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February 3, 2009
Apt paying for mechanicals
We own the lower apartment in a 3-family coop. We're paying utility costs for all basement mechanicals, as well as the stoop light and 1 of 2 hall lights. There are 3 apts and 3 meters -- no separate meter for these shared items. Short of instaling an additional meter (etimated at $5,000 - $10,000) how can we properly judge what we have overpaid? Previous owner repeatedly denied we were paying basement costs, but we have confirmed it with a Cn Ed inspector.
Comments
This handy device will tell you how much juice each of your plug in devices use in a day. Multiply that finding by the number of days you have occupied the space. For the hallway lights determine the wattage and the amount of hours in a day that those lights are lit. A 60W traditional incandescent light bulb burning for 2 hours uses 2h * 60W = 120 Wh = 0.12 kWh of energy. And then you need the ConEd rate. This is going to require some arithmetic.
Posted by: Bklyn Fire Alarm Guy at February 3, 2009 5:50 PM
Oops. Forgot to post the link to the kill-a-watt:
Posted by: Bklyn Fire Alarm Guy at February 3, 2009 6:03 PM
Unless you have an electric dryer or a dehumidifier in the basement, it's a pretty small amount. Each bulbs as above x 24 h x .0025= $0.30 per day. Washers and gas dryers don't run very long so the usage is small. Gas furnace and w/h are basically zero unless forced combustion.
Posted by: cmu at February 3, 2009 6:12 PM
a simple methodology is to compare your bill to the other units...they should be approximately the same plus the differential for the common areas
Posted by: eman1234 at February 3, 2009 6:55 PM
I think the simplest way to determine how much the other stuff uses is to completely turn off everything in your apartment for a length of time that gives you a measurable reading. Hopefully your meter is one of those new digital ones.
Posted by: mod squad at February 3, 2009 9:37 PM
I'd go w/ Bklyn Fire Alarm Guy or mod squad. Either do the math on the hall lights etc.; or maybe when leaving for a day or more, flip the breakers for the all circuits going to your apartment, and get the change in meter reading for the time that it's all common area usage.
eman1234's suggestion isn't good - your neighbors may leave their blackberries and laptops plugged in all the time and use incandescent bulbs; while you may use energy efficient fluorescent lights and unplug your clock at night (you don't need to know what time it is while you're sleeping).
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