Mis-Wired Apartment Circuit
Mis-Wired Apartment Circuit
(OP)
I live in a fairly small apartment on the 1st floor of a building. The HVAC system rarely needs to run due to the insulation provided by units above and around it. The kWh usage has always seemed high compared to similar dwellings in the past, but I unfortunately never investigated further.
I recently measured current on the individual feeders and found a 240 VAC circuit with 7 A of current flow. I had all possible 240 VAC loads de-energized. I switched the breaker off and found that maintenance came in the next day to switch it back on. I requested more information and found that this circuit was mis-wired to the apartment above mine and would be repaired soon.
Since this has been the case for an 18 month period (no new wiring modifications during my stay), even if the circuit was energized only 6 hours per day, this has consumed an additional 3600 kWh per year or nearly $500/year at typical rates. What is my best approach to take? Am I out of luck due to their wiring error?
I recently measured current on the individual feeders and found a 240 VAC circuit with 7 A of current flow. I had all possible 240 VAC loads de-energized. I switched the breaker off and found that maintenance came in the next day to switch it back on. I requested more information and found that this circuit was mis-wired to the apartment above mine and would be repaired soon.
Since this has been the case for an 18 month period (no new wiring modifications during my stay), even if the circuit was energized only 6 hours per day, this has consumed an additional 3600 kWh per year or nearly $500/year at typical rates. What is my best approach to take? Am I out of luck due to their wiring error?






RE: Mis-Wired Apartment Circuit
In my view, yours is a legal/personal/financial problem, not an engineering question.
You seem to have enough information to make a good case for recovering some or even all of your out-of-pocket costs; go make it to whomever you best deem appropriate.If your efforts are misdirected, trial and error will soon reveal that to you.
I wish you success.
CR
"As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." [Proverbs 27:17, NIV]
RE: Mis-Wired Apartment Circuit
The sad fact this is not unheard of in apartments, be it intentional or accidental. Because the error is on the load side of the meter, all power is accounted for so the power company will probably not take any action or have concern. That leaves the landlord or condo association. What action they decide to take is entirely up to them. Technically they are not responsible unless its deliberate premeditated theft.
If you really want to be re-reimbursed and no one is taking you seriously your only option is an attorney, but even then it may be difficult to hold anyone responsible.
RE: Mis-Wired Apartment Circuit
RE: Mis-Wired Apartment Circuit
If you do not get a reasonable response, consider turning the breaker off again.
Bill
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"Why not the best?"
Jimmy Carter
RE: Mis-Wired Apartment Circuit
Bill may have a point...
If requesting an adjustment in writing fails, is this panel within your apartment?
If so, are "maintenance" letting themselves into your unit in your absence?
If they are, can you change the lock on the door to your unit?
If you can't change the lock and they keep closing the breaker back in without your consent, are you willing to go to war by not only opening the breaker but cutting and removing [or having cut and removed, if you yourself cannot do so safely] the wires to the foreign load so as to render them not readily re-connectable?
Or am I being too militant?
CR
"As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." [Proverbs 27:17, NIV]
RE: Mis-Wired Apartment Circuit
Turning off the however is ok in my book.
RE: Mis-Wired Apartment Circuit
CR
"As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." [Proverbs 27:17, NIV]
RE: Mis-Wired Apartment Circuit
I know I am a giant pessimist in this thread (pessimists are rarely disappointed...
RE: Mis-Wired Apartment Circuit
I had the same exact issue at a commercial location. After turning off every last thing in my facility I still had a spinning meter. It turned out they were sucking the 'house' load from my bay in the building. So all the parking lot lights were on my bill. I wanted a ground pulled to my facility so I separated the house loads off onto a breaker in a box next to the service drop and ran the needed ground all on the landlord's dollar. I was probably screwed a bit, but the problem at least ended.
Keith Cress
kcress - http://www.flaminsystems.com
RE: Mis-Wired Apartment Circuit
This was a small hotel. The owner had a small apartment in one corner of the building.
Residential, small users were heavily subsidized by the tariffs.
I was trouble shooting a pump and was having trouble isolating the power feed.
It turned out that someone had installed a hidden wire to steal power from the hotel.
But the same man owned the hotel.
There were no subsidies for commercial power.
Expensive power was being stolen to replace much cheaper power, with the owner paying the bill.
Bill
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"Why not the best?"
Jimmy Carter
RE: Mis-Wired Apartment Circuit
For example, if you needed to replace or repair the panel, its the apartment owner that will probably have to pay for that, not the building management. Throwing a breaker does not count as 'doing electrical work'.
Unless each apartment is metered individually i doubt any of this matters to you.