Turn your doors into dollars

Solar tenant billing is a system that allows multi-family property owners to allocate solar energy benefits among multiple tenants through specialized software and monitoring systems. The process typically works by measuring the solar energy produced, allocating it proportionally among participating units (often based on unit size or predetermined agreements), and then generating individual tenant statements that show their portion of solar production and resulting savings. This enables residents of apartments and condos to benefit from shared solar installations without requiring individual systems for each unit.

Virtual net metering (VNM) is a billing arrangement that permits the energy produced by a single solar system to be credited to multiple tenants or accounts. In multi-family properties, VNM allows a solar array on a common roof to offset electricity usage across individual apartment units. The utility allocates credits from the solar production to multiple meters based on predetermined percentages. This arrangement, available in many states but regulated differently across jurisdictions, is essential for making shared solar viable for tenant-occupied buildings where residents have individual utility accounts.

Automated solar submetering services provide numerous benefits including accurate allocation of solar credits without manual calculations, transparent billing that tenants can understand, simplified compliance with local regulations regarding utility submeter billing, reduction in administrative time and errors, detailed reporting for property management, and user-friendly tenant interfaces that build satisfaction with the solar program. These systems also typically provide real-time monitoring to quickly identify any performance issues with the solar installation.

Shared solar cost allocation can be determined through several methods: square footage-based allocation (where larger units receive proportionally more credits), equal distribution among all units, allocation based on historical energy usage patterns, or custom allocations determined by property owners. The fairest approach depends on the property type, tenant mix, and local regulations. Transparent documentation of the allocation methodology is important for tenant acceptance and compliance with consumer protection regulations that may apply to utility billing.

Effective solar tenant billing requires several technological components: production monitoring hardware that accurately measures the solar system’s output, billing software that integrates with both monitoring systems and property management platforms, secure data storage and processing capabilities, user interfaces for both property managers and tenants, and sometimes integration with utility company billing systems. The most advanced systems provide mobile apps for tenants to track their solar benefits in real-time and automated payment processing that integrates with existing rent collection methods.