurately for water usage across a diverse portfolio of retail properties. A lack of standardized methods for dividing costs led to disputes and frustration, resulting in millions in uncollected revenue. Recognizing this issue, Kimco sought innovative submetering technology to streamline billing processes and enhance tenant satisfaction.

    Challenge

    • Inconsistent tenant water billing methods
    • Tenant disputes over water costs
    • Millions lost in uncollected revenue
  • Case Study | Fair Energy Submetering

    Fair Energy Submetering faced challenges tracking utility usage and identifying issues such as leaks across various properties. In search of more detailed data for effective management, they turned to Tehama Wireless’ advanced submetering sensors. This innovative technology enabled swift identification of problems, allowing them to avert potential disasters.

    Challenge

    • Inaccurate tracking of utility usage
    • Difficulty identifying leaks in properties
    • Limited data hindered effective management

FAQs

Submetering provides individualized billing for tenants across various utilities, including water, gas, and electricity. This promotes accountability and fair pricing, encourages residents to conserve resources, and leads to significant cost savings for both tenants and property managers.

By offering clear and accurate billing based on actual utility usage—whether it’s water, gas, or electricity—submetering reduces disputes and misunderstandings. This transparency contributes to improved tenant relationships and overall satisfaction in multifamily housing.

Installation may require adjustments to existing plumbing or electrical systems, particularly in older multifamily buildings. Certified technicians evaluate the infrastructure to determine the best installation approach for all utilities while minimizing disruption to residents.

Once installed, submetering systems for water, gas, and electricity in multifamily properties connect to third-party property management software, automatically calculating usage and generating monthly bills based on each tenant's consumption across all utilities.

Gas submetering allows for accurate tracking of each tenant’s usage in multifamily properties, leading to fair billing and encouraging conservation efforts. This can reduce overall gas expenses and enhance safety by providing clear visibility of usage patterns.

Electric submetering helps property managers of multifamily housing identify high-energy usage patterns among tenants, enabling targeted conservation strategies. By encouraging efficient energy use, it contributes to reduced utility costs and supports sustainability initiatives.

Yes, regulations regarding submetering can vary by state and utility type. In California, for example, new multifamily residential buildings are required to give tenants access to their water, gas, and electric usage data. Display MDTs (Meter Data Transmitters) assist in this compliance by providing in-unit visibility for all utility monitoring.

Tehama Wireless offers ongoing technical support and troubleshooting assistance to ensure all submetering systems operate effectively across water, gas, and electricity. Our partners also provide tenant support related to billing inquiries and usage data for all utilities.

Implementing submetering can significantly reduce operational costs for multifamily properties by promoting individual accountability for utility usage. This leads to lower overall consumption and minimizes waste, allowing property managers to enhance Net Operating Income (NOI) through efficient resource management.

Submetering systems support sustainability in multifamily housing by providing accurate usage data, which encourages tenants to adopt responsible consumption habits. This reduced resource usage contributes to broader environmental goals and aligns with regulatory compliance.

Modern submetering solutions utilize Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) technology to enhance data accuracy and efficiency. These systems provide automated meter readings, real-time analytics, and help identify usage patterns for multifamily properties.

Wireless submetering systems provide flexibility in installation, particularly in retrofitting older multifamily buildings. They reduce infrastructure needs and allow for easier integration with existing utility networks.

Effective communication is key. Property managers can hold informational sessions, provide clear statements, and utilize user-friendly billing platforms to help tenants of multifamily properties understand their consumption and associated costs.

Challenges may include dealing with outdated plumbing or electrical systems in multifamily properties, ensuring accurate readings, and maintaining tenant satisfaction during the installation process.

Submetering systems help property managers comply with regulations requiring individual metering in multifamily housing by providing accurate usage data for billing purposes.