Do Heating Bills Leave You Cold? Natural Gas Costs To Rise Sharply In 2008- Are You Prepared?

Do Heating Bills Leave You Cold?

Natural Gas Costs To Rise Sharply In 2008- Are You Prepared?

Utility costs are one of the largest operating expenses facing multifamily property owners. The demand for natural gas in the US has more than doubled over the past two decades and natural gas prices are constantly on the rise. In this heating season alone, natural gas prices are expected to increase sharply – by as much as 50%.

Until today, there was not an effective and reliable way to bill residents for heat system expenses because of device tampering and undetected hardware malfunctions. The industry has forged ahead despite some early challenges because the benefits of heat cost allocation far outweigh the risks. Thankfully, those early hurdles have been overcome and heat cost recovery systems are better than ever. Benefits include:

• Recover gas costs, increasing the value of your property
• Receive consulting on gas conservation and heat ventilation and air conditioning systems
• Lower resident heat consumption
• Improve resident satisfaction through lower heating bills
• Manage costs through budgeting, analysis and cost recovery reporting tools

Heating Systems are Like Snowflakes

Every property has unique features to its heating system, and the heat cost recovery solution will need to be tailored to each location. When you select your service provider, make sure that they are staffed by certified technicians who are trained to perform a detailed, on-site survey to evaluate and recommend the most complete and efficient utility allocation system for your property.

Cool New Hardware Choices

There are many hardware solutions on the market that can measure time; there are also new solutions that measure both time and temperature for optimal accuracy. This technology allows property owners and managers to measure the individual use of forced hot air furnaces, hydronic baseboard and fan coil boiler/chiller systems, fireplaces and domestic hot water heaters.

These advanced devices detect and remotely communicate whether each monitoring device is working correctly and if it has been disabled, which ensures flawless and accurate heat cost monitoring to recover maximum gas costs and equitable billing of residents.

ista North America, with its OptiHeat™, and OptiCool™ services offers a unique combined solution with high tech hardware and billing services that provide owners an exceptional energy cost recovery program.

Heat Cost Monitoring Systems Save Money

A heat cost monitoring system helps recover the rising costs of natural gas, and provides a rapid return on investment, thereby increasing property value. Once you start monitoring your heating costs, you will also need to have a system in place to bill your residents. Many companies offer both hardware installation and billing and support services. When selecting a company to provide your heat cost monitoring and billing services, you should consider the following:

• What hardware do they use?
• How much experience does the company have billing for heat?
• Are their technicians certified and prepared to conduct a thorough onsite survey?
• Do they have in-house regulatory expertise that is familiar with the billing regulations in your state and county?
• Are they prepared to customize a solution to meet your property’s unique circumstances?
• Do they offer a call center for resident billing questions and disputes?
• What kind of training will they provide to your on-property staff?
• What kind of maintenance plan do they offer?
• Do they offer financing options?
• Do they offer any additional services that can enhance your billing program?

Resources:

• www.ashrae.org - Ashrae Guideline 8p Energy Cost Allocation for Multiple-Occupancy Residential Buildings
• http://www.price-hvac.com/media/trainingModule.aspx#flash – Basics of HVAC Flash module
• www.ista-na.com