I received the attached notice (see below) this week.  Apparently, the local utility companies are teaming up with property owners in the area to improve the energy efficiency of multifamily dwellings.  If your complex is participating, a crew of technicians from the utility will be visiting individual units to install low-volume shower heads, sink aerators, and energy saving light bulbs.  I'm in favor of conservation and energy saving, but is this program on the level?  Let's take a closer look.  First, I called the leasing office to find out if participation is mandatory.  Although the note did not specify, it turns out that it is optional on an opt-out basis.  That means that if you do not opt-out, they will be retrofitting your apartment.  There is nothing wrong with an opt-out or even a mandatory program, but because this is program is not opt-in, work will be done without the tenants' explicit consent.  Is that allowed?  Yes.  I received the notice on December 5th, over 24 hours before they were scheduled to arrive, and therefore, they are allowed to enter.  Can the crew replace the shower head and aerators without a tenant's permission?  Yes, as long as they have the landlord's permission.  What about bulbs installed in hardwired fixtures?  Yes, given the fact that the landlord provided a notice, it is reasonable to assume these bulbs may be replaced.  Can the utility company or landlord remove such bulbs, if purchased by the tenant, from the apartment?  Perhaps.  In the event of a dispute, the landlord could argue that they own these bulbs because they were installed in permanently attached fixtures.  However, the tenant could argue that because they chose detach the bulbs from the fixtures, they cannot claim them as their own.  Regardless, the question of who owns the bulbs is probably moot.  Considering that the landlord provided adequate notice, and based on the note it is reasonable to assume that any bulbs installed in the unit's fixtures may be replaced.  If a tenant does not remove those bulbs, they are implicitly giving the landlord/utility consent to take them out.  What about bulbs installed in tenant-owned lights, such as table lamps or desk lamps?  Can the crew swap out these bulbs as well?  I called the apartment office to find out whether or not this was part of the plan.  Surprisingly, the leasing agent said it was!  I wasn't convinced so I called the main office.  The property manager confirmed that the crew might replace bulbs in your own lights as well.  Is this legal?  First, let's look at the paper.  Did it say that bulbs installed in tenant-owned lights might be replaced?  No, it said that bulbs would be installed, but did not specifically state which fixtures were to be targeted.  Even if the bulletin had been more specific, would it be legal for the utility company to come in and remove your own bulbs from you own lights on an opt-out basis?  As a disclaimer, I should mention that I am not a lawyer and have never witnessed one of these retrofits in person.  It is possible that there was a misunderstanding or miscommunication between myself and the management company or the management company and the utility company.  It might be the case that they are not actually removing tenant's incandescent bulbs from their lamps without their express consent.  All I know is what I was told.  What are your thoughts?  Are any of you familiar with these type of programs?  For more information about it (these articles refer to the program or at least a very similar program), visit the links below.


Consumers Energy installing energy-efficient products for free for multi-family property owners

New Energy Efficiency Measures in Local Apartment Complexes

Consumers Energy Offers Cash Rebates for Energy Efficiency Upgrades for Multifamily Properties

Only program here is for low pressure passive solar geysers for low cost housing. Paid for by the supplier at a fixed price per dwelling. 20 000 units to be installed in the next 3 months, they are all of course units that contain no copper or saleable scrap. There is plenty enough sun to get hot water out of them all day long.

Unless i am missing something, getting into your apartment without the direct owner's consent is illegal, simple as that. I am not sure whether your landlord is a legit substitute for you in person

If they notified _you_ and give you option to allow or deny then this is ok

If you want to keep anything yet dont want to opt out completely, disassemble it (remove the bulbs in question, shower head, whatever) and leave a note on the fixture / pipe "do not replace this one"

Also ask your landlord whether the workers leave the old lights they replace to him - perhaps you can get from him quite a stock of incandescents

I wonder how "smart" the team wold be. Example if you allready have a 2D adapter in place of incandescent would they replace it as well with inferior CFLs, or would they replace 40W to 34W fluorescent lamps etc. I dont recommend to try it out though just in case the answer is yes

@Ash: Landlord = owner (or his representative).
This is about rented apartments, where the user is not the owner.
It depend on exact conditions in the loan agreement and legal background in the given country.

If the tenant's payment for the energies does not directly depend on his actual consumption (it is not separately metered; only the owner have the contract with the utilities and pay bills for the whole building), I see as appropriate his right to make sure the energy is not used economically and then nobody really waste it (to be fair with other tenants, who do not waste it).
Such contracts are quite common in US for small dwelling units, as the energies were there so cheap, then the metering costs (buying meters, their maintenance, calibration, readout, all the paperwork,...) were way too much compare to the used energy costs (mainly where tenants use the electricity only for cooking, lighting and entertainment, so no AC, no water, nor space heating,...).

In other countries (if I understand correctly, some EU directive mandate it) all the energy use by each dwelling unit is required by law to be metered and billed separately (usually the tenants have their own contracts with utilities, so the landlord does not have to deal with that), so there each tenant pay exactly what he consume. Then the landlords do not have to care about the individual consumption, so don't care about the type of lights you are using (provided they are meeting the requirements of the safety standards)

Scary  ! Also scary that I'm a Consumer's Energy customer as well, so I'm helping to fund that program.

@Ash : About asking for the removed incandescent lamps, I would guess they wouldn't let consumers have them. In the government's eye, the program is to replace the incandescent lamps, not redestribute them. What else, besides a collection for possible future use would someone want a stash of incandescent lamps (in the government's eye, remember) ? Vintage lamp collectors are simply not in the picture.  As for what happens with the old lamps and shower heads after they leave the property, this is quite simple in my mind : they are destroyed to prevent anyone from using them. It is a very aggressive campaign.

In my part of the world, the power company offers, through the government, a very generous rebate on the replacement of fixtures, especially commercial installations. As a result, T12 of all flavours and slimlines as well as indoor MH are very rare nowadays, everything being HF T8 or T5. Although not sure of the outcome of the old fixtures, I know that inspectors pass after a job is complete, and I would guess all the old luminaires are destroyed and recycled. They have, however, started retrofitting new ballasts in old luminaires, for example the schools that previously had T12 magnetic louvred fixtures now have HF T8 ballasts and lamps in the same fixtures.