Path-Q Solar

How should a landlord size backup power when tenants control their own electricity use?

Answer

Size backup around clearly defined landlord-controlled critical circuits, not assumed tenant behavior. Separate life-safety, common-area, security, communications, pumps, refrigeration, and other agreed loads, then decide whether tenant units receive limited backup through controls, submetering, or a fixed allocation.

Key points

  • Tenant-controlled loads are difficult to predict and can exhaust a shared battery.
  • Critical circuits should be physically separated or controlled so discretionary loads cannot consume the reserve.
  • The lease, operating policy, and metering arrangement should define who receives backup and who pays for it.

What it depends on

  • Building layout and electrical distribution
  • Common-area and life-safety loads
  • Tenant load variability and control capability
  • Desired runtime and outage priorities
  • Lease, cost-allocation, and management arrangements

Risks and trade-offs

  • Providing unrestricted tenant access can cause rapid depletion or overload.
  • Excluding tenant loads may create service, habitability, or contractual concerns.
  • Load controls and separate circuits add cost and operational complexity.

Information you may need

  • Electrical one-line and circuit schedule
  • Interval or submetered load data
  • Critical-load priorities and target runtime
  • Tenant agreements and proposed control or allocation rules

Your next step

What to do next

Create a written backup policy and load list, then have an electrical designer model controlled common-area and tenant loads separately.

Path-Q

Find the right next step

Answer a few questions and we’ll narrow your options.

Loading…

SQ01038