Can You Submeter Heat?
Last reviewed September 2026NES Editorial, checked by the Billing & Compliance team
In most areas, yes, and the right method depends on how the building is heated.
Can you submeter heat in an apartment building?
In most areas, yes, but how you do it depends on the heating system. If residents heat their units with their own gas or electric heaters, that unit can be submetered directly for the gas or electricity it uses. If the building runs central heat on gas or electricity that feeds many units at once, the usage usually cannot be split by a single meter, so it is allocated to residents with ratio or formula-based billing instead. The two approaches are often combined. What you can do depends heavily on local laws, which vary by state and county and change often, so it is worth checking with the NES team before you commit. NES installs and manages submetering for multifamily properties with 80 or more units, and our compliance team tracks the rules in over 43 states.
It depends on the heating setup
- Individual unit heaters on gas or electric: meter that unit directly for that utility.
- Central heat shared across units: allocate cost with ratio or formula-based billing.
- Many buildings use a mix of both methods.
Local rules decide what is allowed
Whether you can meter or allocate heat depends on state and county law, and those rules change. Our compliance team keeps up with regulations across the more than 43 states we serve, so we can tell you what is allowed at your property before any equipment goes in. That keeps you out of liability trouble.
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