Reducing Costs Through Energy Management Essentials

Each year, multifamily property owners spend serious money on energy and water, even considering that many of their tenants foot the bill for what they use. According to the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, multifamily properties comprised 11 percent of all electricity and natural gas sales in 2009. That same year, multifamily properties spent $22 billion on energy. Over the years, focus has shifted on energy conservation to reduce the burden of electricity, heating oil and natural gas costs for operators and residents. Fannie Mae notes that if the entire U.S. multifamily housing stock reduced electricity usage by 15 percent and natural gas usage by 30 percent, the annual aggregate cost savings would total more than $3.3 billion. Since 2013, the industry’s spending on energy efficiency has tripled in an effort to reduce costs. The movement toward energy efficient appliances, LED lighting and other low-energy consumables is driving a significant portion of the savings. But so is work behind the scenes. Measuring and comparing consumption numbers and digging deep into rates is cutting costs as well. Controlling energy spends beyond gains through efficiencies in lighting types and consumption, for example, is going to greater depths. Leveraging utility data and empowering utility management solutions is helping in the effort to conserve energy and reduce costs, enabling managers as well as residents to have more transparency and control on energy usage. Our “Reduce Costs Through Energy Management Essentials” session at RealWorld 2018 dove into the backstory of controlling energy costs and discussed some of the common challenges that can derail a well-intended energy management program. Capitalizing on opportunities to save on consumption, expense RealPage shared its new suite of energy management products that include energy procurement, conservation, rate and tax assurance and benchmark compliance at the conference. Gene...