What are Submetering Solutions?

Definition

Submeter solutions refer to a broad set of hardware and software technologies that use real-time data to deliver insights derived from electricity consumption at granular levels.

Why it Matters

There are two main types of submetering solutions - equipment monitoring and tenant billing.

Equipment monitoring refers to using submeters, connected to distribution panels, to pull real-time electrical demand data from individual pieces of equipment such as chillers, boilers, pumps, motors, rooftop units, elevators, etc.

This electrical demand data can be used to determine energy inefficiencies, such as improper scheduling, as well as maintenance issues, such as short cycling.

On the other hand,  tenant billing submeter solutions use submeters in tenant spaces to track real-time energy consumption. This data is run through a tariff engine, which produces utility bills that landlords can distribute to tenants.

This improves the more manual process of physically entering a tenant space, writing down the reading on the meter, entering that into accounting software and generating bills manually.