Individual metering and charging of heat and hot water in row house areas - Comparing study of two row house areas in Stockholm

Abstract: In today’s society our residents and premises consume 38 % of the total energy use in Sweden. 2011 that number corresponded to 77,8 TWh/year. Governments and the public’s strive to lower the energy use and the European Union’s goal that all member countries should lower their energy consumption with 20 % until year 2020 creates incentives to renovations and energy efficiency measures. A possible measure that could lead to reduced energy consumption for rental apartments and smaller residences like row-houses is to install individual metering. Individual metering is a method to measure how much energy is consumed in residences. Devices are installed in homes and can measure the water and heat consumption and let the residence pay for what is actually used. In this report the consumption and the costs for heat and warm water and the attitude to individual metering between two row-house areas is investigated. Both areas are located in Stockholm, in Huddinge and Farsta, where one of the areas has installed individual metering. Our study shows difference of the consumption and costs between the two areas. The installation of individual metering has result in a higher awareness for the people living in that area which has led to a reduced consumption and cost. The attitude for individual metering is positive in both areas and unchanged after the installation of individual metering.