One of the largest expenditures for property owners is energy costs. Many property owners feel that there is little they can do to manage the rising price of energy. This year alone residential electricity prices have rose about 3.2% nationwide according the U.S Energy Information Administration. New England was hardest hit with an increase in the price for electricity averaging 11.8%. Property Managers may feel some relief knowing that heating oil prices are currently lower than last year (source). However this winter has been forecasted to have above normal snowfall and below normal temperatures for most of the United States (source). A longer and colder winter could mean Property Owners could be digging into their pockets to buy more than the usual amount of heating oil this year.
Property Owners and commercial property management companies can partially offset the rising cost and need of energy this year and in future years by investing in energy conservation. Here are some products that can help conserve energy
Window insulation/ sealing will help keep cool air inside in the summer and hot air inside in the winter. It will help eliminated drafts keeping heating and cooling costs down
Energy Saving Light Bulbs are a fast and easy way to cut down on electricity costs
Energy Saving Kitchen Appliances not only help reduce energy costs over old and inefficient kitchen appliances, they make the apartment more attractive to renters
sweeps and weather-strips will keep cold out from entering your renters apartment you’re your building and hot air from leaving during the winter months
However, implementing all these changes may not be usefulness unless you have a property management system that can track and manage energy costs. The most efficient manner in which the manage energy costs is with effective building management software. Rissoft software for property management has energy management features that will help property owners save money by allowing them to calculate and prepare numeric and graphic comparisons of consumption and cost, comparing energy costs up to 4 years. Effortless Energy Management is just one feature that makes Rissoft that best commercial property management software available.