Excessive gas/electric bill!

[HonestTenant]

My girlfriend recently rented a large loft in the lower east side with her cousin. She quickly realized that her gas and electric bill was unbelievably excessive totaling over $500 per month when they hardly used any power or gas. She soon discovered that the apartment she rented has two independent boilers (one for each of the two bathrooms) and that apparently is the reason for the high bills. She has since decided to shut off one of the boilers and subsequently has hot water in only one bathroom that both roommates now need to share. Is she responsible for this? Shouldn't she have been informed of the two boilers before she moved in? Seems the owner/landlord should only have one boiler for the entire apartment. Is this legal?

[lofter1]

Many loft conversions have individual hot water heaters inside the units to supply hot water to kitchen & bath (my loft has one 50 gallon unit which supplies hot water to both the kitchen & bath). Year around it is singularly the most energy draining appliance in the loft. Loft livers soon learn to conserve hot water in a serious way (unless they want to give their hard earned money to Con Ed).

Having a separate heater for water to the 2nd bathroom could be a benefit, as you could turn it on only in advance of using the shower / bath in that bathroom, thereby saving yourself the cost of keeping it running constantly while taking advantage of the 2nd bathroom.

You should look into getting an insulating blanket for the hot water heater(s), which will conserve heat inside the heater and and cut your costs. You might also want to get wraps for the pipes that are exposed.

Gas hot water heaters are not legal in NYC. Does the loft also have an individual gas-powered heating unit (often a through-window type of box)?

You should also check to make sure that your electric / gas billing covers only your unit. The loft should have an individual meter. In my experience an individual electric meter is the norm, but individual gas meters are far less common. Without a meter there is no way to calculate actual usage and there is the possibility that you are in a "shared meter" situation (search that term in the Forum for more info, or google it along with "Con Edison")

Does the lease mention the gas or electric charges as being separate from the rent?

As far as the landlord telling the tenant about the hot water heaters: Did the lease-signer ask if the cost of heating was included in the rent?