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…
Category: Efficiency
Presenting our Two Sites for the Conversion to Net Zero
I am pleased to introduce my two buildings for our “Conversion to Net Zero” experience: Icon at Park and Icon at Doyle in Emeryville California. I chose these two sites for a few key reasons: These sites represent two different construction types: Icon at Doyle is 3-story construction with 27 townhome-style dwellings and an underground…
Energy Efficiency Tricks to Stop Your Energy Bill from Haunting You
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: “Defend yourself from unwanted spirits and high energy bills by sealing air leaks around windows, doors and air ducts. Before air sealing, conduct a visual inspection…
Training Opportunities with ENERGY STAR® for Sept 2015
Upcoming Training Opportunities with ENERGY STAR® It’s back to school time and we’ve got some great courses ready for you! Click on the titles below to go directly to the webinar description. To register for upcoming trainings, click the links below or visit esbuildings.webex.com. If you won’t be able to attend, you can still view…
Survey on DC energy investment decisions
The Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) and the DC Sustainable Energy Utility (DCSEU) are looking to interview apartment owners and managers about management and investment decisions that affect their Washington, DC multifamily portfolio’s energy performance. IMT’s Megan Houston, Senior Program Associate for Multifamily Finance, will be conducting 30-minute interviews over the coming weeks. Participants will…
Top Ten Sustainability Measures
Happy Earth Day! Sometime last year, I saw a list of top ways that commercial real estate professionals can make energy efficiency and sustainability a priority was published by Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International. Many of their ideas also apply to multi-family buildings, but a few of them maybe not so much. Here is…
EPA Recognizes the First Existing Apartments with ENERGY STAR Certification
In case you missed it: “WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced [Nov 13, 2014] the first existing multifamily housing properties to earn the new ENERGY STAR multifamily certification for superior energy performance. EPA recognized 17 apartment and condo buildings across the country for leading the industry in reducing energy use, increasing affordability,…
How will the new Congress handle energy issues?
The 114th Congress convenes January 6, 2015 at noon Eastern. A recent posting from Utility Dive offers some predictions on how they will handle energy issues: “Crucial energy-related decisions with 2016 deadlines will face the new Republican-dominated Congress beginning in January.” Read More Kent McDonaldKent works at RealPage and helps apartment firms reduce operating costs related…
Wireless charging for electric vehicles hits the road
Forget building costly charging stations for residents; forget the charging cable: breakthroughs in inductive charging for electric vehicles (evs) means drivers just park over a pad in the road to get more juice With no need to plug in to charge, it’s a breakthrough that should speed up the widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EV)…
Is Multifamily Energy Management Finally Going Mainstream with Nest at the Center?
New advancements around thermostats, wireless, Bluetooth lighting, apartment automation appliances and more are energizing the energy management market. The big news is that Nest Labs announced a developer program for integration with other manufacturers’ products—through Nest’s cloud—and its first partner is Control4, so users of that energy management control systems can see the temperature on a…