24 unit apt bldg. need to change from landlord supplied oil hea

Steve Garson_2

You'll have a big investment ahead of you, no matter what approach you take. Depending on the layout of the building, since you want the tenants to pay, natural gas is your best option.

Your approach depends on your tenant base and what the market comparables are. For instance, in some cities, there are still apartments without central heat, but with free standing vented gas space heaters.

An approach with more general acceptance is central heat for each apartment. But you'll need a boiler for each apartment. Baseboard will be the cheapest approach, not the prettiest. If you're willing, panel radiators will look better and show less wear and tear.

You might want to weigh the pros and cons of using a gas burner and locking in a gas contract. You can contract a fixed price for up to four years. That way you eliminate your price risk as a property owner, but avoid the big investment. But tenants should pay their own heat, in my opinion.

elaine howell

converting from oil to ?

WE have a 24 unit oil heated apartment bldg. we want to have the tenants pay for their own heat& hot water, what would be the least expensive way .any suggestions ?we supply heat hot water(oil) and cooking gas. the tenant pay their own electric

mike faust

What type of radiation do you have? Are they cast iron radiators? What if you could allow each tenant to regulate their room temperatures from your exisisting heating system? And what if then you could measure each of there useage independently????

Rocky_3

Heat meters

There are devices called "BTU Meters" that essentially monitor how much energy each apartment uses for heating and hot water if such systems are controlled by a central heating/domestic hot water system. The devices strap to the incoming and return heat piping to each apartment and measure how much water is flowing in the heating lines, and, how much of a temperature difference there is between the incoming line and outgoing line. this temperature difference, in conjunction with the amount of flow will essentially give you an energy computation. Will it require some up-front costs? Absolutely. But it will do what you want. For more information about this, find a September 2007 issue of "PM Magazine". Friend-of-the-Wall John Siegenthaler just wrote an excellent article on this very subject.
Hope this helps,
Rocky

mike faust

I remember "The Dan" talking about a simple device used in Europe that incorporates nothing more than a small container filled with water that evaporates at a certain rate that can later be used to represent a percentage of totalheat used???? Is there such a thing Rocky? It seems kind of primative but I swear I remember hearing about this in one of his seminars???

Steve Garson_2

You'd have a challenge charging tenants for heat based on such measures. Without their own gas meter, it would never fly.

Jim_47

charge the user

If the tenants already pay their own electric, why not a small electric boiler in each apartment? That is if the service to each apartment can handle it.

Boilerpro_5

Why do you want Tenants to pay for thier own heat?

Overall the costs both to the tenant and the building owner will go up dramatically. You will now have at least 24 heating units to maintain instead of just a few. Every tenant will have to pay a couple hundred dollars a year just for being connected to the system (meter charges) and will typically pay much more for their energy. Also, energy use can go up substancially compared to a well controlled central system because the many smaller units operate much less efficiently than a well designed and controled central heating plant. If you are seeing abuses like themostats set way up and windows left open, their are much less expensive ways of eliminating these abuses than installing heating units in every apartment.

Boilerpro

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

Steve Garson_2

Boiler Pro has made some very good points. When I owned a 5-unit building, I installed Acustats so the tenant could not adjust the temps.

mike faust

Now there's some common sense thinking!!

We maintain a 56 unit apartment building that has 56 individual heat pump systems. Maintenance, repair, and replacement costs make that one of our largest accounts. Add that to the investment for 24 seperate systems. Modifying what you already have seems like the best route.