When implemented properly, detailed energy metering and tracking can benefit both tenants and building owners. Measuring energy use provides a benchmark for improvement, and when payment is directly tied to usage, consumption goes down.

There are several important considerations in designing a strategy that will work for you. Decreased energy use will benefit an owner directly if utility costs are included in the lease fee. Full service leases are designed to put the responsibility for energy savings on the building manager by fixing the utility costs the tenant pays. Any reduction in utility consumption below what is assumed in the lease is a savings to the owner.

For buildings that offer leases net of utilities, the energy savings are passed on directly to the tenants. In multi-tenant buildings, the savings (like the costs) are divided among all of the tenants. A tenant may be reluctant to add metering equipment if their fellow tenants are not equally committed to reducing energy consumption, so communication between tenants is key.

GHT has worked with building owners to convert full-service buildings into properties that offer net-of-electric leases by implementing a series of electric meters. The meters allow each tenant’s electrical consumption to be allocated directly to the tenant. Building-wide costs, such as cooling towers, elevators, and lobby lighting are metered and allocated to tenants based on square footage of occupancy. In these cases, tenants save money by taking advantage of their individual energy saving opportunities. Owners are able to reduce their costs on tenants that remain with full-service leases by taking advantage of energy cost savings. Owners also gain a better understanding of the utility usage of the buildings.

Have you seen significant savings as a result of implementing energy metering? What challenges have you faced? Comment below!