Faulty Hot Water System

[Ideo]

Quick question.

Faulty hot water system (gas) located on common property. Appears to be a fault with the system itself and not the meter. Tenant claims it uses far too much gas (and tbh it really does look like it does from what I've seen).

Energy company has investigated and there doesn't appear to be a fault with the meter. They have agreed that the usage is far too high. It's around 5500MJ for 2 people for a quarter for hot water alone.

Looks like the HWS has been dodgy. Only about 8 years old as well. It's located on common property but each unit has it's own separate meter system.

Can the tenant claim the additional costs? If so can it be claimed on insurance? Strate issue?

Friend of mine has this issue and it is not really covered under the legislation or even the fact sheets from the tenants union. She doesn't want to be out of pocket (only young and is her only IP), her tenant doesn't want to be out of pocket, nobody wants to be out of pocket. Just want some unbiased opinion basically.

 

[fisherman]

Leaky hot water tap.

System water jacket not being topped up with water every couple of months. That will also shorten the life of the appliance. Lift the pressure release valve until water comes from the spill pipe and the release lever. Usually done each time the energy bill is received.

Thermostat set too high. That is dangerous for scalds too.

Tenant usage practices, eg., hot water for clothes washing, baths not showers, deluge shower head, running the hot water tap to wash hands etc.

Hard to imagine that a (not very old) gas HWS could become 'faulty' to cause high bills. Energy prices have gone up a lot. Practice economy in use.

 

[DaveM]

I had something similar where the meter was faulty, it was an electronic one that reported back to a central system and was sending multiple pulses for every unit. My bill for a single guy in a 1br + study apartment was 1500 MJ a month!

 

[Scott No Mates]

What is their water consumption like (if it is separately metered)?

Even though the unit is only 8 years old, report it back to the property manager to sort out (the cylinder is generally guaranteed for 10 years but not the rest of the hws).

 

[Ideo]

I'm catching up with her tomorrow and will get more details. She's French and although her English is good its not quite up to dealing with convoluted legislation.

 

[Ideo]

What is their water consumption like (if it is separately metered)?

Even though the unit is only 8 years old, report it back to the property manager to sort out (the cylinder is generally guaranteed for 10 years but not the rest of the hws).

Ok, more details.

Tenant has supplied previous gas and electric bills and they are around a third to a half of the price. Gas usage is low for cooking. It is the actual amount of gas being used that seems high. They have said that they will pay if everything is correct but they are pretty certain of where they stand. Around 8 years records of previous usage. Damn organised tenants.

No individual water meter unfortunately.

With the property manager who is useless so will see what happens.

Yay for people coming to me for advice all the time.

 

[fisherman]

What I would do is get a gas fitter to check the appliance with an undertaking by the tenant/s that if he finds that the appliance is in good operating condition the tenant pays for the full cost of the call out.

The gas fitter should also assure the owner that there would be no appreciable difference in efficiency between a ten year old operable gas HWS and a new one. Unless types of gas HWS are compared eg direct as opposed to storage etc.