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driftel

English translation: common area electricity

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Swedish term or phrase:driftel
English translation:common area electricity
Entered by: Charles Ek

13:17 May 28, 2010
Swedish to English translations [PRO]
Tech/Engineering - Electronics / Elect Eng
Swedish term or phrase: driftel
This is the electricity used to run an apartment building, but not the stuff used by the tenants in their apartments. Presumably lighting, ventilation, lifts and so on. But what on earth is it called in English?
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
common area electricity
Explanation:
It's very common in leases to talk of "common area" charges for electricity, maintenance, insurance, snowplowing, and the like. See the first reference link below for Google results for "common area electricity" + "tenants". The example sentence is from one of these at the second reference link.

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Note added at 11 mins (2010-05-28 13:28:16 GMT)
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Oops, that sentence should read ". . . estimate their common area electricity costs[.]"

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Note added at 2 hrs (2010-05-28 15:37:40 GMT)
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Actually, I think the "common area" nomenclature probably originated with commercial landlords. (I was formerly employed by one.) I found a use of the same term in a "byggteknisk" context by Swedish authors at http://tinyurl.com/3y4w9hm, at pages 16 and 101. And usages originating in the U.K. at http://tinyurl.com/34zd6a2.
I will defer to U.K. native speakers on the "communal" vs. "common area" distinction in this context, if any. Over here, "communal" is not used much, if at all, in leases.
Selected response from:

Charles Ek
United States
Local time: 19:43
Grading comment
Thanks! In the context we felt we had to write round it in the end, but this seems a sound suggestion from the tenant's perspective
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4common area electricity
Charles Ek
2 +1electricity for common purposes
Ingemar Kinnmark


  

Answers


10 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
common area electricity


Explanation:
It's very common in leases to talk of "common area" charges for electricity, maintenance, insurance, snowplowing, and the like. See the first reference link below for Google results for "common area electricity" + "tenants". The example sentence is from one of these at the second reference link.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 11 mins (2010-05-28 13:28:16 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Oops, that sentence should read ". . . estimate their common area electricity costs[.]"

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2010-05-28 15:37:40 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Actually, I think the "common area" nomenclature probably originated with commercial landlords. (I was formerly employed by one.) I found a use of the same term in a "byggteknisk" context by Swedish authors at http://tinyurl.com/3y4w9hm, at pages 16 and 101. And usages originating in the U.K. at http://tinyurl.com/34zd6a2.
I will defer to U.K. native speakers on the "communal" vs. "common area" distinction in this context, if any. Over here, "communal" is not used much, if at all, in leases.

Example sentence(s):
  • "In the absence of a separate meter for the common area, many landlords simply estimate their common are electricity costs[.]"

    Reference: http://tinyurl.com/348u5w6
    Reference: http://www.retaillaw.com/articles/whensparksfly.pdf
Charles Ek
United States
Local time: 19:43
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
Thanks! In the context we felt we had to write round it in the end, but this seems a sound suggestion from the tenant's perspective
Notes to answerer
Asker: Good thinking! We call these communal charges in the UK. I think that might work, but I'm wondering whether it is looking at it too much from the tenants' perspective. Our text is looking at it from the developer's perspective - could there also be some "byggteknisk" term in English????

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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): +1
electricity for common purposes


Explanation:
Se reference below.

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Note added at 5 hrs (2010-05-28 19:11:44 GMT)
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This is from a document in both Swedish and English, issued by Statens Energimyndighet:

Elvärme / Electric heating
Hushållsel / Electricity for household purposes
Driftel / Electricity for common purposes
El totalt / Total electricity

To find the reference, search on Google for:

driftel "electricity for common purposes"

Pick the hit from: www.nog.se/files


Ingemar Kinnmark
Local time: 20:43
Native speaker of: Native in SwedishSwedish
PRO pts in category: 25
Notes to answerer
Asker: Yes, I found this too, but I think it smacks of translator desperation!!


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  carl-johann masala
2 days 1 hr
  -> Tack carl!
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