The short version
- Most schemes see energy once a quarter, as a bill. Monthly reads and a trend line are enough to catch most waste.
- Submeters on hot water, car park, pool, lifts and HVAC show where the common-area load actually goes.
- An embedded network changes who bills whom and what rules apply — know whether you are in one.
- NABERS Energy for Apartment Buildings gives committees a benchmark and buyers a signal.
Where the common-area energy goes
In a typical Australian apartment tower the owners corporation pays for lift motors, car park lighting and ventilation, corridor and lobby lighting, fire and hydraulic pumps, centralised hot water or its recirculation, pool and gym plant, and any central HVAC. Individually these are small; together they can be tens of thousands of dollars a year, paid from levies, and — because no individual owner sees the bill — rarely questioned. The most common findings when a scheme finally looks: car park ventilation running 24 hours on a timer nobody set, lighting on daylight circuits without sensors, and a hot water recirculation loop losing heat through uninsulated pipe.
Meters, submeters and reads
Know your meters
The common-area supply meter(s), any hot water or gas bulk meter, and the submeters the builder installed. Photograph the plates and record the NMI or meter numbers against the assets.
Read monthly
A monthly read by the building manager or from the retailer's interval data is enough for a trend. Quarterly bills hide a month of runaway plant.
Chart and compare
Consumption against the same month last year, and against the weather, shows the anomalies. A sparkline on the committee dashboard does more than a spreadsheet nobody opens.
Act on the outliers
A step change after a contractor visit, a plateau where there should be a dip — each becomes a work order with the asset and the reading attached.
Recover where you should
Hot water, gas and car park submeters that serve identifiable lots or tenancies are recovered through cost-recovery invoices, not absorbed in levies.
Embedded networks
Many newer buildings are embedded networks: the scheme (or an operator) buys electricity at the gate meter and on-sells it to lots through private submeters. That can lower unit prices, but it makes the owners corporation or its operator an energy seller, with Australian Energy Regulator exemption conditions, state consumer protections and metering obligations attached. Committees should know whether they are in an embedded network, who the exempt seller is, when the operator contract ends and what the lot owners are actually paying compared with the open market. Recent reforms in Victoria and NSW have tightened these arrangements; take advice before renewing an operator agreement.
NABERS for apartment buildings
NABERS Energy and Water for Apartment Buildings rates the common-area performance of a residential strata building on a star scale using twelve months of bills and building data. It gives the committee a benchmark against similar buildings, a way to show the effect of upgrades, and — increasingly — something buyers and lenders ask about. The rating needs exactly the meter inventory and monthly data described above.
Where software fits
Utility Meters module
Water, gas, electricity and submeter readings recorded against the meter as an asset, with consumption charts, sparklines and notifications to the manager when a read is due or out of pattern.
Cost-recovery exports
Submeter consumption exported per lot or tenancy for recovery invoicing, so recoverable usage stops being absorbed by the administrative fund.
Readings to work orders
An anomalous reading becomes a job on the asset — the car park fan, the recirculation pump — with the reading and the trend attached for the contractor.
Contracts and bills
Retailer and embedded-network operator contracts, exemption details and bills held with the building's documents and their renewal dates on the compliance calendar.
EV charging
EV bays, allocation and the metering behind them tracked in the car park module, ready for the recovery conversation the committee will have.
Committee dashboard
Consumption trends beside open jobs, compliance status and spend, so energy is examined at every meeting rather than once a year at the budget.
The Utility Meters module is included in every TowerDesk building portal. It records and charts what your meters say; it does not replace an energy audit, an electrician or an embedded-network adviser. See the building management page for the operational modules around it and the mixed-use page for tenant recovery.
Start with the meter inventory
We will set up your meters as assets and show the monthly-read workflow on your building. Book a demo.
Frequently asked questions
What is strata energy monitoring?
Regular recording and review of the common-area electricity, gas and water a strata scheme pays for — lifts, lighting, ventilation, pumps, hot water, pool and gym plant — so the committee can see trends, catch waste and recover consumption that belongs to individual lots or tenancies.
What is an embedded network in a strata building?
An arrangement where the scheme or an operator buys energy at the building's gate meter and on-sells it to lots through private submeters. It can lower prices but makes the seller subject to Australian Energy Regulator exemption conditions and state consumer protections. Committees should know whether they are in one and when the operator contract ends.
Can apartment buildings get a NABERS rating?
Yes. NABERS Energy and Water for Apartment Buildings rates common-area performance on a star scale from twelve months of bills and building data, benchmarking the building against similar ones.
Does TowerDesk read meters automatically?
TowerDesk records readings entered by staff or imported, charts consumption, notifies the manager when a read is due or out of pattern and exports submeter usage for cost recovery. It does not replace an energy audit or a metering contractor.
Who pays for common-area electricity in strata?
The owners corporation or body corporate, from the administrative fund, funded by owners' levies in proportion to their entitlements. Consumption that can be attributed to a lot or tenancy through a submeter can be recovered from that lot.