New Cost-Saving Program For Multi-Family Housing Cuts Energy Consumption Through Behavioral Change

LEXINGTON, Mass., Jan. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Utility costs represent the single largest controllable expense in a multi-family housing community, consuming 25 to 35% of most operating budgets[1]. New boilers and lighting retrofits help reduce consumption, but they don't tackle the estimated 20% of utility costs[2] caused by human behaviors.  Now residential property managers have a new ally in the fight to stop energy waste: the SEE The Light Property Manager's Energy Toolkit.  Created exclusively for the multi-family housing sector by energy consulting firm Kilojolts Consulting Group, this "energy manager in a box" comes bundled with all the tools, technology, and training resources owners and managers need to build a culture of energy thrift among tenants and employees.

"The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that multi-family units are responsible for 15% of the nation's energy consumption, or $10 billion annually," notes Kilojolts President Gary Markowitz. "Every dollar SEE The Light helps management avoid spending has a positive impact on the budgets of property owners and tenants alike."

One of the first residential operators to integrate SEE The Light into its energy management strategy is Connecticut-based Vesta Corporation. Vesta develops, owns, and manages affordable housing communities throughout New England and the mid-Atlantic, the southeast, Midwest, and Texas.

"Vesta Corporation has made great strides in our energy efficiency efforts during the past few years," says Josh Greenblatt, Vesta's Vice President of Property Operations. "For example, we installed Connecticut's largest residential solar hot water system at our Windham Heights property in Willimantic and replaced inefficient HVAC systems with highly efficient ones at Royal Mall Apartments in Niles, Ohio. At Mohegan Commons in Norwich, Connecticut, we switched from oil to natural gas-fired equipment and dramatically cut our heating and hot water bills. Now with SEE The Light, we're asking our employees and residents to adopt new energy-efficient practices so we can tackle the behavior-based and undiscovered causes of wasteful energy usage," concludes Greenblatt.

The Property Manager's Energy Toolkit is the 14^th in a series of market segment-specific SEE The Light Toolkits.  Ranging from manufacturing and commercial office to supermarkets, restaurants, and schools, each Toolkit is customized to align with the energy consumption profile of the particular market segment.

For details, contact Kilojolts Consulting Group at 781-861-6800 or [email protected]; or Lisa Fruitt, 1-781-274-0330, [email protected]. 

[1] U.S. Energy Star Multi-Family Housing Fact Sheet
[2] U.S. Energy Star Program estimate

SOURCE Kilojolts Consulting Group