Homes for America: 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. Since 2010, Homes for America has improved energy performance by an average of 1.1% each year.  This is equivalent to a cumulative improvement of 12%, accounting for the varying lengths of time properties were included in Homes for America’s portfolio.  
 

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. Homes For America's portfolio consists of 76 properties and 3.1 million square feet, with whole-building data (both tenant-paid and owner-paid receipts) available for 72% 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. Homes For America has achieved 1% savings in properties with whole-building data and -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.  Homes For America has achieved energy performance improvement of greater than 15% at 23 of its properties. There are 17 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. Homes For America's portfolio consists of properties with  a wide range of baseline EUI values, most of which are from 20 to 200 kBtu/sq. ft. The majority of properties have shown energy improvement since 2010. The properties located near or below the 0% axis may present good opportunities for further savings.