What do you do when your company decides to enter a new market? Depending on the market, you may start by panicking. Once you regain your composure, it’s time to get to work. Gathering data on local billing regulations is a must. If you are buying existing assets, you can’t assume the previous owner was…
Blog
LEED Certification in Multifamily – Does it matter?
For commercial buildings, studies have shown that LEED buildings have lower operating costs and better air quality than non-LEED certified buildings. For multifamily properties, the LEED certification process is a new trend and seems to be driven by market conditions or client demand. Millenials make up a huge part of the apartment industry and are…
Energy Saver 101 Infographic: Home Energy Audits
Learn more about the basics of saving energy through a cool infographic from the US Dept of Energy (high resolution versions available for download on their site): this one is about on-site energy audits. Read More
Benchmarking Water Bills – Are water saving retro fits worth the cash out lay when residents pay the bill?
Benchmarking your average water bills to other communities in your zip code area is an excellent way to determine your competitiveness. Resident retention can be directly tied to many metrics at a community and the price of water per month is definitely at the top of the list in many markets. Quantifying a retrofit program…
Benchmarking using ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager
The following articles from the Journal of Utility Management magazine were mentioned at a session hosted by the Utility Management Advisory at the Real World 2016 conference. Whether you attended the conference or not, you may find these articles useful for learning more about benchmarking and EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager®. “New multifamily score…
Engaging Residents for Green Living
Resident behavior greatly affects the overall environmental impact of your property. If you are trying to promote initiatives at your property, educating residents is a critical part of the program. Whether you begin to educate potential residents on the property tour or wait until the lease is signed, it is important to start educating early….
How to Read Residential Electric and Natural Gas Meters
Here is an interesting article from the US Dept of Energy that is targeted at single family home owners, but much of it applies to multi-family housing as well: “You can read your own meters to help monitor your electric or gas energy use. During the heating season, your energy use should be compared to…
How to Run the Best Energy Management Program EMP
Rate and Tariff review is an important part of any EMP. Believe it or not utilities companies all make mistakes. Some are small and no one ever really notices them like the billing dates overlap by a day to two that would just mean a small overpayment depending on the type of utility being paid….
Wow! Check out West Village
Although I indicated that I would discuss the characteristics of my Icon buildings this entry, I am going to switch gears and talk about an existing project that I just had the great fortune to tour last week. West Village, in Davis California, is the largest NZE Multifamily project in the Nation. It has over…
Off The Grid: Understanding Ohio’s Recent Electric Regulations
I don’t know about you, but I’m a fan of the free market system. If a company has a good product and efficient operations, people purchase from them and they make money. That’s an overs simplification, of course, but you get the point. That being said, I’m not a fan of any industry that tries…