So in the ground-floor of my property, I have washers and dryers, one set for the first-floor tenants and the other set for the second-floor tenants. The thing is, the first-floor and ground-floor electrical utilities are connected to each other, so if the second-floor tenants forget to turn off the basement lights after doing their laundry, the first-floor tenants will complain to me about how their electric bill went up.
How can I get the second-floor tenants to remember to turn off the lights in the basement without bringing up the first-floor tenant's electric bill?
Flipper/Rehabber · High Point, NC · Member since 2016 · 276 posts · 183 votes
4y
Could you perhaps install motion activated lights that turn off with a timer? That way there's no thinking or action involved, the lights will only be on when someone's active in the room.
Los Angeles · Member since 2022 · 97 posts · 96 votes
4y
Never turn the laundry room lights off!
For every multi-unit rental property we own, we installed lights that never turn off because we don't want women walking into a dark laundry room, then turn the light switch on, find out, too late, that a rapist removed the light bulb and then rape the women, or young girl.
In every laundry room, we installed a 2nd ceiling light that stays on 24/7. The light has no switch and the bulb os covered with a globe so it is not easy to remove the bulb. If the light is not on then the woman should stay out of the room. Then, we have a 2nd light with a switch that can make the room brighter.
I think it is silly when people complain about how much electric a 13-watt fluorescent light bulb costs to operate. I call the complaining , "Being Penny-Wide and Pound Foolish." The cost for electricity probably does not exceed the cost for a hamburger at a fast-food and the cost for a timer or motion control switch probably costs several years of what it costs to keep one bulb on 24/7 for an entire year.
A few weeks ago, we changed 80 15-watt Exit Sign light bulbs that are required to stay on 24/7 at one apartment building and the cost for electric is very insignificant.
The most-expensive thing our tenants waste is 'water'.
Rental Property Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2021 · 8 posts · 1 vote
4y
Like many other commenters before me, I agree that a motion-sensing switch and an LED bulb should do the trick. It should cost next to nothing to operate. That said, if you are looking for another option, a smart bulb like Philips Hue would enable you or your tenant to control the light remotely and make use of the automations in the Hue app. I mention it in case it helps anyone else with similar issues.