A submeter is an energy/utility meter installed within a building or facility for the specific goal of measuring energy usage of a tenant space, unit, common area or building system. The submeter is installed downstream from the main utility meter coming into a building.

Submetered buildings provide tenants and building owners with equitable utility billing solutions by allocating based on TRUE and ACCURATE energy consumption for their individual tenant space. Accurate allocation creates an incentive for conservation by tenants while also providing property owners with the ability to recover higher percentages of expenses in a fair and equitable manner.

When a building has one Master Meter from the utility (a meter that monitors an entire facility, with no option to pinpoint usage or consumption of tenants, spaces or building systems, how can you allocate true utility expenses? You simply can’t!

A master meter system typically requires building owners to estimate incurred utility expenses or other methodology such as RUBS — Ratio Utility Billing System which bases bills on space characteristics such as square footage, units, bedrooms, etc.