Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
We could talk about the benefits of submetering for hours. But the gist is that accurate tracking of utility usage is essential to billing tenants fairly. It’s also key to identifying ways to keep your operational costs down. Sequencing, staging, and right-sizing of equipment are just some of the insights that submetering provides that will save you money.
We can’t speak for our competitors, but utiliVisor clients usually save 8%–12% in utility expenses without major capital investment through submetering (and we’ve got the data to prove it). Plant monitoring clients may see significant additional savings.
The simple answer here is to have your meters calibrated by a trained meter technician. If you haven’t had your meters tested against a reference standard recently (or ever), then there’s no way to know how “real” your meter data is. Learn more about meter calibration and system validation.
No, we don’t install meters or other equipment, which should be done by a certified electrician. Our role in the installation process is to set up the software so that it’s recording and communicating correctly, which the electrician doesn't do. We’ll also calibrate and validate the meter so that you (and your tenants) know that your meter data is accurate.
You need both a good electrician and meter technician if you want your meters to be accurate. Remote meters have detailed and specific software and setup requirements that aren’t part of an electrician’s training or responsibilities. Without a good meter technician, your meter will default to settings that won’t match or make sense to the rest of your system. Information about CT ratios, multipliers, time-of-use functions, and a lot more needs to be programmed into the meter itself to get anything useful out of it.
Submetering is comprised of many parts and connections, any one of which can fail at any time. Often, the wrong wire was cut during maintenance or renovation. Sometimes, the network went down and was unable to record or communicate the data.
This article describes the most common reasons why it’s important to verify your submeters and what problems tend to occur.
It depends on your location. Buildings subject to LL97, ASHRAE 90.1, and LEED certification need to implement submetering to comply with requirements. Beyond compliance issues, submetering improves efficiency and lowers operating costs by showing you where energy is being used.
And when you can see where, when, and how much is being used, you can make changes that lower that utility spend and improve tenant satisfaction.
The quick answer is that a kW (kiloWatt) tells you how much electricity demand the meter is registering at any one point in time.
In contrast, a kWh (kiloWatt-hour) tells you the total amount of electricity consumed over the billing period.
Learn how both kW and kWh impact your utility bill in this article.
utiliVisor isn't like any other submetering–plant monitoring–tenant billing service out there. Here's how we're different from other vendors and providers.
How is utiliVisor different from a utility provider?
utiliVisor helps properties measure the utility consumption of a particular piece of equipment or area within a building, rather than the total amount of the utility consumed by the building as a whole.
How is utiliVisor different from a commissioning engineer?
We go beyond a one-time check on your equipment’s performance. We are experts in field service/ programming/accumulation tests, and we tie your data collection back to the meter within the building. Then we provide a comparative analysis of the cost allocation and distribution throughout the building. With our help, you can sustain your commission parameters, making your system more efficient and long-lasting.
How is utiliVisor different from a meter vendor?
We don't sell any products, only our services of tenant billing, submetering, and plant monitoring. In fact, we are product-agnostic (although we always recommend revenue-grade meters and pass on our purchasing power to clients for additional savings).
What we do is help properties make the most of the systems and equipment they already have and only recommend additional assets if they serve your goals and make financial sense. We also provide support to on-site teams about billing questions, meter troubles, and plant operations.
How is utiliVisor different from a building management system (BMS)?
Unlike a BMS, our system doesn't control anything in your building. Instead, we collect the data from various points in your system, scrub it so that it can be compared with other building data, and analyze it to find energy- and money-saving opportunities.
How is utiliVisor different from other submetering, tenant billing, or energy monitoring firms?
First, we pick up the phone! Many of our clients come to us in frustration because their current vendor doesn't respond to their questions.
The second difference is our expertise. utiliVisor has been the national leader in accurate submetering and energy plant monitoring for more than 45 years. We are the only family-operated provider with our own US-based Operations Center staffed by systems, meter, and billing experts. Our competitors just don’t have our electrical and HVAC knowledge, which means they don’t have the experience to solve the hidden operational issues that metering reveals.
Our client retention rate is >96% because we save our clients money and make their lives easier.
Because every building is unique, we can’t give you a blanket answer. It’s a bit like asking a landscaper how much it costs to put in a fence. It depends on the details: the type of fence, the distance of the runs, the topography, the access, etc.
Submetering costs rely on different details than fencing, but the principle is the same. Once we know some of your specifics, we can narrow down an estimate for you pretty quickly.
It may seem easier to bill on a flat fee per square foot than to add submetering. But tenant utility consumption can vary wildly, and tenants that don't have high consumption shouldn't have to pay for another tenant's usage.
Accurate submetering allows you to bill each tenant for their actual usage. This makes the billing fair for your tenants and for you. utiliVisor's billing experts review your submeter data, utility readings and rates, and tenant leases every billing period to generate accurate tenant invoices that recoup more of your operational costs.
We often hear, “We’re recovering all possible costs.” And then we find more. Why? Because submetering is detailed work and takes a skilled and experienced team to do it right. We regularly find inaccuracies in rates, meter readings, meter communications, and unit conversions, among other factors. These small errors end up reducing the amount owners are entitled to recover. They also lower tenant satisfaction.
If you’re just wading into submetering, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with meter selection. We put together this guide to sort the criteria for meter selection.
If you need a specific answer quickly, give us a call. We have specs to help you make an informed decision.
We work with systems of all sizes, from one meter to 4000. However, we usually recommend a building have at least 10 meters to get the full benefit of our submetering and billing services.
YES! As systems engineers, multiple-utility properties are our specialty. We measure and monitor all operational utility types: electricity, natural gas, water (chilled, domestic h&c), BTU, steam, air flow, fuel oils, and VRF systems. We’ve been in business since 1978, and we’ve worked with every utility, every type of utility provider, every type of building, and every type of meter known in the built environment.
Chillers, boilers, and VRF systems are expensive, complicated systems to buy, operate, and maintain. While many companies say their optimization service is "like having a team of engineers," only utiliVisor actually has dedicated systems engineers. Our team continually analyzes your data using our in-house tools and our database of 45 years of results to find practical optimizations that save you money without sacrifice. In many cases, our services pay for themselves within months of engaging with us.
Plant monitoring involves connecting the BMS, submeters, and sensors to send data at regular intervals to a software cloud. With 4 decades of experience in operations, we know how to integrate equipment from different vendors and eras to create a system that delivers good decision-making.
Our system and services are entirely product-agnostic. In our 4+ decades in operations, we've worked with every brand of equipment that's ever been installed and we integrate with all of them (or we'll help you transition to a system capable of integration). For specific vendor info, see our Integrations page.
We know this is cheeky. But in all honesty, we're the best because our Operations Center is full of systems, billing, and metering experts. We are a family-owned business that uses our 4+ decades of expertise to help properties operate more efficiently using the equipment and systems they already have.
Also, unlike our competitors, service is our business. That means we pick up the phone, we answer our emails promptly, and we come to your site to see the full picture.
Our exceptional service and money-saving recommendations have earned us a 96% client retention rate, and our attention to detail saves our clients $millions every year.