Save on your Home Expenses

Comments

1. Resident says:

   January 20, 2010 at 11:46 pm

   Did the Wellington really post an article on its blog that states the best way to save on living expenses is to cut your energy use? Sure, that is a good idea for most people, but not for residents of the Wellington, which recently instituted a system where your utility bills aren’t based on your usage. Instead, they’re based on a set allocation of the total building’s usage. Since there’s over 200 units in each building, plus all the common areas, your individual energy use comprises less than one-half of one percent of your total bill. Thus, if you cut your energy use by 25% (a reduction that would require significant effort to attain), your energy bill would go down by less than 0.125%. Therefore, aggressively cutting your energy usage by 25% would reduce a monthly utility bill of $100 to approximately $99.88. These estimated reductions, by the way, are conservative. Your actual reduction would probably be around 8 cents.
   Wellington management, can you please tell us how the allocation policy does not take away motivation to conserve energy?
2. thwamgmt says:

   February 12, 2010 at 2:32 pm

   Thank you so much for your feedback. Our utility billing system promotes conservation by reminding residents that utilities are controllable expenses. While the system is not the same as an individually metered program it is the most fair way that utilities can be billed in a community like The Wellington. While you are right your energy savings do not directly correlate with your own monthly bill if everyone is working together energy savings and expense reduction can occur.
3. Resident says:

   February 26, 2010 at 2:12 pm

   How are utilities a controllable expense? If I turn off the heat every day when I leave for work, that will save me, what, 5 cents a month? How is my monthly sewage bill of $20+ controllable? I assure you I cannot flush less and still live in a sanitary environment. Just saying that the allocation system “is the most fair way that utilities can be billed” doesn’t do anything to substantiate that claim. How is it fair that the people down the hall that have half a dozen people crammed into a one-bedroom apartment with one name on the lease are spending half as much on utilities as my roommate and I are? How is it fair that everyone else has to pay for the energy I waste if I decide to leave my lights on 24/7? What am I missing? I could maybe see billing the common area utilities based on allocation, and individual apartments based on metering. Can you please provide me any argument as to WHY the allocation policy is more fair than individual meters?
4. thwamgmt says:

   March 4, 2010 at 3:58 pm

   Because of the way the HVAC and hot water systems at The Wellington work it is not possible to provide individually metered utilities. If you would like to go over our biling practices further please feel free to give us a call at 703.920.3112.