Shared electricity can provide a saving of 10-20%

Shared electricity can provide savings of 10–20%

It is increasingly relevant for multi-family buildings to introduce shared electricity, where the association charges each apartment for its actual consumption. A single shared subscription is sufficient for all the apartments in the condominium association or rental property, known as “Shared electricity.” This can provide each apartment with savings of 10–20%. As a supplier of infrastructure for collecting and measuring metering data in these individual metering and billing (IMD) projects, we at PiiGAB are seeing a significant increase. This has grown markedly with the current economic downturn and electricity market conditions.

There are currently just over 5 million apartments in Sweden (condominiums and rental apartments), and heating is the largest expense. With the help of an IMD system, each apartment resident is charged for the actual energy cost. There are many reasons for installing such a system, but it is most often about financial savings, fair cost allocation, and reduced environmental impact. It is not only electricity that is measured and billed according to actual consumption; water consumption is also commonly included.

Finances and the environment with IMD

In addition to minimizing fixed costs, the negotiating position with electricity companies is significantly more favorable when there is high consumption through a large subscription, rather than each apartment negotiating independently when consumption is considerably lower. It also results in a fairer arrangement, as residents pay for their actual consumption. Households can continuously read their consumption on the meter in their home. It has been observed that residents become more aware of their own consumption, which often leads to more economical usage. In addition, they can clearly see their own environmental impact.

Administration and statistics with IMD

Billing data can be administered and transferred directly into the property owner’s or condominium association’s invoicing system, reducing administration.

How does it work?

Integrators offer multi-family buildings an IMD system. Consumption is measured by a submeter in each apartment in relation to the property’s main meter. If there are no water meters in each apartment, these are installed as part of the property upgrade. The consumption data from all meters is sent to a Smart Metering Gateway such as PiiGAB 900, where all the data is collected and then forwarded to the IMD system, which is connected to the billing system so that each apartment resident receives their share on the invoice.

At PiiGAB, we supply much of the infrastructure for IMD projects to numerous large and small integration companies. This includes everything from sensors for measuring temperature and humidity to electricity meters and water meters, as well as the Smart Metering Gateway PiiGAB 900S/T with associated feature licenses for all kinds of projects.

Summary

With an IMD system, you get:

• Reduced subscription costs (network fees)
• Lower electricity consumption
• Lower electricity prices
• Fair and automatic billing
• Reduced environmental impact

Contact us to learn more about how we can help with your IMD projects.