Lighting leads the way! Lighting retrofits were the smartest investment made in 2013. When you consider the substantial capital support for LED lighting made available through utility incentive programs, it is no surprise that lighting tops the list―with savings beginning almost immediately! Other smart investments that topped the list included energy management systems, building controls…
Category: Efficiency
Energy Benchmarking results are in for early adopter – Seattle
Seattle, Washington, has joined the growing list of U.S. cities that are publishing detailed reports on building energy use in an effort to motivate property owners to make their buildings more efficient, and to ultimately save energy and money. The Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment released a report in January 2014 that details energy…
What the acquisition of NEST by Google could mean for apartment owners
Google’s recent acquisition of intelligent thermostat and fire alarm-maker Nest could be a major disruption to the status quo in apartment automation. For decades, the dream of a “smart apartment” has been just that: a dream. The concept of an interconnected, intelligent apartment and common areas has been relegated to science fiction. Owners have not…
Getting Started with a Portfolio Wide Energy Management Policy
Getting your head around Energy Management is a difficult process. A good place to start is with a corporate policy to build consesus and guidance around. Policy can be described as a statement of commitment that contains procedures and protocols that can be used by senior management officers when guiding a Portfolio Wide Energy Management Policy….
What do Energy Disclosure Laws and Electric Vehicles (EV) have in common?
How powerful would it be for property owners to know what their residents are going to do before they actually do it? To predict how they would react to certain amenities, or to intervene just before a resident loses loyalty and switches properties? Leading indicators can give owners a sense of where the economy is headed in the future, paving…
Los Angeles is going green
The Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power is kicking coal, but it isn’t easy. In January 2011, the American Customer Satisfaction Index ranked the DWP as the 13th most hated company in America. They are working hard to turn around public perception including a program that involves an unlikely coalition of labor and environmental interests. …
Energy Management for Portfolios – Getting Started in 2014
Self-Check It is important for a portfolio or property to conduct a thorough self-assessment of its current performance, goals and requisite level of effort in 2014 before deciding to embark on an energy management program. For firms with energy management procedures already in place, it may be less of a reach to take on…
Getting Started with a Porfolio Wide Energy Strategy
Energy management is more than saving money—it is about understanding processes and energy patterns on properties, setting realistic goals and monitoring progress, and protecting natural resources while leveraging alternative ones. Adopting a portfolio commitment to energy best practices is one way that portfolios can meet today’s cost-cutting and long-term energy efficiency goals. A formal energy…
Understanding CBECS – A key foundation of the EPA’s Portfolio Manager
About the Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) CBECS is a national sample survey that collects information on the stock of U.S. commercial buildings, their energy-related building characteristics, and their energy consumption and expenditures. The CBECS was first conducted in 1979; the tenth, and most recent survey, was fielded starting in April 2013 to provide…
Is Solar Mainstream Enough for Multifamily?
The U.S. solar industry has come a long way in a very short timeframe. After decades of slow but steady growth, the last 2.5 years have brought an explosion of new installations in America — with two-thirds of all total distributed solar installed since just 2011. By 2015, installations will likely double. At only…