Host left a public review blaming us for "excessive electricity use," but evidence points to her pool equipment. How should I respond? [Portugal]
We stayed at a villa in Portugal for a few nights. On day 2 the host messaged saying "abnormal electricity consumption" had been detected, reminding us of the rules and implying it was us.
Here's what I found:
The solar app graph showed a flat ~1.5-1.7 kW load from midnight to ~9:40am (about 15 kWh in 10 hours). We were asleep from 9pm.
Our first guess was the aircon, since the listing says it's pre-programmed with an auto shut-off. But the host confirmed AC was included, and when I checked, every unit was off while the usage continued.
We'd requested pool heating (listed as a paid extra), but it's on a separate panel in a locked utility room, so we can't control it.
The host says the pool system should be off from 5pm to 11am. We saw the pumps and heater running at 9pm and 9am.
Host sent a technician, who confirmed the timer was set correctly but said the pump had also been running at 9am. He said other properties do the same because of excess solar energy. That doesn't obviously explain overnight usage
She later left a public review:
"The only problem was an excessive and abnormal electricity consumption. Everything else was perfect." She hasn't asked for any money, but the review implies it was our fault.
My questions:
Should I post a public response? Here's my draft: "Thank you for hosting us, host. We looked into the electricity usage together during our stay: all our aircon units were off, and the pool technician confirmed the pool pumps were running outside the programmed schedule. We really enjoyed the villa."
Should I raise it with Airbnb, or leave it alone since the review is mild?
Is there anything else I should do in case she tries to add a charge later?