As climate change impacts everything from property values and insurance rates to consumer inflation, there’s both a rising demand for more sustainable housing. And with that demand comes a significant opportunity for multifamily property managers.
By offering a more eco-friendly living experience, multifamily operators can not only improve occupancy rates, but reduce operating costs, diversify their revenue, and even increase the resale value of their properties.
But where can or should a property manager start? Well, no other first step yields a higher return-on-investment in a shorter payback period than investing in a smart energy management system.
Energy Management Challenges Multifamily Property Managers Face
The main challenge multifamily property managers face when investing in making their properties more energy efficient by investing in sustainable housing tech is retrofitting existing infrastructure. After all, there are upfront costs associated with hardware upgrades.
But those upfront costs are more than offset by the cost-savings energy management technologies generate down the line. Indeed, with a variety of rebates and incentives from local utility companies, some property managers have seen a payback period of as little as a year.
So by investing in smart energy management systems, property managers can reduce operating costs, improve KPIs across the board, and even support occupancy goals by offering tenants the added value of enjoying a more eco-friendly home environment. In other words, the energy management opportunities more than outweigh the challenges.
Limited Control Over Individual Units
Multifamily property managers must account for the diverse energy consumption patterns in each unit. Indeed, tenants often have varying schedules and habits, leading to unpredictable and inefficient energy consumption patterns. This can result in significantly higher overhead costs and wasted energy.
Moreover, balancing tenant comfort with energy efficiency becomes a delicate task, especially in multifamily properties where occupancy rates fluctuate. Fortunately, centralized energy management systems provide MDU operators with a convenient solution, monitoring heating, cooling, and electricity use across multiple units simultaneously.
Meeting ESG and Sustainability Goals
Multifamily operators are quickly changing the way they manage their properties, shifting towards more sustainable and community-driven methods. From smart thermostats and smart HVAC technology to smart water management and energy-efficient lighting systems, there are a number of ways MDU managers can reach their ESG targets.
But achieving ESG goals is far more than just implementing sustainable MDU best practices. It is also about fostering an environment and management culture that reflects the diversity and the needs of the tenants and society at large. In doing so, MDU operators can gain access to advantageous financing products to reinvest in their properties.
Varying occupancy patterns
In the same way, not all smart thermostats are created equally, no two multifamily properties are the same. Indeed, each property has unique occupancy patterns that demand tailored energy management systems and solutions. Put simply, a building with high turnover, such as student housing, will have drastically different energy needs compared to a complex with long-term residents.
Energy management systems, however, can adapt to real-time fluctuations in occupancy patterns and automatically adjust heating and cooling accordingly, whether it’s a full house during the semester or nearly empty during breaks.
Aging Infrastructure
Outdated infrastructure presents a major challenge for energy efficiency in multifamily buildings. In fact, when many of these MDUs were initially built, they were not designed with modern, energy-efficient standards in mind. Consequently, multifamily property managers are often faced with limited options for improving energy efficiency without undergoing extensive renovations.
From outdated HVAC and lighting systems to poor insulation, there are a number of ways outdated infrastructure drives excess energy consumption. While the upfront cost of these upgrades may seem daunting, the long-term savings more than make up for it and can lower operational costs while improving resident comfort.
Why Choose Verdant?
Smart technology is changing the way residents and multifamily property managers interact with their living spaces, continuously streamlining energy consumption and inefficiencies. Verdant’s energy management solutions not only reduce energy waste and lower utility costs, but also enhance the quality of residents’ life.
Easy Installation
Put simply, Verdant’s energy management solutions can be seamlessly integrated into any multifamily property, enhancing convenience and overall energy efficiency. These energy management solutions offer MDU operators a plug-and-play solution for both wired and wireless needs in both new construction and retrofit projects. In fact, our smart thermostats and occupancy sensors can be self-installed in under 10 minutes, minimizing disruption and allowing for rapid deployment across multiple units. This quick and easy setup process ensures that multifamily property managers can swiftly transition to more efficient energy management practices without extensive downtime.
Advanced Integrations
Our energy management solutions go beyond basic control, offering advanced integrations for increased operational efficiency. Indeed, our energy management systems seamlessly connect with Building Management Systems (BMS) and Property Management Software (PMS), creating a unified platform for comprehensive oversight.
Moreover, Verdant’s systems come equipped with Demand Response (DR) capabilities, enabling your properties to participate in utility-sponsored programs. This feature not only helps balance the grid during peak demand periods but also generates additional revenue streams for your business.
Night Occupancy Detection
Beyond seamless installation and advanced integration, Verdant’s energy management solutions can help maximize energy savings with night occupancy mode. Indeed, when our smart thermostats are integrated with occupancy sensors ( VX or ZX Occupancy Sensors ) they create a powerful system that detects both motion and body heat. This dual-sensing technology ensures unparalleled accuracy in determining room occupancy, even during sleep hours.
In unoccupied units or common areas, the Energy Management System automatically adjusts heating and cooling settings. And when residents return, it swiftly restores optimal temperature levels, ensuring resident comfort. This intelligent approach significantly reduces energy waste in vacant apartments or when tenants are away, without compromising comfort.
Integrated Mesh Networking
Unlike traditional systems that rely on your building’s existing Wi-Fi, our energy management solutions and energy management systems operate independently, creating its own robust network. This means zero impact on your current network bandwidth, ensuring seamless operation without slowing down other critical services.
The mesh network allows devices to communicate efficiently, even in large or complex multifamily property structures, by relaying data from one unit to another. This results in comprehensive coverage, enhanced reliability, and easier scalability as your energy management needs grow.
Unmatched Compatibility with HVAC systems
Verdant’s energy management solutions seamlessly integrate with virtually any heating, ventilation, and air conditioning setup, including Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) systems from industry leaders like LG, Mitsubishi, and Carrier.
Whether your property uses conventional split systems, packaged terminal air conditioners (PTACs), or the latest in VRF technology, Verdant’s energy management systems adapt with ease. This unparalleled flexibility not only simplifies installation, but ensures multifamily property managers can maximize energy savings, regardless of their existing HVAC system.
Increase Energy Savings
While upgrading outdated infrastructure and energy management systems can be costly, the long-term benefits and cost-savings alone ensure it is well worth the investment. Indeed, our energy management solutions help multifamily property managers save up to 20% in energy savings by slashing HVAC runtime by 45% on average.
Best of all, Verdant’s energy management system ensures a swift payback, typically between 12 to 18 months depending on the multifamily property, with utility rebates covering up to 100% of upfront costs. This significant reduction not only lowers utility bills for residents but also increases the property’s appeal to prospective investors and future tenants alike.
Remote Visibility
Verdant’s energy management solutions provide centralized control over smart thermostats across your entire property. This gives MDU managers the ability to monitor and adjust temperatures in real time, improving resident comfort and reducing energy waste. Indeed, commercial smart thermostats, including our VX and ZX Smart Thermostats, come outfitted with remote access features that can be adjusted from smartphone apps, tablets, and voice-activated devices.
The end result is a more seamless resident experience, ensuring that all climate control needs are at peak efficiency. Best of all, remote visibility helps staff address issues before they escalate, or lead to a critical system failure.
Benefits of Energy Management Systems for MDUs
Future-proofing your multifamily property not only has a positive impact on operational costs, but also enhances the overall living experience for your residents. Whether that means lower energy bills and increased comfort or attracting new investors, smart energy management systems give MDU operators the ability to strike the perfect balance between energy efficiency and tenant satisfaction.
Energy Efficiency
Energy management systems like Verdant streamline energy efficiency at every turn, automating heating, cooling, and lighting systems based on real-time occupancy data. For residents, this means lower utility costs without sacrificing comfort. For MDU operators, it leads to streamlined operations, lower energy bills, and a reduced carbon footprint—key factors in attracting eco-conscious tenants. This balance of efficiency and convenience makes for a more sustainable living environment, while increasing profitability.
Cost-Savings
Centralized energy management systems deliver significant energy cost-savings for both multifamily property managers and tenants alike. With the help of energy management systems optimizing HVAC usage, residents can enjoy lower monthly energy bills and overall utility costs.
The long-term savings are even more significant for multifamily property managers—cutting operational costs by reducing energy waste and lowering maintenance demands. Energy management systems not only automate heating and cooling in MDUs, but can also alert multifamily property managers when a system is about to crash. After all, as Benjamin Franklin famously said, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Enhanced Comfort
Comfort and overall satisfaction plays a crucial role in mitigating tenant turnover, especially in multifamily property management. Centralized energy management systems ensure consistent temperatures throughout the building, eliminating hot and cold spots that can often plague larger structures. Best of all, Verdant, our energy management system, gives multifamily property managers remote access capabilities, ensuring they can optimize heating and cooling from wherever they are, multiple properties at a time.
Sustainability Goals
Achieving ESG targets and sustainability objectives enhances the MDU’s appeal to tenants, potentially increasing occupancy rates and property value. Residents, particularly younger generations, seek eco-friendly living spaces that reflect their values and allow them to reduce their carbon footprint.
Additionally, not only do multifamily properties with ESG best practices in place typically have lower overhead costs, but they also tend to yield higher rents. In fact, according to a study done by NMHC and Kinsley Associates, 77% of renters would pay 30$ per month more if their unit featured such smart technology.
Maximize Energy Savings with Verdant
Maximize energy savings in your multifamily property with Verdant’s energy management system without sacrificing resident comfort. Seamlessly integrating with multifamily properties of all sizes and types, Verdant offers a tailored, plug-and-play solution to all your energy management needs.
Beyond automating heating and cooling, our energy management system also lets you track energy-savings and consumption in real-time across your entire property portfolio. Equally easy to use as it is to install, Verdant helps you attract quality residents, improve renewal rates, and long-term revenue.
Unlock Energy Savings at Your Property with Verdant!
Are you looking to make your property more energy-efficient and cut down on utility bills? Discover how our innovative solutions can help you achieve significant energy savings.