The UMA Town Hall is an enthusiastic and collaborative discussion of best practices, experiences (good and bad), and pro-tips from some of the industry’s most seasoned utility management and sustainability professionals. A fantastic event that is both equal parts networking and learning, the UMA Townhall “Lessons Learned from Benchmarking Reporting” did not disappoint; the conversation…
Author: Mary Nitschke
Don’t let Earth Day turn into Valentine’s Day
I think Valentine’s Day is weak. It seems to symbolize that once a year we celebrate the person or people that we love. Shouldn’t we do that every day? Shouldn’t we wake up every morning wondering how we can be worthy of love, how we can celebrate those that we love. Earth Day, although it…
PLASTIC IN THE OCEAN AND WHAT IT MEANS TO MULTIFAMILY
Many people have quoted multiple articles stating suggesting that by the year 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean (by weight) than fish. Additionally, I have seen a lot of evidence that the plastic in the ocean ends up in the fish that we eat. It is ironic that plastics were once considered…
“Wishcycling”
I had a representative from a recycling nonprofit tell me that residents tend to “wish cycle.” Meaning that the resident throws things in the recycling dumpsters in hopes that they are. Although it might be true in some instances, for the most part, I think our residents just don’t know any better. For example, turnover…
RECYCLING: WILL IT DIE
I have had several people tell me recently that recycling is going to die. That we are going to revert back to a Trash only lifestyle similar to what we had in the 80’s. For those of you who truly miss throwing everything in one golden dumpster…don’t get your hopes up. Recycling isn’t dead, it…
Benchmarking: How do you eat an Elephant?
Looking at Utility data and trying to figure what it means is like trying to eat an elephant. It’s massive. Where do you start? The answer it to take it one bite at a time. Focus on a region, city or state and pull your data down. I like excel. It is easy for me…
Do you know why revolving doors were invented?
Super fun fact time! Do you know why revolving doors were invented? Not because they look cool, but as a way to open the doors in a building with pressurization issues. Have you ever been a building where doors slammed by themselves, or you noticed a door that seemed hard to open, or would not…
Smart Apartments….you need to look under the mat
Everyone is talking about Smart Apartments. Smart this. Smart that. I think that it is important to consider, when you are evaluating either building Smart Apartments or retrofitting existing apartment building that you first start by looking at your infrastructure. That means the cable wiring. How will the smart locks work? What happens if you…
Energy cannot be created or destroyed….but it can be wasted
The first law of Thermodynamics teaches us that energy cannot be created or destroyed. While this is true, it can be wasted. I am thinking specifically of the energy used to condition (heat or cool) a room. Everyone thinks, “Heat rises.” While heat can rise, it doesn’t have to. Heat is lazy. It is going…
Composting in California
If you have properties in California, this blog is for you! California state legislature requires that we are providing composting to our residents at all Apartment complexes. Although we have to provide composting, there are not a lot of best practices out there for us. In the spirit of collaboration, here is my list great…