Utility Tracking and Benchmarking Blog | WegoBlog

There is a growing number of homeowners and even some adventurous apartment-dwellers that compost their food scraps and yard waste.  There are a lot fewer cities and towns that can claim the same.  Some forward thinking locales have started offering municipal composting, with San Francisco and Seattle even going as far as mandating it.  

An energy audit is an examination of a building for energy efficiency improvement purposes. Through analysis of energy usage, building characteristics, weather data, and the typical usage of the building, an energy audit can recommend energy conservation measures.  The measures are assessed for their savings potential, as well as their ability to maintain or improve the quality of life within the building.

For many property owners wishing to make energy efficient upgrades to their buildings, the dream proves impossible due to a lack of upfront capital.  Even if they were able to secure a loan to pay for the upgrade, there would be no guarantee they’d be in their home long enough to see full payback and subsequent savings from the improvement.  This is where an emerging financing structure known as Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loans enters the conversation.  These exploratory programs forge public-private partnerships that aim to spur investment in the energy efficiency of our built environment.

The overall water and energy efficiency of your building is a function of three things:
1. Design and construction

Whether you want to be a more informed citizen or just want to kill some time before 5 on a Friday afternoon, WegoWise has got you covered. This week we take a look at single family houses, from building them better to selling them better.  So peruse our best links, give us some feedback and be sure to share some of the info you just gleaned with other interested parties at the parties you are hopefully attending this weekend. Brought to you by Dan, Nate, Sean, Lily, Catherine, and Casey.

With Boston recently ranked as #1 Safest Biking and Walking City in the nation, we decided that in celebration we would revisit one of our most popular blog topics: the Hubway bicycle sharing program.  Launched on July 29, 2011 with 60 stations and 600 bicycles, thousands of Boston residents and tourists ditched their dirty driving habits, grabbed a helmet, and joined the movement to turn Boston into one of the healthiest cities in the country.  In just five months after its launch, Hubway members took over 142,000 trips across Boston - enough miles to travel from Boston to Los Angeles and back 23 times! These 142,000 trips eliminated 11% of vehicle trips and 42% of public transit trips. 

Whether you want to be a more informed citizen or just want to kill some time before 5 on a Friday afternoon, WegoWise has got you covered. This week we take a look at the less glamorous side of energy, from tarsands to reusing trash.  So peruse our best links, give us some feedback and be sure to share some of the info you just gleaned with other interested parties at the parties you are hopefully attending this weekend. Brought to you by Dan, Nate, Sean, Lily, Catherine, and Casey.

WegoWise joined hundreds of attendees at the annual RESNET conference earlier this week in sunny Austin, TX, where we found lots of energy efficiency geeks and gurus, abundant live music, and boots.  Lots of boots.  

In its February 24th issue, the New England Real Estate Journal profiles WegoWise's partnership with the US Green Building Council to provide energy tracking for LEED for Homes multifamily certified buildings.  To read more, check out USGBC's Building Performance Partnership and Wegowise's LEED for Homes landing page.