Page 34
— Multifamily Properties Quarterly — July 2015
Renovation
F
or every construction project
with a shiny new LEED certifi-
cation coming on line today, it
seems like there are more than
100 buildings that are 20 years
old or older.These out-of-date buildings
are a major contributor to the global
carbon emission issue. Energy codes
that feed building codes have stepped
up significantly in the past half-century,
however, much of the nation’s build-
ings are in place from before these
codes were put into effect. Multifamily
buildings built in the 1990s are almost
9 percent more efficient than buildings
of the 1980s, 17 percent more efficient
than those built in the 1970s and 1960s,
and 23 percent more efficient than
pre-1960 housing, according to a multi-
family energy efficiency analysis from
Matthew Brown and MarkWolfe. And
multifamily building requirements mir-
ror what is happening with residential,
office and retail.
In communities like Boulder, build-
ing owners and operators are facing
hard deadlines to comply with the new
building codes for existing properties. If
owners do not meet the new standards
by 2020, they risk heavy fines and taxes.
Although building codes eventually
will bring commercial real estate own-
ers and operators in line with current
standards, landlords are leaving profits
on the table by overlooking key benefits
of updating inventories now. Making a
property green lowers operating costs,
which increases margins.This, in turn,
provides an opportunity to attract bet-
ter tenants.
Owners and operators often eschew
eco-friendly updates in existing inven-
tories because they do not know the
steps to take in order to make changes.
Breaking it down into a few easy cat-
egories can put owners and operators
on the path to a greener future.
Lighting.
Efficient
lighting is at the
top of the list when
assessing a building
for sustainability.
Efficient lighting can
save as much as 40
percent on energy
costs, and light retro-
fits are often one of
the least expensive
fixes with the big-
gest returns. Light
emitting diodes
use one-tenth the
electricity of older,
less-efficient fixtures,
which makes them
the most effective
at cutting down lighting expenses.
There are also rebate programs, such
as Design Lights Consortium, that will
issue rebates with the installation, or
retrofitting of energy-efficient LED light
fixtures.
Water.
Water conservation is another
source of potential energy savings in a
commercial building. High-efficiency
fixtures not only save water, but also
save energy associated with delivering
water. According to the Environmental
ProtectionAgency, the standard water
flow is 2.2 gallons per minute, but high-
efficiency faucet fixtures can reduce the
standard by 30 percent, to 1.5 gallons
per minute. Code requires that toilets
flush at 1.6 gallons per flush. Low-flow
ratings start at about 1.3 gpf and drop
from there. For extra water conserva-
tion efforts, builders might consider no-
water urinals. Maintaining the build-
ing’s plumbing and fixtures, along with
repairing leaks, is a simple solution that
has a great return.
Insulation.
Although brick siding is
trendy, brick has little-to-no insulation
value. If the building does not have a
reasonable R-value insulation level,
the building owner and the tenant will
have higher energy bills due to inef-
ficient insulation, and it will not meet
code in many places.
Single-pane windows leak air like
sieves, which especially is true in retail
spaces that often have big glass plates
to display wares. Commercial build-
ers want to preserve the character of
the building by leaving the existing
windows, but there are plenty of win-
dow upgrades that owners can make
to preserve the historic character of
a structure, such as low-e films that
significantly reduce the amount of the
sun’s heat entering a building.
Energy efficiency.
Efficiency ratings are
a best-case scenario in factory-perfect
conditions, tracking howmuch of the
heating or cooling produced actually
reaches building occupants. But don’t
forget, erstwhile efficiency ratings do
not function anywhere near that level
today. Be sure to check out old heat-
ing, ventilation and air conditioning
systems, and find out the efficiency
rating. HVAC systems rarely die, but by
upgrading to a high-efficiency HVAC
system proprietors will save the head-
aches of having to deal with multiple
repairs, and the energy savings will
positively affect the bottom line.
Research shows that more efficient
buildings have higher occupancy rates
and higher asset value than traditional
buildings.The most energy-efficient
buildings are those that have earned
EPA’s Energy Star rating and use 35 per-
cent less energy than typical buildings.
Energy efficiency is one of the most
cost-effective and simple ways to cut
energy use.
Commercial real estate contributes
40 percent of the global carbon foot-
print, with the biggest offenders being
antiquated, existing building inventory.
Nevertheless, a few easy fixes – in cate-
gories such as lighting, water, insulation
and energy-efficiency upgrades – not
only save building owners money in the
long run, but also go a long way toward
protecting the planet and shrinking the
overall carbon footprint. Studies show
that green-certified properties sell fast-
er and for more money. Even better, the
profit margin gain is greater than the
cost to achieve these changes.
s
Melissa
Baldridge
Co-owner and
co-founder,
Green-Building
Solutions Provider,
GreenSpot Real
Estate, Denver
Courtesy: RoofTopMagazine.com
Upgrading an antiquated HVAC to a high-efficiency system saves time and repair costs.
Pinnacle Real Estate Advisors
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Unique Properties Inc.
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Marcus & Millichap
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Moran & Company
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FarrellRes
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Cushman & Wakefield
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DTZ Americas
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Interurban Corporation
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ARA – A Newmark Company
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Colorado Group, Inc.
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