World War II Era Housing Complex Gets New Electrical System
The Quincy Housing Authority (QHA) manages five separate residential complexes in Quincy, Illinois, a quaint city that sits on the banks of the Mississippi River and which has been named “the eighth best small city in which to raise a family” by Forbes Magazine. One of QHA’s properties, a sprawling 13-acre World War II era apartment complex consisting of 34 buildings, was undergoing renovation to modernize its electrical infrastructure. The upgrade included the installation of new electrical breaker panels, dedicated electrical outlets for air-conditioning units in each apartment and a state-of-the-art, revenue-grade electrical metering system for tracking and allocating energy usage costs among tenants.
The Need to Get a Better Read on Electrical Usage
All of the electric meters at QHA’s expansive housing complex were spinning-disk style meters which had to be read each month by a QHA employee. Given the vast size of the complex, the meter reader had to drive from building to building to transcribe usage readings from each of 200 meters. One issue with these older-style, spinningdisk meters is that over time, their moving parts are subjected to mechanical wear and tear, which can cause them to lose accuracy. In addition, transcription errors can result when the meter reader records values off a series of dials, each of which turns in a different direction from the dial preceding it. QHA budgeted for its monthly electric usage based on an annual survey it commissioned to determine acceptable usage allowances for each tenant. In instances where residents used more than the allotted amount, QHA billed back tenants for overages. A highly accurate, revenue-grade metering system would enable QHA to better manage inquiries it received from tenants on their electrical usage.
The Smart Choice for Smart Property Managers
Property managers at QHA made a smart choice in selecting Leviton’s VerifEye™ Mini Meter™ Multiple Meter Unit (MMU) to measure electrical usage at its expansive complex. Ideal for installations where multiple single-phase loads are fed from the same distribution panel, the Mini Meter MMU provides an economical, revenue-grade solution for measuring and verifying electrical usage and accurately allocating energy usage costs to tenants. With its compact footprint, the Mini Meter MMU readily mounted into the tight wall space QHA’s electrician had to work with, providing a clean, efficient installation. Today, the odometer-like display on the Mini Meter’s housing makes it a breeze for QHA’s meter reader to instantly record electrical usage for each of 200 tenants, streamlining the process, and adding accuracy and efficiency.
VerifEye Mini Meter MMU Makes Measuring and Managing Energy Use a Snap
With the installation of Leviton’s VerifEye Mini Meter MMU, QHA was able to simplify its administrative operations and obtain precise readings in far less time. The Mini Meter MMU provides QHA with greater accuracy, while affording the expandability to add on other built-in features for reporting and billing as its needs evolve. All 34 buildings at the complex were retrofitted with the pre-wired, contractorfriendly Mini Meter MMUs in a tidy, seamless installation.
The Bottom Line
Today, thanks to the new system, QHA has a transparent way to measure and verify energy usage for each tenant down to the penny and can allocate energy costs fairly and precisely among them.
Leviton Mini Meter MMU
- Measures consumption of electricity for multi-tenant applications
- Certified to all applicable standards of ANSI C12.1
- Equipped with an isolated pulse output for automated meter reading
- Available in NEMA 4X individual meter enclosures
- UL/cUL Listed
- Up to 3 sets of current transformers (CTs) can be paralleled per meter for a distance of up to 500 feet
- Smaller mounting footprint than individually-housed meters
- Reduced conduit, wire and short circuit protective hardware requirements
- Suitable for new construction and retrofit environments
- Available in medium (houses 2-4), large (houses 5-8) and extralarge (houses 9-19) mini meter configurations
- Backed by Leviton’s Limited Ten-Year Warranty
