Where should I start if I'm new to prepaid electricity?

Start with the Fundamentals category: the guides on billing, sub-metering and prepaid electricity in rentals lay out the framework. Then move on to Regulation to confirm your project is compliant. Finally, Comparisons will help you pick the technical solution that fits your portfolio.

Are these guides only for Airbnb hosts?

No. They apply to every short-term rental in France: Airbnb, Booking, Abritel/VRBO, Gîtes de France, Novasol, Interhome, Holidu. The same tax and technical rules apply to furnished tourist rentals and rural cottages.

Are they translated into other languages?

Yes, all 42 guides are available in French, English, Spanish, German, Italian and Portuguese. Use the language selector at the top right, or swap the /fr/ segment of the URL for /en/, /es/, /de/, /it/ or /pt/.

42 practical guides

All Powtiva guides to manage electricity in your Airbnb

Bill actual usage, pick the right meter, understand the law, compare solutions, resolve disputes: 42 pages built for hosts of furnished tourist rentals and holiday cottages. All available in 6 languages.

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The complete hub for prepaid electricity in short-term rentals

You rent out a furnished tourist property or holiday cottage and you want to stop absorbing inflated electricity bills caused by travelers? These guides cover the full cycle: the legal fundamentals (article 23-1 of French law 89-462, ALUR act, VAT), the technical choices (sub-meter, Linky, energy metering), the billing strategies (flat fee vs prepayment), city-by-city use cases (Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux and more) and the practical everyday questions (a guest who refuses to pay, an unexpected outage, the deposit). Every guide is written with real numbers, no fluff, and tested by hosts who have used Powtiva since 2024.

Billing fundamentals

Understand the framework, choose the hardware, structure energy management in a furnished tourist rental.

Bill your guests for electricity

Complete legal and operational guide to 3 methods (fixed, post-billing, prepayment) to transfer energy costs in short-term furnished rentals.

Divisional meter for furnished rentals

Complete technical guide on installation, NF C 15-100 standard, costs and ROI of divisional meters for Airbnb and vacation rentals. Accurate measurement, transparent billing.

Electric submeter for Airbnb: comparison guide

Choose between mechanical, LCD, or connected prepaid: complete comparison for Airbnb hosts, gîtes, short-term rentals. Installation, legality, ROI.

Prevent electricity consumption abuse

Identify, prevent, and eliminate energy abuse in short-term furnished rentals, from communication to automatic prepayment.

Prepaid electricity

How the prepaid meter works for furnished rentals.

Prepaid electricity for rentals

The legal alternative to prepaid EDF to bill 100% of energy to your furnished rental guests.

Avoid unpaid bills

Protect yourself against tenant electricity defaults.

Energy management

Dashboard, alerts and reports to manage your consumption.

Airbnb optimization

Optimize energy management for your Airbnb rentals.

Optimization & energy savings

Cut average consumption, shape guest behavior, understand tariffs.

Influencing Airbnb guest behavior

The psychological and technical levers to cut your guests' electricity consumption 25 to 30%, with no conflict and no bad ratings.

Average electricity consumption in Airbnbs

kWh-per-night benchmarks for studios, one-bedrooms, two-bedrooms and villas, season by season, from 5,000 nights instrumented by Powtiva.

Energy savings in short-term rentals

The host guide to 15 concrete actions cutting a rental's electricity bill 30 to 40%, ranked by return on investment.

Connected thermostat for Airbnb: the comparison

Nest, Tado, Netatmo, Heatzy in short-term rentals: strengths, prices, limits, and the essential complement to control the full energy bill.

Understanding Airbnb electricity pricing

Plain-English breakdown of a utility bill for a short-term rental: subscription, kWh, taxes, TURPE, and honest guest passthrough.

Airbnb AC: consumption under control

How to cap AC consumption in short-term rentals, legally load-shed at the right moment, and pass overuse through to the guest.

Regulation & legal obligations

What French law says about billing electricity to tenants in a furnished rental.

Electricity rebilling law for short-term rentals

The complete 2026 legal framework for rebilling energy in furnished rentals: article 23-1, decree 2015-587, case law, and sanctions.

ALUR law and Airbnb rentals

Understanding what the 2014 ALUR law imposes (or not) on your furnished tourism rental: provisions, recoverable charges, and energy rebilling.

VAT electricity rebilling furnished rental

The complete tax guide to VAT treatment of energy rebilling: classic furnished outside scope or para-hotel at 10 %, thresholds, and recovery.

Airbnb host electricity obligations

The complete checklist of legal and technical obligations for any short-term rental host: diagnostics, safety, guest disclosure, rebilling.

Comparisons & 2026 benchmarks

Prepayment vs flat fee, Linky vs sub-meter, EDF vs alternatives, market kits.

Prepayment vs flat fee vs post-billing

Objective comparison of the three Airbnb electricity billing methods, with selection criteria, a real numbers case, and FAQ dedicated to hesitant hosts.

Utility meter vs submeter: the comparison

The utility meter doesn't let you rebill an Airbnb guest. Technical and legal comparison with the submeter, the only recognized solution.

EDF vs alternatives for Airbnb

2026 comparison of electricity suppliers (EDF, Ekwateur, TotalEnergies, Alpiq, OHM): prices, pricing options, and impact on guest rebilling.

2026 Airbnb prepaid kits comparison

2026 benchmark of prepaid submeter kits for short-term rentals: Powtiva, Landis+Gyr, DIY Home Assistant, foreign solutions.

City-by-city guides

Local use cases: Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Nice, Nantes, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Lille, Annecy.

Prepaid Airbnb electricity Paris

Complete guide for Parisian hosts: legal re-billing, 120-night cap, tourist tax, and 1BR/2BR profitability in a high-demand zone.

Prepaid Airbnb electricity Lyon

Prepaid meter and electricity re-billing for Airbnbs in Grand Lyon: profitability protected in a high-demand zone and event peaks absorbed.

Prepaid Airbnb electricity in Marseille

Local solution designed for Marseille: AC 6 months a year, beach tourism, MP2013 zoning, and unusual properties from the Calanques to Le Panier.

Prepaid Airbnb electricity in Bordeaux

Complete guide for Bordeaux hosts: seasonal allowances, metropolitan legal framework, and field feedback on wine-tourism properties in the historic center.

Prepaid Airbnb electricity in Nice

Complete guide for Nice hosts: mastering summer AC, re-billing at real cost, and protecting your margin on the Côte d'Azur.

Prepaid Airbnb electricity in Nantes

Complete guide for Nantes hosts: local regulations, average consumption, and prepaid meter installation on Île de Nantes.

Prepaid Airbnb electricity Toulouse

Complete guide to master summer AC and winter heating in your Toulouse Airbnb with a legal, profitable prepaid meter.

Prepaid Airbnb electricity Strasbourg

Complete solution for Strasbourg hosts: re-billing intensive winter heating, handling Christmas Market and European Parliament session peaks.

Prepaid Airbnb electricity in Lille

Complete guide for Lille hosts: re-billing electricity, handling long winters, and optimizing La Braderie with a prepaid meter.

Prepaid Airbnb electricity in Annecy

Complete guide for Annecy hosts: high-altitude chalets, Aravis gîtes, and lakeside rentals. Dual ski and summer seasonality.

Solve a problem

Guest who refuses to pay, outage, unfair bill, faulty meter, deposit not returned.

Tenant refuses to pay for electricity

Legal remedies for unpaid energy in furnished tourist rentals and prepayment solution that eliminates the dispute at the source.

Airbnb power outage: what to do

Host guide to diagnose and resolve a power outage in short-term rentals: utility, breaker, prepaid load shed, or faulty module.

Excessive Airbnb electricity bill

Detect abnormal overconsumption in furnished rentals, identify the cause, and rebill the guest with legal security.

Faulty Airbnb electricity meter

Diagnosis of prepaid meter failures, host tests, replacement procedure under 2-year warranty, and best practices to prevent incidents.

Deposit and electricity in seasonal rentals

What the law authorizes for withholding the deposit in case of overconsumption, and the alternative that definitively eliminates the issue.

Product, installation & profitability

Kit pricing, quantified ROI, host reviews, financial aid, free trial, installation by an electrician.

Airbnb electricity savings calculator

Simulate your annual electricity savings on short-term rentals using 3 variables and get a transparent, quantified ROI.

Airbnb prepaid meter price and installation

Complete pricing grid: kit, electrician install, and SaaS subscription with detailed first-year TCO and 3-year amortization.

Airbnb prepaid meter installation guide

The step-by-step journey to equip your short-term rental: quote, electrician, panel installation, mobile setup, and guest test.

Airbnb prepaid meter profitability

Detailed ROI analysis of the prepaid meter in short-term rentals: payback in 6 to 8 months, 3-year quantified table, and calculation by property type.

Airbnb meter grants and financing

Honest overview of public and private grants mobilizable to install a prepaid submeter in a short-term furnished rental.

Airbnb host reviews of prepayment

Anonymized testimonials and case studies from our Powtiva host customers: measured savings, real feedback, and verified numbers across four property profiles.

Airbnb guest objections on the prepaid meter

The 8 most frequent guest objections on electricity prepayment, with reasoned answers, legal basis, and ready-to-use scripts.

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Frequently asked questions about our guides

Three signposts to use this hub depending on your situation.

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