Fort Wayne Housing Authority (Fort Wayne, IN): Energy performance

Better Buildings Challenge Partners commit to decrease portfolio-wide source energy use intensity (EUI) and to increase the percent improvement compared to a set baseline. Fort Wayne Housing Authority has improved their portfolio-wide energy performance by 2% from a 2015 baseline, making progress towards a goal of 20% by 2024. They are currently undertaking an Energy Performance Contract (EPC) at six properties to replace existing lighting with LED lighting and lighting fixtures and install technology including ENERGY STAR appliances, domestic hot water tankless heaters, and occupancy-responsive thermostats.

Multifamily property owners often face challenges in gathering whole building data for properties with large numbers of individual tenant-paid utility accounts. Through the Better Buildings Challenge, partners can demonstrate progress towards their savings goal by reporting two types of data: (1) whole-building energy use, including tenant-paid utilities, for at least 30 percent of their portfolio; and (2) owner-paid receipts (common areas only) for the remaining share of their portfolio. Fort Wayne Housing Authority's portfolio consists of 12 properties and more than 680 thousand square feet and approximately 700 housing units, with whole-building data (both tenant-paid and owner-paid receipts) available for 33% of their portfolio.

This graph breaks out the portfolio's energy performance for properties with whole building energy use vs those with owner-paid receipts. The energy intensity for properties with whole-building data is much higher than those with owner-paid receipts, because it accounts for the significant use associated with tenant spaces. Fort Wayne Housing Authority has achieved 2.6% savings in properties with whole-building data and 1.2% in properties with owner-paid receipts. 

Looking at the percent improvement in energy performance across all facilities can provide insight into how an organization is saving energy. Fort Wayne Housing Authority has achieved energy performance improvement of greater than 6% at more than 3 of its properties. There are 4 properties that have experienced an increase in Source EUI.  These properties have been targeted for future energy efficiency improvements.

Property-level energy performance metrics, including EUI and percent improvement to date, are critical to track progress over time and identify opportunities for additional energy savings. Fort Wayne Housing Authority's portfolio consists of properties with a wide range of baseline EUI values, most of which are from 0 to 200 kBtu/sq. ft. The majority of properties have shown energy improvement since 2015. The properties located near or below the 0% axis may present good opportunities for further savings.