Benefits of Smart Utility Submetering in Buildings

Benefits for residents and operators

• Fair bills based on each unit’s actual consumption
• Remote readings and online access
• Leak and abnormal-use alerts
• Fewer disputes over shared expenses
• Clear consumption history for management and maintenance

National benefits

Measurement encourages conservation, reduces water and energy waste, improves demand data, and supports more effective efficiency policy. Lower boiler, chiller, and pumping demand also reduces fuel use and associated emissions.

Benefits for builders

Builders can retain the safety, efficiency, and architectural advantages of central systems while offering individually measured utility consumption. Smart metering strengthens a project’s technical specification, supports regulatory requirements, and can increase market value.

Building utility applications

Domestic water

Unit water meters measure consumption and support tariff-based sub-billing.

Central boiler gas

Heat meters measure each unit’s delivered heating and hot-water energy so the boiler-room gas bill can be allocated fairly.

Central chiller

Cooling meters measure each unit’s cooling energy and allocate chiller electricity or absorption-chiller gas.

Electricity

Single- and three-phase submeters measure units, shops, common areas, tenants, equipment, or production lines.

System components

• Certified smart meters and sensors
• Wired or wireless communication modules
• Bruntab central readers and dataloggers
• EEMS dashboards, reports, alarms, and billing

International background

Utility submetering has long been used internationally to make occupants responsible for their measured share. Modern remote-reading systems add live data, automated billing, and fault alerts to that established principle.