Building Retrofits Generate $1m Annual Savings

peabody properties

by | Sep 13, 2013

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peabody propertiesMultifamily housing real estate firm Peabody Properties has reduced energy use by 5 million kilowatt hours, saving the real estate firm $1 million in electricity costs annually through a building retrofit program led by web-based utility analytics company WegoWise. The company now plans to expand its program with WegoWise to water retrofit projects.

WegoWise software is used to track and benchmark utility consumption from all of the real estate firm’s  10,000 units in more than 100 multifamily properties across New England, New Jersey and Florida.

The WegoWise platform not only helped reduce electricity costs, it also cut staff time required to manage utility expenses by 25 percent, Peabody Properties says.

Peabody has implemented nearly $6 million in energy retrofit projects including lighting upgrades at 38 properties, refrigerator replacements 19 locations and major boiler replacements at 10 housing units.

The real estate firm also says it will use WegoWise’s building management platform to target more than 300 water retrofits across its high-rise building stock, where older buildings contain less efficient infrastructure and appliances.

Under a pilot program, the company will install new toilets, aerators and shower heads at five properties, upgrades that will save an estimated $180,00 in gas and water bills annually. Peabody expects the return on investment to be two years or less.

If retrofits perform as anticipated, Peabody will target similar projects at 30 properties, representing more than $1 million in investment.

A report released last month found global real estate firms cut their collective carbon emissions 3.4 percent, reduced their energy consumption by 3.2 percent, increased recycling by 21.4 percent and slightly increased water consumption by 0.5 percent between 2011 and 2012.

The Urban Land Institute’s Greenprint Performance Report measured and tracked the performance of 3,232 buildings owned by Greenprint’s members, which includes Jones Lang LaSalle, Prudential Real Estate Investors and Starwood Hotels and Resorts.

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