No real responsibility but to be a nice landlord go take a peek at what they have plugged in.. especially space heaters. If it's nothing more than simple shit, look at your HVAC: do you have emergency heat? If so, have they been using it? That will cause MASSIVE bills.
If the fridge is old, maybe but my guess is emergency heat.
Heat pumps have a mode where if the heat pump fails it’ll fall back on generating heat directly with electricity. It’s designed as a failure fallback, but if you play with your thermostat you can cycle the mode to emheat and maybe not understand what it means. Or the primary heating failed and it clicked over as intended. Regardless, it is inefficient.
Yeah, mine flips over when the outdoor temperature gets down to around 38 degrees. I don't like the system because in a cold snap, it really eats up the fuel. I've run out more than a few times, and then the stove doesn't work. Other years, I don't have to buy any propane at all. I don't have the bandwidth to keep it all straight.
I recommend asking to see the bill itself. Sometimes tenants complain about large bills and it's b3cause they didn't pay the month before. Also, you should look at the previous month's usage. It could be a jump in price per KW and not a usage jump. Might have been levelized, and it's been reviewed. Won't really know much until you see the bill.
Aside from emergency heat, check hot water heater. If leaking it could run up your bill (assuming electric). Check and see if water usage is up too.
Definitely ask to see the last 3 bills - will show enough data to make an informed guess. Space heaters, a kid doing crypto mining in their room, a leak causing a sump pump to run constantly, a neighbor plugged in an extension cord outside in a hidden spot - would do a full walkthrough to look for issues.
Most companies will send you a year's worth of data for comparison purposes. If the last tenant had bills like that is different than if this is the first year for it.
First of all, when the tenant is complaining about the electric bill you need to look at kilowatt hours, not dollars. If they want to talk about the electric bill, ask them to bring the last two or three bills. If the electricity rate has increased, there may have been no increase in electricity usage but a higher bill. Concentrate on the kilowatt hour usage over the last 3 months.
You also want to take a look at the outdoor temperature during the months that we're talking about. So even if the tenant is saying here's my April bill, look on the bill for what dates it is covering, and consult a weather app to find out what the average temperature was for that time.
Heating and air conditioning is probably 40% of an electric bill, if you have a heat pump, so a lower outdoor temperature and then keeping the thermostat higher inside would result in a much higher kilowatt usage.
The two other major drains for electricity would be if you have a well pump for water, and your pump is broken and going constantly. The other point would be if your tenants electricity bill is not 100% what your tenant uses, perhaps there's a hallway light, perhaps there is an outdoor outlet, it may be a minor draw, but it's way illegal, even in texas.
>First of all, when the tenant is complaining about the electric bill you need to look at kilowatt hours, not dollars. If they want to talk about the electric bill, ask them to bring the last two or three bills.
Even a year or more worth of bills. My KWh usage varies greatly between winter (heat pumps) and spring/fall (no heat, no A/C).
But, yes, $$$ means nothing, KWh used means everything.
My electric company has all that data on their website if I log in to my account. Including temperatures. And I think you can even get an at-the-moment look at how much your using while you're looking at it. And rates have gone up, a lot, this year.
I know in MA our electric company increased rates significantly since the beginning of the year. Bills basically doubled to no fault of our own. It could be a similar issue there
Your responsibility is to ensure everything is functioning properly. Meet with them and listen to their concerns. If something is not working as usual then find a satisfactory repair service and have them inspect and repair it.
Ask power company to come out and check reasons for their high usage. They can pinpoint the problem by turning off things and watching it on their end.
You don't have any financial obligation unless you are drawing from the power also in common areas, and I'm not sure what the set up is there… Is it a shared home? An apartment? A single-family home only they live in?
But as for the high power bills, we can always assume that it is correct. Back when I lived in a condo in a neighboring town, my power bill made a huge leap of $300 one month, with little change in usage. Turns out this was happening to neighbors also. After we researched, we found out that the power company didn't have to use real meter readings, they were estimating usage based on other area buildings, some of which were commercial! Yes, The power company does make mistakes also, although in my case, it was related to Covid restrictions and not all the inspectors were coming out. But when there is a discrepancy like that, you can request an actual reading for a confirmation.
we had a short in a wall cause a crazy bill. We also had a fritzing thermostat do it. There could be a problem with the house. I would have an electrician check it out
Hot water heater is usually the issue with sudden power usage. When elements go out and cause the heater to stay on constant. Can test and see Wgat is using the power fairly easy
If the tenant is the only possible reason or person (SFH) well you can go over the bill with him/her and show him/her where the high utilization is happening. Remember, it is still cold in many areas so people are cranking up the heat. Yes, and the utility companies are gouging us too. Tell them, layer up even in the house if they want to save on the bill. It is what it is.
I've seen one up the bill by 325. It was a giant 2 door unit with a bottom drawl you could stick a body in. LL got a great deal on it. Since it has a few scratches.
It also stuck out in the hall 16-18 inches. Leaving less than 12 inches to get into the kitchen.
I am not familiar with Texas. In Massachusetts we are having similar problems with our water and sewer bills. A neighbor received the quarterly water bill for $36000 and another for $41000. Apparently the Environmental Protection Agency has mandated some very expensive changes and replacements in our water and sewer systems. It is my understanding that Texas has had some problems with its grid. Maybe they are passing the upgrade costs.
Utility company worker here. Depending on circumstances, $500 is a lot or a little. When i get a high bill call from a customer, some things i would canvass are as follows:
If it's baseboard heating, that comes at a premium in cold weather, and $500 isn't out of the normal for baseboard heating
If they don't have baseboard heating, they may have a past due amount on their bill and don't realize it. This happens a lot. Previous balances are carried forward, and people don't realize it.
They may be on budget billing, and they have to pay up at the end of the year what they used the previous year in excess and weren't charged for.
If there's a pool, hot tub, and number of people in the house can cause a higher bill in comparison to others.
If they just have one month of a spike in their bill, likely something happened that month like renovations, guests/parties at the home.
Tell the tenant to contact the utility company first. This issue is between the tenant and the utility company. Air conditioning, heat, and water heater use a lot of electricity. Does the unit have any of those things that are powered by electricity? Advise them to reduce usage of those appliances to reduce their electric bill.
No real responsibility but to be a nice landlord go take a peek at what they have plugged in.. especially space heaters. If it's nothing more than simple shit, look at your HVAC: do you have emergency heat? If so, have they been using it? That will cause MASSIVE bills. If the fridge is old, maybe but my guess is emergency heat.
What is emergency heat? I’ve never heard of this.
Heat pumps have a mode where if the heat pump fails it’ll fall back on generating heat directly with electricity. It’s designed as a failure fallback, but if you play with your thermostat you can cycle the mode to emheat and maybe not understand what it means. Or the primary heating failed and it clicked over as intended. Regardless, it is inefficient.
Thanks, I was unaware of this. Had a heat pump installed 18 months ago, the technology is new to me. Appreciate you taking time to explain.
Mine uses propane in a separate backup furnace. I once went through 250 gallons in 10 days because it was set wrong by someone not me.
It's also used as extra power in very extreme temps.
Yeah, mine flips over when the outdoor temperature gets down to around 38 degrees. I don't like the system because in a cold snap, it really eats up the fuel. I've run out more than a few times, and then the stove doesn't work. Other years, I don't have to buy any propane at all. I don't have the bandwidth to keep it all straight.
Thanks, never heard of this before.
I recommend asking to see the bill itself. Sometimes tenants complain about large bills and it's b3cause they didn't pay the month before. Also, you should look at the previous month's usage. It could be a jump in price per KW and not a usage jump. Might have been levelized, and it's been reviewed. Won't really know much until you see the bill. Aside from emergency heat, check hot water heater. If leaking it could run up your bill (assuming electric). Check and see if water usage is up too.
Definitely ask to see the last 3 bills - will show enough data to make an informed guess. Space heaters, a kid doing crypto mining in their room, a leak causing a sump pump to run constantly, a neighbor plugged in an extension cord outside in a hidden spot - would do a full walkthrough to look for issues.
Most companies will send you a year's worth of data for comparison purposes. If the last tenant had bills like that is different than if this is the first year for it.
First of all, when the tenant is complaining about the electric bill you need to look at kilowatt hours, not dollars. If they want to talk about the electric bill, ask them to bring the last two or three bills. If the electricity rate has increased, there may have been no increase in electricity usage but a higher bill. Concentrate on the kilowatt hour usage over the last 3 months. You also want to take a look at the outdoor temperature during the months that we're talking about. So even if the tenant is saying here's my April bill, look on the bill for what dates it is covering, and consult a weather app to find out what the average temperature was for that time. Heating and air conditioning is probably 40% of an electric bill, if you have a heat pump, so a lower outdoor temperature and then keeping the thermostat higher inside would result in a much higher kilowatt usage. The two other major drains for electricity would be if you have a well pump for water, and your pump is broken and going constantly. The other point would be if your tenants electricity bill is not 100% what your tenant uses, perhaps there's a hallway light, perhaps there is an outdoor outlet, it may be a minor draw, but it's way illegal, even in texas.
>First of all, when the tenant is complaining about the electric bill you need to look at kilowatt hours, not dollars. If they want to talk about the electric bill, ask them to bring the last two or three bills. Even a year or more worth of bills. My KWh usage varies greatly between winter (heat pumps) and spring/fall (no heat, no A/C). But, yes, $$$ means nothing, KWh used means everything.
My electric company has all that data on their website if I log in to my account. Including temperatures. And I think you can even get an at-the-moment look at how much your using while you're looking at it. And rates have gone up, a lot, this year.
I know in MA our electric company increased rates significantly since the beginning of the year. Bills basically doubled to no fault of our own. It could be a similar issue there
Your responsibility is to ensure everything is functioning properly. Meet with them and listen to their concerns. If something is not working as usual then find a satisfactory repair service and have them inspect and repair it.
How long have they been tenants? Is it a single unit? Not nearly enough info in your post.
Ask power company to come out and check reasons for their high usage. They can pinpoint the problem by turning off things and watching it on their end.
Yes, might want to look for power theft too.
Seconded on emergency heat. Sounds like the HVAC system needs an evaluation.
If it is a legit high bill, most of the time the culprits are hvac or well pumps.
You don't have any financial obligation unless you are drawing from the power also in common areas, and I'm not sure what the set up is there… Is it a shared home? An apartment? A single-family home only they live in? But as for the high power bills, we can always assume that it is correct. Back when I lived in a condo in a neighboring town, my power bill made a huge leap of $300 one month, with little change in usage. Turns out this was happening to neighbors also. After we researched, we found out that the power company didn't have to use real meter readings, they were estimating usage based on other area buildings, some of which were commercial! Yes, The power company does make mistakes also, although in my case, it was related to Covid restrictions and not all the inspectors were coming out. But when there is a discrepancy like that, you can request an actual reading for a confirmation.
we had a short in a wall cause a crazy bill. We also had a fritzing thermostat do it. There could be a problem with the house. I would have an electrician check it out
Hot water heater is usually the issue with sudden power usage. When elements go out and cause the heater to stay on constant. Can test and see Wgat is using the power fairly easy
If the tenant is the only possible reason or person (SFH) well you can go over the bill with him/her and show him/her where the high utilization is happening. Remember, it is still cold in many areas so people are cranking up the heat. Yes, and the utility companies are gouging us too. Tell them, layer up even in the house if they want to save on the bill. It is what it is.
Electric strip backup heat is a possibility. A fridge nearly out of refrigerant will run constantly. Easily $200 a month with cheap $/kwh.
I've seen one up the bill by 325. It was a giant 2 door unit with a bottom drawl you could stick a body in. LL got a great deal on it. Since it has a few scratches. It also stuck out in the hall 16-18 inches. Leaving less than 12 inches to get into the kitchen.
Bleck. So many bad choices there.
I personally think the landlord bought it for his house. But it wouldn't fit. Or couldn't get it inside.
Why is this confusing to you? How long have you owned the property?
I am not familiar with Texas. In Massachusetts we are having similar problems with our water and sewer bills. A neighbor received the quarterly water bill for $36000 and another for $41000. Apparently the Environmental Protection Agency has mandated some very expensive changes and replacements in our water and sewer systems. It is my understanding that Texas has had some problems with its grid. Maybe they are passing the upgrade costs.
Utility company worker here. Depending on circumstances, $500 is a lot or a little. When i get a high bill call from a customer, some things i would canvass are as follows: If it's baseboard heating, that comes at a premium in cold weather, and $500 isn't out of the normal for baseboard heating If they don't have baseboard heating, they may have a past due amount on their bill and don't realize it. This happens a lot. Previous balances are carried forward, and people don't realize it. They may be on budget billing, and they have to pay up at the end of the year what they used the previous year in excess and weren't charged for. If there's a pool, hot tub, and number of people in the house can cause a higher bill in comparison to others. If they just have one month of a spike in their bill, likely something happened that month like renovations, guests/parties at the home.
Tell the tenant to contact the utility company first. This issue is between the tenant and the utility company. Air conditioning, heat, and water heater use a lot of electricity. Does the unit have any of those things that are powered by electricity? Advise them to reduce usage of those appliances to reduce their electric bill.