CREJ - Multifamily Properties Quarterly - October 2015
In the midst of a housing boom in Denver, we are seeing an encouraging trend of multifamily buildings investing in energy efficiency. With property costs rising, it should not come as a surprise. If Denver’s multifamily buildings invested $109 million in improving energy efficiency, it would result in an estimated $415 million in energy savings over 10 years, said Katrina Managan, senior adviser at the Denver City Energy Project. Many leading multifamily projects are jumping on the green bandwagon by voluntarily submitting their energy usage statistics to the benchmarking program within the Denver City Energy Project. The DCEP is part of a national initiative to create healthier and more prosperous American cities by improving the energy efficiency of buildings. Other cities participating in the City Energy Project include Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Kansas City, Missouri, Los Angeles, Orlando, Philadelphia and Salt Lake City. The pioneering actions of the 10 cities involved in the project will be models for communities nationwide and around the world. The DCEP is celebrating its one-year anniversary this month. The City Energy Project’s goals are to slash energy use, save money for residents and create healthier cities. In Denver that means cutting greenhouse gas emissions from large commercial and multifamily buildings by 18 percent through initiatives such as DCEP’s benchmarking program. When building owners enroll in the benchmarking program, they measure and submit their energy use to the DCEP and receive formal recognition and training on how to improve building efficiency and educate their occupants about energy-saving behaviors. The benchmarking program, which recently registered its 100th building, counts several of Denver’s most recognizable multifamily projects among its participants. These buildings are trailblazers in improving energy efficiency of apartments and condominiums in Denver. Nationwide, multifamily rentals have on average 34 percent fewer energy-efficiency features than the number found in other types of housing, resulting in higher energy costs for renters, said Managan. Moreover, in households that earn less than the national median, 9 percent of a homeowner’s total income can go toward energy costs. Cornerstone Apartment Services is one of those multifamily projects leading the pack in terms of energy benchmarking. Cornerstone recently enrolled six of the buildings it manages in DCEP’s benchmarking program. “The energy performance scores have helped us evaluate and show our clients how their building’s energy performance compares to similar vintage properties,” said Cornerstone’s Chief Operating Officer Charlie Hogan. “This has resulted in making educated decisions around energy-efficient upgrades and capital projects.” The Prado Condominium, an 18-story condominium tower with 109 luxury residences, recently enrolled in the program because the condominium’s energy bills were far too high, said Nickie Greco, association business manager with Hammersmith Management. After using the Energy Star Portfolio Manager to get a score on the energy performance of buildings, Greco discovered that the Prado scored low compared with its peers. “We’re now on a path to cut the Prado energy bill significantly with smart energy-efficiency improvements that will pay back quickly for owners in energy savings,” said Greco. “We’ve already upgraded some lighting, and we have a recommissioning project and upgrades to the cooling tower underway. More projects are in the works.” Metro West Housing Solutions enrolled five of its buildings in the benchmarking program. One of the reasons MWHS, a nonprofit property developer and manager of apartments in Lakewood and Denver, prioritizes energy efficiency is cost savings. “Energy efficiency helps us cut operating costs so we can limit rent for tenants while improving on-site resident services, such as health services, child care and economic self-sufficiency training,” said Ryan McCaw, sustainability and grant programs manager at MWHS. “Energy savings also free up funds to undertake critical capital improvements, enabling us to continue to operate buildings at a high-quality level for low- and moderate-income households for the long term.” If a building owner wants to improve energy performance, the first step is to understand how much is currently used. Enrolling in DCEP’s benchmarking program is simple. First, gather data for your building, including the gross floor area of the building, gross square footage of parking areas and energy usage data. (DCEP has a guide explaining how to gather and upload energy usage data). Then, start benchmarking the energy performance of your building using Energy Star Portfolio Manager. Finally, enroll in the benchmarking program by filling out a short enrollment form and follow instructions on how to share your Energy Star score with the DCEP benchmarking program. Enrolled buildings are recognized on the DCEP website and their data will inform the design of additional building efficiency programs. The next step, of course, is taking action to improve the building’s energy efficiency and Energy Star score. Nevertheless, by beginning with the benchmarking program, multifamily building owners are taking important steps to make the city of Denver more efficient and prosperous. Energy benchmarking is one of USGBC Colorado’s 2015-2016 advocacy priorities. Through education and outreach, we support the 2030 District and the DCEP, and recently joined the Coalition for Energy Efficient Denver. In addition, USGBC Colorado aims to advocate for energy benchmarking by directly engaging with local utilities to facilitate greater data accessibility and with building owners and managers to use data in decision-making about capital improvement projects. You cannot manage what you do not measure, and benchmarking is the first step in good energy management. More information on the DCEP, including how to enroll a building in Denver’s benchmarking program, can be found at Denvergov.org.