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Michael Reynolds, famed experimental architect and builder, features an interactive map on his website that he hopes to use to encourage, inspire or perhaps even shame building departments into better practices. Reynolds invites contributors to out their building departments and help him add their counties onto the map.
In fact, smaller is better when it comes to sustainability as a general principle. Considering your HVAC system in this light can result in substantial savings on your utility bills without sacrificing the comfort of your residents.
As the title implies, it’s not unusual for 30% of a property’s potable (drinkable) water to be consumed by landscaping. Is this really necessary and would reducing the amount of water we use on landscaping affect our property’s net operating income?
The US Department of Labor (DOL) announced this week that it has granted $2.8 million dollars to the Thomas Shortman Training Fund (TSTF) – a labor-management partnership – for the purpose of expanding the training of building superintendents in better energy efficiency through operations and maintenance.
Managers are often focused on traditional marketing techniques but incorporating innovative technological incentives can enhance tenant attraction and retention results within today’s competitive apartment marketing. Climate conscious tenants appreciate perks like wireless and broadband throughout a building and its grounds.
Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy in December 2009 found housing prices in the greater Boston area may have bottomed out with some neighborhoods still declining slightly or experiencing minimal increases in value. However, the report further concluded that the regional residential rental market is not in decline, evidenced by the cumulative 12% hike in rents experienced from 2005 to 2008.
The energy savings from thoughtful landscaping should not be under-estimated. A tree shading an air conditioning unit saves between 5% to 10% in the unit’s annual energy costs depending on climate location. To help visualize the benefit of trees for the planet, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates:
“The net cooling effect of a young, healthy tree is equivalent to ten room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours a day.”
Marketing apartments with green features is smart business. Today’s renters appreciate a healthy home environment and are willing to pay a rental premium for green features.
A Carbon footprint is an estimated annual climate impact is determined by the sum of the greenhouse gas emissions that are produced by all forms of energy use, including but not limited to personal lifestyle, business and manufacturing practices, emissions, transportation, and air travel. The total of those emissions – translated into and measured in equivalent units of carbon dioxide – is sometimes referred to as a “carbon footprint”.
