Charging in an apartment building (owners' association)
How Wattify arranges the shared charge points of an owners' association: the role of the managing agent, the owners' association and the residents, who sets the price, and how residents and the owners' association are invoiced and reimbursed.
vme,
syndicus,
bewoners
In an apartment building the power for the charge points usually comes from the shared meter. Wattify keeps track of who charges how much, invoices every resident for their own consumption and reimburses that consumption to the owners' association, so that it can pay its electricity bill.
- Who is who
- The charge site and the charge points
- Setting the price
- Charge cards of residents
- Invoices and reimbursements
- Frequently asked questions
Who is who
| Role | What it is | Account in Wattify |
|---|---|---|
| Managing agent | The management office, often for several buildings | One sign-in, can sign in as each of its owners' associations |
| Owners' association | The building itself, with its own company number and IBAN | One account per building, with one or more charge sites (car parks) |
| Resident | A co-owner or tenant with their own charge point | Their own account, linked to one owners' association |
A resident only sees their own charge point, charge cards, sessions and invoices, never those of the neighbours. The owners' association sees the total consumption per month, grouped per resident; the individual invoices are only visible to the resident themselves.
The charge site and the charge points
The owners' association (or the managing agent) creates the charge site with the subscription for owners' associations, and adds the charge points. Every charge point has the field Resident: the resident that charge point belongs to. All sessions on that charge point are booked on that resident automatically. A guest charge point can be set up as a separate, public charge site.
Setting the price
The owners' association sets the price per kWh on the charge site, under Price setting. Because the owners' association has a company number, the tariff is always excluding 21% VAT. Set the price high enough to cover the actual energy cost on the shared meter; otherwise the owners' association is left with the shortfall. See Setting your prices.
Charge cards of residents
Every resident adds their own charge card under Charge cards: any RFID card, an existing public charge card or a key fob they bought themselves. A card that a resident adds only works at their own charge point; the neighbours cannot charge with it, not even by accident. See Adding and managing a charge card.
Invoices and reimbursements
There are three money flows, all of them automatic:
- A monthly invoice to every resident for their charging sessions, at the tariff of the charge site. The resident pays by transfer or direct debit; the owners' association does not see these invoices.
- A quarterly invoice to every resident for their subscription (management, software, support), also directly between Wattify and the resident.
- A monthly refund note to the owners' association for the total consumption of all residents. Wattify transfers that amount to the IBAN of the owners' association, which uses it to pay the electricity bill of the shared meter.
An example for one month, with a tariff of 0.32 euro per kWh:
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| Together the residents charge 1,000 kWh on the shared meter | |
| Wattify invoices the residents | 1,000 × 0.32 = 320 euro, plus mark-up and VAT |
| Wattify reimburses the owners' association | 320 euro |
| The owners' association pays its energy supplier the charging share | about 320 euro |
The owners' association is therefore budget-neutral; the cost lies with the residents who actually charged. Fill in the IBAN of the owners' association under Your profile and billing details, otherwise Wattify cannot pay out.
Frequently asked questions
A resident moves out. The owners' association or the managing agent links the new resident to the charge point through the Resident field on the charge point. The invoicing of the old resident stops at that moment.
The managing agent changes. Mail support@wattify.be on behalf of the board of the owners' association; the owners' association stays the same, only the access of the managing agent changes.
Letting visitors charge. Set the charge site to semi-public; visitors with a public charge card can then charge and the owners' association is paid out the same tariff for it. See Viewing and editing a charge site.
May a resident charge at the neighbour's charge point? Only if that neighbour lets them use their charge card, and that only works if roaming is active on the charge site.
Does the managing agent receive a fee from Wattify? No. The managing agent charges its management internally to the owners' association, as agreed in its management contract.