NHP Foundation: 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, NHP Foundation has improved their portfolio-wide energy performance by an average of 1.4% each year, which is equivalent to a cumulative improvement of 4.7%. NHP Foundation’s energy savings have been achieved through lighting retrofits and rehabilitation of approximately 800 units, which included upgrades to ENERGY STAR appliances and HVAC systems, water-efficient plumbing fixtures, and window replacements. NHP Foundation also partnered with energy providers in Connecticut to execute a $500,000 boiler-replacement program on a 200-unit property, which is projected to result in about 20% savings of the annual natural gas consumption.

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. NHP Foundation 's portfolio consists of 51 properties and more than 6.5 million square feet and approximately 10,000 housing units, with whole-building data (both tenant-paid and owner-paid receipts) available for 54% 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. NHP Foundation has achieved 1.5% savings in properties with whole-building data and 0.5% 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. NHP Foundation has achieved energy performance improvement of greater than 10% at 16 of its properties. There are 28 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. NHP Foundation's portfolio consists of properties with  a wide range of baseline EUI values, most of which are from 0 to 150 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.