Energy Management System (EMS) Payback: Unitary Room Controls vs Central Building Controls – Or an Integration of the Two?

(Part 3 of 5) Energy Management Systems are—admittedly—a significant financial investment. The good news is they pay for themselves! A typical ROI (return on investment) is 2-4 years. Some EMS providers have continually collected usage data for a decade or more, and are putting that data to valuable use analyzing project payback. We’ve talked about …

Do Electricity Rates Impact Energy Management System (EMS) Payback?

(PART 2 OF 5) In general, electricity thermodynamically is a rather inefficient method of heating or cooling. But its supply is available everywhere, unlike natural gas. However, its rate structure is based upon variable cost constraints on its ability to supply. So the more you use it, the more per kWh it costs. Worse yet, …

Do Natural Gas Rates Impact Energy Management System (EMS) Payback?

(PART 1 OF 5) Energy Management Systems are admittedly a significant financial investment. However, we have good news: they pay for themselves! A typical ROI (return on investment) is 2-4 years. Calculating the amount of time it will take to pay off your investment (project payback projection) is an important function in the EMS purchasing …

Women’s Safety and How Your Property Can Respond

Women’s safety has been in the news a lot lately. Whether your property is student housing, hospitality, MDU, or even military barracks, trust that your female residents have safety concerns. First, whatever your market is, know that your property IS affected by this. Nearly two-thirds of today’s travelers are women.  More than 56% of college students …

Predictive Maintenance

Are you like most building managers? Have you been scheduling preventative maintenance tasks for years? It makes sense. You’re prolonging the life of your equipment. Plus you’ve minimized guest/occupant complaints . You know the complaints. They derive from unplanned service issues. You probably schedule preventative maintenance every quarter or every other quarter. Maybe even less frequently. …

HVAC Controls Shopping: “What is Your Occupancy Rate?”

Shopping for smart thermostats for your property is an investment in time, labor and funds. Your time investment begins with researching your options. If you haven’t purchased HVAC controls within the past few years, it might be an eye-opener. Options have expanded exponentially, quite possibly beyond what you even imagined. A reputable HVAC controls representative …