LOS ANGELES-An affordable housing and property management firm says the comparisons gleaned from a free software tool have helped it set new priorities for its maintenance.
As reported yesterday in GlobeSt.com, the Better Buildings Challenge, a U.S. Dept. of Energy program to increase energy efficiency, has made the WegoWise software as its preferred energy analysis platform. The software is free for Los Angeles companies that have accepted the Challenge, which aims to improve energy efficiency by 20% or more by 2020 in commercial and institutional buildings and industrial plants.
Tom Polansky, the director of facilities management at Abode Communities, which has 41 affordable housing properties in Southern California, tells GlobeSt.com that the WegoWise software has helped Abode respond more quickly to problems and prioritize maintenance.
“We started using it three years ago,” says Polansky. “It's interesting. For the first time, we're able to see building usage relative to each other and not just standalone. We could quickly analyze which buildings need more attention.” Polansky declined to put a dollar amount on the savings gleaned from using the tool.
But before adopting the platform, Polansky says the company was “analyzing the bills as they came in and, in some cases, doing year-over-year analysis manually using Excel. He says the company was surprised after seeing the data unleashed by the software tool. “The older buildings, we didn't realize how much could be gained until we saw the data in one place. It's also been helpful since we're a property management and development company and are able to use this as a marketing tool with our clients. It's really helpful.”
Polansky says Abode has used the WegoWise tool for mundane things like shower-head replacements, but also did more elaborate system upgrades, including replacing boilers and installing thermal hot water systems. “And we're able to prioritize which buildings would get systems replacement,” he says. “Some of it has been preventive. The simple thing the system does is it allows you to see leaks. I can quickly dispatch maintenance staff to look for the leak, the undiscovered leaks that would have gone on much longer. That alone covers more than covers the annual cost of the system.”
Abode is considering using the WegoWise data to inform residents on their energy usage as an educational tool. It's also watching the anonymous data WegoWise offers on similar properties in their area, comparing other affordable-housing energy output to their own.
As reported earlier on GlobeSt.com, Abode Communities was the developer on the Hudson Oaks apartment project, a 45-unit affordable senior housing development in Pasadena.
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