Utilities should do a better job of giving multi-tenant building owners better information about energy use, writes Philip Henderson of the National Resources Defense Council.
Most utilities do not provide basic information about thousands of buildings occupied by multiple tenants with separate utility accounts. This applies to apartments, shopping malls, and offices.
The owner needs to know total kilowatt hours of electricity used in the building to assess energy improvement projects. “Giving the owner a ‘whole-building’ total means the owner does not have to read meters manually or collect paper bills from tenants -- time-consuming, error-prone, and unnecessary,” Henderson writes. Even when a building has smart meters, the owner cannot get total kilowatt hour use from the utility.
Several leading utilities, such as Commonwealth Edison in Chicago, PEPCO in Washington, D.C., Eversource in Boston, National Grid in New York, and Consolidated Edison in New York, have recently made this information available. Some have created online portals for building owners to obtain summary information.
Related Stories
Multifamily Housing | Mar 7, 2021
New Olympia i3 kitchen faucet: geometric lines, minimalist style
Announcing the new Olympia i3 single handle pull-down kitchen faucet for today's modern kitchen.
Market Data | Feb 24, 2021
2021 won’t be a growth year for construction spending, says latest JLL forecast
Predicts second-half improvement toward normalization next year.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 23, 2021
Rising costs push developers to consider modular construction
The mainstreaming of modular construction offers a cost-effective and creative solution to develop new types of urban developments.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 21, 2021
Multifamily Amenities Survey 2021: Early results show COVID-19 impact on apartment amenities
Survey of multifamily developers, owners, architects, and contractors shows many adjusting their amenities to deal with the impact of the pandemic on property occupiers.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 19, 2021
Former motorcycle factory converted into affordable housing
The Architectural Team designed the project.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 12, 2021
Benefits of a factory-installed ceiling radiation damper explained
Greenheck applications engineer Craig Kulski explains the benefits of a factory-installed ceiling radiation damper.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 10, 2021
The Weekly show, Feb 11, 2021: Advances in fire protection engineering, and installing EV ports in multifamily housing
This week on The Weekly show, BD+C editors speak with AEC industry leaders from Bozzuto Management Company and Goldman Copeland about advice on installing EV ports in multifamily housing, and advances in fire protection engineering.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 10, 2021
10 significant multifamily developments to open in late 2020 and early 2021
Seattle's new twisting condo tower and Rem Koolhaas's first residential building are among 10 notable multifamily housing projects to debut in late 2020 and early 2021.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 8, 2021
Vista Railing Systems expands its senior management team
Chris Dooley and Tom Killy join Vista Railings, the British Columbia manufacturer of commercial/multifamily railings.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 8, 2021
Veterans Village supplies 51 units of supportive housing for U.S. military veterans in Carson, Calif.
Withee Malcolm Architects designed the supportive housing community for developer Thomas Safran & Associates.