The utility meter is not enough to rebill a guest
40 % of Airbnb hosts think their Linky utility meter lets them rebill electricity to the guest. It doesn't. Linky measures the property's total consumption, never a specific stay. Here's the technical demonstration, and the real solution.
Utility meter and submeter: two devices, two uses
The Linky meter, deployed by French grid operator Enedis since 2015, is the property's main meter. It measures all energy drawn from the public distribution network, with an automatic reading every 30 minutes. Its mission: bill your electricity supplier (EDF, Engie, TotalEnergies, etc.). It aggregates everything: your fridge, water heater, box, guest consumption, yours too if you also live in the property. A single curve for a single delivery point.
The submeter has nothing to do with the grid operator. It's a secondary meter installed downstream of the utility meter, on a specific circuit: a unit, a housing, a use. It isolates a portion of consumption within a larger set. Its accuracy is identical to the utility meter's (class 1 MID standard, tolerance plus or minus 1 %), but its role is completely different: measure what a guest, a condo unit, or a specific use consumes (pool, EV charging).
Concretely, if you rent a 1-bedroom on Airbnb and want to rebill the 47 kWh consumed from July 12 to 18, the utility meter will give you the property's total consumption for that period, adding your own consumption if you live there the rest of the time. Impossible to isolate what belongs to the guest. That's where the submeter becomes essential: it's the only device legally and technically recognized to rebill a temporary occupant.
Utility meter, submeter: understand step by step
Three steps to demystify the difference and choose the right device
What the utility meter really does
The utility meter measures the total consumption of your grid delivery point, automatic reading every 30 minutes. History available on the grid operator portal in daily kWh, no distinction of occupant or period.
What a submeter adds
A submeter installs downstream of the utility meter, on the rented property's circuit. It isolates consumption by unit or use, with an index reset at each guest change, accuracy plus or minus 1 %.
Choose your submeter
Three families: mechanical wheel (~50 EUR, manual reading), digital LCD (~90-150 EUR, easy reading), Powtiva connected prepaid (76-95 EUR for the module, automatic rebilling and threshold cutoff).
Two meters, two legal statuses
Ownership, obligations, recognition: what distinguishes the utility meter and submeter
Utility meter: grid operator property
The utility meter belongs to the grid operator. You have neither control over its settings nor the right to use it as reference to rebill a third party. Its legal function stops at the relationship between the grid operator and your supplier.
Submeter: your property
The submeter belongs to you. You choose the model, location, and rebilling logic. In return, you must display the kWh rate applied to the guest, in the property or the rental contract.
Recognition by law 89-462
The French law article 23-1 of loi 89-462 of July 6, 1989 authorizes individual rebilling of energy charges in furnished rentals, as long as a reliable measuring device isolates the guest's consumption. The submeter checks that box, the utility meter doesn't.
Four submeter strengths vs the utility meter in Airbnb
What the utility meter will never do, and what a connected submeter brings to your short-term rental
Strict stay isolation
A submeter resets its index on guest arrival and reads its index on departure. You get the exact kWh consumed between check-in and check-out, without ever mixing with your own use or the previous stay.
Legally enforceable rebilling
Unlike a utility data extract (global aggregate, non-nominal), the submeter reading constitutes individual evidence. In a dispute with a guest or during a tax or social security audit, this document has legal weight.
Real-time monitoring
A connected submeter reports consumption live to your dashboard. You see who leaves AC on with windows open, who pushes heating to 24 C. The utility meter, meanwhile, gives info with a minimum 24h lag and no detail by room or use.
Prepayment possible
Only a communicating submeter enables prepayment: the guest credits an account at check-in, consumption is deducted in real time, automatic cutoff protects your margin in case of abuse. The utility meter cannot be controlled for these purposes by a host.
Real case: a Paris 1-bedroom rented 12 nights in July
Numbers-based comparison between utility meter alone and utility meter + Powtiva submeter
With the utility meter alone
- • You check the grid operator portal: 187 kWh for July for the property, no breakdown by occupant.
- • Impossible to prove to the guest the 47 kWh that are theirs: the curve aggregates your cleaning visit and two vacant nights.
- • Flat rebilling at 25 EUR: undervaluation during a heatwave, the guest pushed AC to 19 C, actual ~ 61 EUR consumed.
-36 EUR
energy margin lost
With utility meter + Powtiva submeter
- • The Powtiva module automatically resets the index at check-in via the Airbnb iCal.
- • Real-time isolated consumption: 47.2 kWh over the 12 nights, rebilled at the displayed rate (0.27 EUR/kWh).
- • 15 EUR per night prepayment included in the nightly rate, overage automatically billed at check-out.
+41 EUR
margin on the stay
Utility meter and submeter: frequent questions
Clear answers to Airbnb host questions on electrical metering
Does the utility meter let me rebill an Airbnb guest?
Can I check the grid operator curve for the stay period?
Can a submeter communicate with the utility meter?
How much does a submeter cost?
Is the utility meter more accurate than a submeter?
Do I have to declare submeter installation to the grid operator?
Can I use utility meter data as evidence in a dispute?
Does a connected submeter replace the utility meter?
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Ready to precisely measure your guests' consumption?
Add a connected submeter to your utility meter and turn every rented kWh into protected margin.