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Utility Mod (Electricity and Water Bill)

SCREENSHOTS
9,149 Downloads 282 Thanks  Thanks 79 Favourited 29,318 Views
Uploaded: 26th Jul 2020 at 4:00 AM
Updated: 1st Jul 2021 at 6:21 PM - UPDATE 11
UPDATE 11: The toaster oven is now part of the mod and will properly contribute to electricity usage. Don't forget that cooking a single-serving meal uses less electricity.

UPDATE 10: There is an issue in an unmodded game which prevents the game from properly setting a business owner or their family member as the barista which then prevents customers from purchasing coffee. This has been fixed. Thanks to Radium and Gabby2805 for notifying me.

UPDATE 9:
- Maxis added a wind turbine and solar panels that decrease your bills with Apartment Life. They also made it so that they decrease bills more on non-apartment lots. This doesn't make sense, because the player is allowed to put these objects within their individual apartments. In addition, other apartment residents will also have their bills reduced if another apartment suite has one of these objects, which also doesn't make any sense. This update makes it so that if these objects are within an apartment suite, they will decrease the bills of the apartment owner as much as they decrease bills on non-apartment lots, and they won't decrease the bills of other apartment residents. If these objects are in the communal area of an apartment lot, then they will decrease bills for all apartment residents, but not as much as they would if they were inside an individual suite. If you have custom solar panels or wind turbines cloned from Maxis' ones, then you need to replace the CT - Energy Savings resource of the custom object with the one from this mod:
One-Tile Panel - Group: 0x7FC59727, Instance: 0x00001001
Two-Tile Panel - Group: 0x7F6802C1, Instance: 0x00001004
Wind Turbine - Group: 0x7FC07A4B, Instance: 0x0000100D
- Maxis' wind turbine code doesn't make any sense, because it reduces the utility amount if there is wind. This seems to be a remnant from when they probably considered enabling the utility code with Apartment Life, but they never did. Utility should never be decreased, because of the way utility is coded in the game. This update fixes the wind turbine code. If you have custom wind turbines cloned from the Maxis one, then you need to modify the resource called "Readable" of the custom object, and change lines 0x2, 0x3 and 0x4 to 0. Line 0x4 will probably be already set to 0.

UPDATE 8: On apartment lots, if you have a roommate, your electricity and water bill will be decreased depending on the number of sims in your household. For example, if you have one sim in your household and one roommate, then your electricity and water bill will be halved.

UPDATE 7: Fixed a small issue from the previous update. If you were receiving notifications in-game, it is now fixed.

UPDATE 6: This is a very important update. Before this update, electricity and water usage actually decreased your bills. This has been fixed. I also added a line to the mod that allows the player to easily tune the mod in order to increase how much electricity and water usage contributes to bills. Scroll down to the Tuning section to see how.

UPDATE 5: Auto-Garden sprinklers now increase water usage more depending on their type whenever they activate:
- 90 degree: 5 to water usage.
- 180 degree: 10 to water usage.
- 360 degree: 20 to water usage.

UPDATE 4: There are two versions of the mod now.
Regular Version: Utility is only tracked on residential, dorm, fraternity, rental and apartment lots.
Advanced Version: Utility is also tracked on OFB community lots (even if the currently controlled family is not the owner's family) and vacation homes, in addition to residential, dorm, fraternity, rental and apartment lots. This version is specifically made for players who have my Business Mod which makes it so that the owner earns money and the customer is charged at all times even if the currently controlled family is not the owner's family. So, it makes sense for the owner to be charged for utility.

UPDATE 3:
- Non-decorative aquariums with no alive fish will now contribute to electricity, but not water.
- Utility is now tracked on OFB community lots (as long as the currently controlled family is the owner's family), and also on vacation homes.

UPDATE 2:
- On Dorm lots, the game will now only multiply the electricity or water bill by the number of selectable sims and divide by the number of dorm doors, if the number of dorm doors is higher than the number of selectable sims.
- Elevators now contribute to electricity usage every time they are used. Electricity usage depends on the floor travel distance.
- Water-Sprinkler toys will now add +1 to water usage every 3 minutes or so if they are active. Before this update, they would add +1 to water usage every animation loop for every sim who was playing.

UPDATE 1:
- Fridges that are set for sale won't contribute to electricity usage.
- Aquariums now contribute to electricity and water usage every hour if the fish are alive. The Apartment Life decorative aquarium always contributes to energy and water usage. Custom aquariums don't need any updates, but if the custom aquarium is cloned from the decorative Apartment Life aquarium (the square one), then replace the Function - Main with the Function - Main from this mod (Group: 0x7F745E5D, Instance: 0x00001001)

ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION

This mod adds electricity and water usage which contribute to your bills. No more free electricity or water. Maxis intended to add this feature to the game, but looks like they scrapped the idea before release. This mod re-enables this feature, and now every interaction and/or object that uses electricity or water will contribute to your bills.

I made it so that your electricity usage will be added to your bills on Tuesday and water usage on Thursday. This means that this mod is incompatible with any mod that changes the day that bills are delivered to a day other than Tuesday and Thursday. So, this mod is not compatible with my Bills Once a Week Mod. Electricity and Water usage is only tracked on the following lots: residential, dorm, rental, frat and apartment. It is not tracked on vacation lots. On apartment lots, the object that is contributing to electricity or water usage must be inside the apartment suite of the currently controlled family.

This mod modifies a large number of objects to add electricity and/or water usage to them. Maxis didn't add the necessary utility code to expansion pack objects. Also, many objects did have utility code, but the code didn't make much sense, especially on apartment lots, so they were fixed, too.

So, the mod works like this. When the game adds to your electricity or water usage, it checks to see if the current Electricity or Water Utility is 100 or higher, if so, it divides the value by 100, and adds the result to your bills. If it is below 100, then it doesn't add it just yet, and waits until the value reaches 100 or higher. So, the sim takes a shower, and the game adds 75 to your Water Utility. Then, the sim washes their hands and that adds 15 which makes 90. Then, somebody makes coffee (not espresso) which adds 75, for a total of 165. Then, the game divides the value by 100, which yields 1 and adds that to your bills. After that, the game sets the Utility to the remainder which is 65. When your bills are delivered, the final accumulated value is added to your bills, but if the lot is a dorm, then the final value is multiplied by the number of selectable sims on the lot, and then divided by the number of dorm doors.

Regular Version: Utility is only tracked on residential, dorm, fraternity, rental and apartment lots.
Advanced Version: Utility is also tracked on OFB community lots (even if the currently controlled family is not the owner's family) and vacation homes, in addition to residential, dorm, fraternity, rental and apartment lots. This version is specifically made for players who have my Business Mod which makes it so that the owner earns money and the customer is charged at all times even if the currently controlled family is not the owner's family. So, it makes sense for the owner to be charged for utility.

Objects That Contribute to Electricity or Water Bill

Computer: Computers that are turned on contribute to electricity usage about every 3 minutes. Custom computers don't require any updates.

Video Game Console: Consoles that are turned on contribute +2 to electricity usage every 7 minutes. No need to update custom consoles.

Dishwasher: They contribute +150 to BOTH electricity and water usage whenever they are turned on. In an unmodded game, they are turned on every time a sim puts dishes into the dishwasher, which doesn't make any sense. You should consider getting my Dishwasher Mod which makes it so that dishwashers only become active once there are 10 or more dishes in the dishwasher.

Trash Compactors: Each time a sim adds trash, it adds +5 to electricity usage. No need to update custom compactors.

Compost Bin: Each time the compost bin composts one point of composted material, the game adds +50 to electricity usage. This happens every hour and only if there are more than 2 pieces of composted material inside the compost bin. Custom compost bins need to be updated. Open the custom mesh in SimPE, and replace the Function - Main of the custom bin with the Function Main of the Maxis compost bin from this mod (Group: 0x7FADA46E, Instance: 0x00001001).

Refrigerator: Regular fridges contribute to electricity usage every hour. Custom regular fridges don't need to be updated. Mini-fridges add +5 every hour. Custom mini-fridges need to be updated. Open the custom mini-fridge mesh in SimPE, click on the resource called Tuning, and click on line 0x2 and change the DEC value on the left to 5 (it will probably be set to 15.) Click commit and save.

Stove/Microwave/Toaster: Every time the sim uses the stove/oven, microwave or toaster oven, it contributes to electricity usage. Microwaves and toasters contribute less. Single servings contribute much less. No need to update custom stoves/microwaves/toasters.

Food Processor: Contributes +50 to electricity every time it is used. No need to update custom food processors.

Hot Tub: They contribute +3 to BOTH electricity and water every minute for as long as there is at least one person inside the hot tub. Custom hot-tubs don't need to be updated.

Train Table: Contributes +3 to electricity every 7 minutes for as long as the train is being operated. Custom train tables need to be updated. Replace the Function - Main with the Function - Main of the Maxis train table from this mod (Group: 0x7F2AECEB, Instance: 0x00001001).

Pin-ball Machine: They contribute +1 to electricity every 7 minutes for as long as they are being interacted with. Custom pin-ball machines need to be updated. Open the custom object, and replace the Function - Main with the Function - Main of the Maxis Pin-ball machine from this mod (Group: 0x7F88F3AB, Instance: 0x00001001).

DJ Booth: They contribute +15 to electricity every 7 minutes as long as they are turned on. Custom DJ Booths need to be updated. Replace the Function - Main with the Function - Main of the Nightlife DJ Booth from this mod (Group: 0x7F26F636, Instance: 0x00001001) if the DJ Booth is cloned from that. If it is cloned from the Freetime DJ Booth, then use the Function - Main from that (Group: 0x7F579103, Instance: 0x00001001).

RC Car: +1 to electricity every 2 minutes for as long as they are being interacted with. No need to update custom RC cars.

RC Helicopter: +1 to electricity every 2 minutes for as long as they are being interacted with. Unlike RC cars, custom RC helicopters need to be updated. Replace the Function - Main with the Function - Main in this mod (Group: 0x7FC726A1, Instance: 0x00001001).

Treadmill: +3 to electricity every 7 minutes for as long as they are being interacted with. No need to update custom treadmills.

Exercise Bike: +2 to electricity every 7 minutes for as long as they are being interacted with. Custom bikes need to be updated. Replace the Function - Main with the Function - Main in this mod (Group: 0x7F049BC7, Instance: 0x00001001).

Guitar/Bass/Synth/Microphone: +10 to electricity every 7 minutes for as long as they are being interacted with. Custom objects need to be updated. Replace the Function - Main with the Function - Main in this mod.
Guitar - Group: 0x7FAEECCE, Instance: 0x00001014
Bass - Group: 0x7F39D8AC, Instance: 0x00001014
Synth - Group: 0x7FE46FA5, Instance: 0x00001001
Microphone - Group: 0x7FC542CC, Instance: 0x00001001

Stereo: Stereos that are turned on contribute +2 to electricity every 5 minutes. No need to update custom stereos.

Teleprompter/Lectern (Politics and Law career reward): +1 to electricity every 7 minutes for as long as somebody is interacting with it.

Fingerprint Scanner/Spy Dish/Polygraph (Law Enf., Intelligence and Criminal career reward): +3 to electricity every 7 minutes for as long as somebody is interacting with it.

Surgical Dummy/Biotech Station/Candy Machine (Medicine, Science and Culinary career reward: +5 to electricity every 7 minutes for as long as somebody is interacting with it.

Home Plastic Surgery (Showbiz career reward): +75 to electricity usage per use.

Hydroponic Garden (Slacker career reward) If there are any plants, then it adds +100 to water usage and +20 to electricity usage every hour.

Nightlife Club Lights (Gobo/Rotating etc.): If the light is on, then +2 to electricity every hour. If you have custom lights like this, then you have to update them. Replace the Function - Main with the ones from this mod.
Rotating Light - Group: 0x7F082E84, Instance: 0x00001001
Gobo Corner - Group: 0x7F2FB1DB, Instance: 0x00001001
Gobo Ceiling - Group: 0x7F42A961, Instance: 0x00001001

Burglar Alarm: +15 to electricity every hour. Custom burglar alarms need to be updated. Replace the Function - Main with the one from this mod (Group: 0x7FDF09AA, Instance: 0x00001000), but you have to make sure that the custom burglar alarm is cloned from the Maxis alarm and has the exact same code as the Maxis alarm.

Fire Alarm: +15 to electricity every hour. Custom fire alarms need to be updated. Replace the Function - Main with the one from this mod (Group: 0x7F97EA32, Instance: 0x00001000). Then, replace the resource called "Process" with the one from this mod (Group: 0x7F97EA32, Instance: 0x00001004).

Electro Dance Sphere: +5/+10/+15 to electricity depending on the speed every 7 minutes. Custom objects need to be updated. Replace the Function - Main with the one from this mod (Group: 0x7FD277DD, Instance: 0x00001001).

Karaoke: +25 to electricity every 7 minutes. Custom objects need to be updated. Replace the Function - Main with the one from this mod (Group: 0x7FC2FA8C, Instance: 0x00001001).

OFB crafted robots: +1 to electricity every minute if they are turned on. No need to update custom objects.

Television: +3 to electricity every 3 minutes if they are on. No need to update custom objects.

Coffee Machine (not espresso): +75 to water usage when a sim makes coffee. No need to update custom objects.

Barista Bar: +25 per espresso cup to water usage when a sim purchases espresso. No need to update custom barista bars.

Espresso Machine: +25 per espresso cup to water usage. Custom espresso machines need to be updated. Replace Interaction - Make/Serve Espresso with the one from this mod (Group: 0x7F4D8EFF, Instance: 0x00001002).

Watering plants: +5 to water usage.

Auto-Sprinkler (University): +75 to water usage when it activates. Custom objects need to be updated: Replace Main - Sprinkler On with the one from this mod (Group: 0x7FA8379C, Instance: 0x00001003).

Auto-Garden Sprinkler: Maxis made it so that all garden sprinklers increase water utility by only +1 when they activate. In UPDATE 5, this mod made it so that garden sprinklers add to water usage depending on their type. 90 degree sprinklers add +5, 180 degree sprinklers add +10, and 360 degree sprinklers add +20. If you have custom garden sprinklers, then you should change line 0x1 in the "Tuning - General" resource of the mesh package of the custom sprinkler to 5, 10 or 20 depending on the type of custom sprinkler.

Water-Sprinkler Toy: +1 to water usage every 3 minutes as long as it is active. No need to update custom objects.

Drink Bar: +10/+40 to water usage for making a single/group serving of poured drink. +20/+80 to water usage for making a single/group serving of blended drink. +40 to water usage for drinking from bottle. No need to update custom objects.

Nectar Bar: +25/+100 to water usage for making a single/group serving. Custom objects need to be updated. Replace Interaction - Drink resource with the one from this mod (Group: 0x7F1AAC01, Instance: 0x00001002). Then, replace Interaction - Serve with the one from this mod (Group: 0x7F1AAC01, Instance: 0x00001004).

Seasons Juicer: +10/+50 to water usage for making a single/group serving. No need to update custom objects.

Shower: +25 to water usage every animation loop. No need to update custom objects.

Bath: +100 to water usage for bathing or washing a pet. +45 to water usage for bathing a toddler. No need to update custom objects.

Sink: +15 to water usage for washing hands. +2 to water usage for drinking. +10 to water usage per animation loop for sponge-bathing. +25 to water usage for bathing a baby. +15 to water usage for washing dishes. No need to update custom objects. You may want to get my Wash Dish Mod which makes it so that it takes longer for sims to wash dishes depending on the number of dishes they are washing, and UPDATE 1 and higher of that mod also makes it so that the +15 water usage is applied every animation loop.

Medicine Cabinet Interactions: +2/+10 to water usage for brushing teeth/washing face. Custom medicine cabinets need to be updated. Replace the Interaction - Brush Teeth and Interaction - Wash Face interactions with the ones from this mod.

Toilet: +20 to water usage for flushing. No need to update custom objects.

You need the latest version of 7zip or WinRAR to get this mod.

Recommended Mods:
Bills Mod: UPDATE 4 and higher of this mod is perfectly compatible with Utility Mod, and it adds many more features to how bills are calculated.
Auto-Lights Mod: UPDATE 3 and higher of this mod makes it so that lights that are turned on contribute +1 to electricity usage every hour. This means that if your sims are frugal, it is actually a good idea to keep the lights turned off. In an unmodded game, you would be punishing your sims by turning lights off, because that lowers their environment motive and has no benefits. But, with this mod, they will have to pay for the electricity.
Temperature Fireplace Radiator Fan Mod: UPDATE 4 and higher of this mod makes it so that turned on radiators and ceiling fans contribute to electricity usage. Custom radiators need to be updated. Replace the resource called "main" with the one from Temperature Fireplace Radiator Fan Mod. If I ever update that mod, you will have to re-update any custom radiators in your game.

Tuning: As of UPDATE 6, you can tune this mod. Here is how:
- Open the mod in SimPE.
- Electricity: Click on the resource "Add to Total Energy", switch to Plugin View, then click on the line that says Param 0x0000*Literal 0x0001. Click on the Pop-up Wizard on the right-hand side, and change the number below from 1 to any higher number. This is the number that the game will use to multiply the energy usage. So, if you set this to 5, televisions that are turned on will contribute +15 to electricity utility rather than +3. I recommend not setting this number higher than 10.
- Water: Click on the resource "Add to Total Water Usage", switch to Plugin View, then click on the line that says Param 0x0000*Literal 0x0001. Click on the Pop-up Wizard on the right-hand side, and change the number below from 1 to any higher number. This is the number that the game will use to multiply the water usage. So, if you set this to 5, brushing teeth will contribute +10 to water utility rather than +2. I recommend not setting this number higher than 10.

Requirements: Apartment Life and/or M&G.

Resources: Check the image.