Utility Management

Utility Management Is a Significant Portion of a Building’s Operations

Typically, utilities make up between 10 percent to 30 percent of a building’s operating budget, according to the National Apartment Association. Given that fact, utility management is a natural place to start when a property manager considers where they can boost efficiency and save energy and money.

Although reducing energy consumption is one obvious place to begin, it’s not the only opportunity to improve efficiency. Property managers spend a great deal of time tracking utility usage and managing billing and collection from residents. These property managers also must address both emergency and preventive maintenance issues when it comes to utility systems.

The Impact of Centralized Data

Many property managers juggle utility management across multiple buildings. Often, they manually record all this data or use stand-alone spreadsheets. These management systems make it very difficult to aggregate all the data for the property in one place.

For property managers, investing in a CMMS can help build a historical portfolio. Within a CMMS, managers can track energy usage, billing and collection history, and inspection and repair records. Paired with powerful analytics, this data gives property managers a great tool for quickly identifying problem areas. One of the most common issues is significant energy spikes that can point to leaks or other issues.

Predictive Monitoring to Stay on Top of Things

By incorporating sensors on utility assets, property managers can have real-time data with 24/7 monitoring at a reasonable cost. Temperature, pressure, vibration, or water levels can be easily monitored by setting acceptable ranges within each sensor. As soon as a utility asset malfunctions and data falls out of range, an alert is sent to a centralized system.

Immediate work orders can then be issued, hopefully minimizing energy and resources lost and preventing an emergency utility repair situation.