20 Submetering Definitions You Need to Know
Understanding utility billing does not have to be a challenge. Use the definition guide below to help you simplify your life. Stay up to date on the ever-expanding vocabulary. By learning about utility billing, submetering and your home, you will be prepared to take action to reduce your utility bill and be prepared when questions arise.
Technically submetering is one or more meters used for measuring different sections of a supply. In this case, the ‘supply’ could be water, electricity, gas or thermal. In addition to the “main load” meter used by utilities to determine overall building consumption, submetering utilizes individual submeters that allow visibility into the energy use and performance of the building. The individual meters also allow for the ability to bill tenants for individual measured utility usage.
Suite metering, also known as submetering, is the fairest way to allocate utility costs in multi-unit residential or commercial buildings.
A portable test meter is installed on the suite risers for a defined period to coincide with the building’s bulk electricity billing. This allows for an accurate comparison of electricity costs between suites and common area.
Often a building has one central or bulk meter that records the entire buildings utility consumption. In bulk metered buildings the occupant has no accountability for their utility consumption.
To install (new or modified parts or equipment) in something previously manufactured or constructed. Submeters can be installed in buildings that are already constructed thus it is called a retrofit.
Individual ownership of a unit in a multiunit structure (such as an apartment building) or on land owned in common (such as a town house complex).
This is a classification of housing where multiple separate housing units for residential inhabitants are contained within one building or several buildings within one complex.
A townhouse is type of terraced housing, often a home with a small footprint on multiple floors. Townhome is used to describe units mimicking a detached home that are attached in a multi-unit complex.
A building with space for both commercial, business, or office use, and space for residential use.
A utility meter is any of the following metering devices used:
- Electricity meter, a device for measuring electricity usage.
- Gas meter, a specialized flow meter used to measure the volume of fuel gases such as natural gas.
- Water meter, a device for measuring water usage.
- Thermal meter, instruments intended for measuring the heat which, in a heat-exchange circuit, is given up by a liquid called the heat-conveying liquid.
Energy management includes planning and operation of energy production and energy consumption units. Objectives are resource conservation, climate protection and cost savings.
EVC’s are an element in an infrastructure that supplies electric energy for the recharging of plug-in electric vehicles—including electric cars, neighborhood electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.
The IESO delivers key services across the electricity sector including: managing the power system in real-time, planning for the province’s future energy needs, enabling conservation and designing a more efficient electricity marketplace to support sector evolution.
As Ontario’s independent energy regulator, the OEB make decisions and rules to ensure that consumers are treated fairly and that the energy sector is reliable and sustainable. The OEB oversees how energy companies operate to ensure the public interest is served.
The OESP is an Ontario Energy Board (OEB) program that lowers electricity bills for lower-income households. The OESP provides a monthly credit to eligible customers based on household income and household size. The OESP credits are applied directly to eligible customers’ bills. Find out more here.
The utility provider is responsible for the delivery and transmission of the utility to your home. The utilities are water, electricity, gas and thermal.
Once the electricity, water or gas utility company delivers their product to your building, the submetering company works on your behalf. The submetering company has installed a submeter behind your buildings main meter so that you are only billed for what you use. By having a submeter, you have the power to control your utility usage.
The goal to reduce the amount of energy required to provide services. For example, installing LED lighting reduces the amount of energy required to attain the same level of illumination compared to using traditional incandescent light bulbs. Improvements in energy efficiency are generally achieved by adopting a more efficient technology or production process or by application of commonly accepted methods to reduce energy losses.
Conservation is defined as any reduction in energy consumption resulting from increases in the efficiency of energy use, production, or distribution.
The condominium corporation is made up of the owners of the units of a condominium and is the legal entity representing the collective interests of the unit owners. The corporation’s bylaws establish rules for unit owners, and penalties which can be imposed by the corporation for failing to follow those rules.