How to check apartments' meters

Apartments' meters don't always tell the truth: a meter breaks and stops counting, a reading is entered too low, or someone reads it wrong. A meter that measures them together catches that, e.g. the hot water meter of an entrance, which all the hot water of the entrance's apartments goes through. Add it as a building meter, and choose the apartment meters it checks and the apartments it measures: every month, ky24 compares what it counted with what those meters counted together in those apartments. When they don't match, something is wrong.

It's a building meter like any other: residents don't see it, only those who belong to the building do, and exports have its readings too.

How it works

Say the hot water meter of entrance 1 measures apartments 1 to 20:

A small difference is normal: meters aren't perfectly accurate, and pipes can lose a little. A big one, or one that jumps in a month, is worth checking: a meter that counts wrong, a reading entered wrong, or a leak. When the apartments' meters counted more than the building's meter, a reading was most likely entered too high. Check on the Readings page highlights a difference of more than a tenth of what the building's meter counted, either way, once all its apartments are counted, and exporting the readings lists it too.

It's compared with the apartment meters you choose: e.g. a hot water meter with the apartments' hot water meters. Choose several when they count what it does between them, e.g. the electricity meters at the day and the night rate for the building's electricity meter, or the cold and hot water meters for a main water meter that the hot water goes through too. Apartments' own meters, which only one apartment has, aren't compared, nor are apartment meters that are off. Apartments without any of the chosen meters, e.g. one without hot water, count as using none of it.

Meters show a running total, so what a meter used in a month is its reading minus the month before's. A month's difference shows once the building's meter has readings for that month and the month before, e.g. not for its first month. An apartment's usage is counted the same way: it isn't when the apartment wasn't read that month or the month before, or when its reading is lower than the one before it, which a meter can't be. While some apartments aren't counted, the difference also has what they used: then it's shown fainter, with how many were counted, e.g. 2 of 4 counted.

When a meter is replaced, its usage is still counted right (see How to enter a meter replacement).

Who can set it up

Building meters take the Edit buildings, their meters, images and members permission in your role as a member of the building, like its other meters. Only those who belong to the building see them, and the differences take View readings too. Their readings are entered with the Enter readings, Edit readings and Delete readings permissions.

Set it up

1. Open the building's page, e.g. from Buildings, and pick Meters in its menu.
2. Click Add meter at the top right of the page, or the pencil button of one of its building meters.
3. Under Type, choose Building meter.
4. Under Meter, choose what it measures, e.g. Hot water, m³. Give it a Name to tell it apart from the apartment meters, e.g. Entrance 1 or Main water meter.
5. Under Apartment meters it checks, check the ones it's compared with, e.g. Hot water, m³.
6. Click Apartments it measures and check the ones whose use goes through it. To choose a range, e.g. 21 to 40, type 21–40 in the search box and click Select all found, or click 21, then hold Shift and click 40. Select all checks every apartment, e.g. for the building's main meter. Apartments without any of the meters it checks are fainter.
7. Choose when its readings are entered, like for other meters (see How to create meters), and click Save.

Any building meter can check apartment meters, one made with Another meter… too. An apartment can be measured by several meters, e.g. by its entrance's meter and by the building's main one.

Enter its readings

Building meters are read once a month, on the readings page, under Building meters: in the building's row, each has a column with its reading and, after it, what it counted in the month, e.g. +100. Under the name of one that checks apartment meters, what it checks, e.g. m³ · Hot water in apartments 1–20, and under what it counted:

• Used by apartments: what their meters counted together, and how many of them were counted when not all were. The list button before it shows each apartment's reading and usage, or why it isn't counted, e.g. No reading for September or Lower than September: where to look for the meter that's wrong.
• Difference: how much more the building's meter counted, or less, with a minus.

The button before its fields shows its recent readings, and enters its replacement with a new meter, like for other meters.

See the differences month by month

In the building's Meters, each building meter that checks apartment meters shows what it checks and its latest difference: of the latest month whose apartments were all counted, if there's one, or why it isn't known yet. The scale button next to it shows the last six months: what it counted, what its apartments' meters counted, and the difference.

Change it

• The meters it checks and its apartments can always change, e.g. when one was left out: the differences are worked out again with the ones it has now. An apartment added to the building later isn't measured until you check it.
• Not checking them anymore. Uncheck all the apartment meters it checks: it stays a building meter, with its readings, and measures no apartments.
• Turning it off. When it isn't read anymore, switch off Readings are entered: the readings page leaves it out, but its readings are kept.
• Deleting it. Deleting it deletes its readings too, which takes the Delete readings permission.