Peabody Properties expands building retrofit program with WegoWise

BOSTON, Sept. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Peabody Properties, Inc., a full-service real estate firm specializing in multifamily housing, is expanding its building retrofit program with WegoWise, a leading building intelligence provider, to implement and verify targeted water retrofits across its managed portfolio. An award-winning privately held corporation, Peabody Properties is now tracking and benchmarking utility consumption in WegoWise from all of its 10,000 units in more than 100 multifamily properties across New England, New Jersey and Florida. Using WegoWise's analytics platform, Peabody has already implemented targeted retrofits that are generating annual savings of more than $1 million.

Peabody will use WegoWise's platform to target more than 300 retrofits across Peabody's high-rise building stock, where older buildings contain less efficient infrastructure and appliances. A newly launched pilot program will install new toilets, aerators and shower heads at five properties that will save an estimated $180,000 in gas and water bills annually, with an expected return on investment of less than two years. If retrofits perform as expected, Peabody will target similar retrofits across 30 additional properties, representing more than $1 million in investment. Additionally, WegoWise's intuitive platform has reduced staff time required to manage utility expenses by 25 percent.

"Utility costs account for thirty percent of our operating expenses, and WegoWise has helped us make a serious dent in that," said Michael Ferguson, vice president of facilities management and capital planning for Peabody Properties. "Now that we understand our portfolio's utility usage, we can focus our resources on upgrading worst-performing buildings. The fantastic energy savings we've realized so far working with WegoWise made expanding into water an easy decision."

"Most building management software focuses on electricity and gas, but water can be a silent drain on utility bills," said Andrew Chen, CEO of WegoWise. "Comparing water use next to similar buildings across portfolios and the region is essential to identify the leakiest offenders. This benchmarking approach will not only give Peabody the best results for the investment, but also will verify that water retrofits meet expectations after completion." 

With WegoWise's help, Peabody has already implemented nearly $6 million in energy retrofit projects, generating annual utility savings of 5 million kilowatt hours and $1 million in electricity costs annually. Projects include lighting retrofits at 38 properties, refrigerator replacements at 19 properties and major boiler replacements at 10 properties.

"WegoWise is providing the critical links between conservation needs and utility-sponsored programs," said Elizabeth Tracey, Strategic Projects Coordinator for Peabody Properties. "The time to establish and monitor accounts is a very worthwhile investment."

WegoWise has developed the world's largest database of multifamily building performance, including data on more than 16,000 buildings and more than 400 million square feet of building space across the United States. Recently, WegoWise announced its first major commercial customer, Liberty Property Trust, and was named an official reporting tool of the Los Angeles Better Buildings Challenge. In March 2013, WegoWise was named an Energy Innovations Pioneer at IHS CERAWeek 2013.

About WegoWise
WegoWise is an industry-leading utility intelligence provider for the real estate industry. Bridging big data and energy efficiency, WegoWise distills large aggregations of energy and water data into useful, actionable information for building owners, managers, energy auditors and building efficiency programs, enabling them to automatically track, understand and benchmark building performance, and make better efficiency investment decisions. WegoWise's platform regularly identifies impressive opportunities for cost savings, as inefficient buildings typically pay four times the utility costs of efficient buildings. Learn more at wegowise.com.

SOURCE WegoWise