Utility Tracking and Benchmarking Blog | WegoBlog

Unlike last year, it felt like we had a real winter this year in Boston.  This has kept heating costs in the forefront of peoples' minds, mostly because they're wishing they were lower.  Since this winter is much colder, it makes it difficult to compare last year's heating bills to this year's, or the ones from the year before.  So if you made changes that you think will save you money, how do you know if they did, even though your heating costs have gone up?  What you want to know is what your gas usage would have been if the weather was essentially the same every year.  A great way to do this is to compare heating energy intensity for the two years. Keep reading to learn how to calculate this. 

By now, we have all heard about the rising cost of energy and the financial advantages of increasing energy efficiency - predictable budgeting, reduced operating expenses (one estimate is $400 billion savings per year), limited deferred maintenance expenditures. But there is another link between the dollars in your bank account and the kilowatt-hours used at your facility. They are both measured in numbers, and that means data and analytics can be harnessed to save. 

Formed in conversation with Sustainability, Resilience is the idea that in a future of more frequent severe weather events, long-term global climate change, and geopolitical turmoil, we should restructure our major cultural systems to not only tread lightly on the earth, but to be resilient to disaster, and more adaptable to unexpected changes. 

Resilience is predicated on the fact that the major systems structuring our lives are static and fragile.  Our transportation, food system, and electrical grid, for example, are all massive, complicated systems that we rely upon daily, but which are prone to break during disaster events such as hurricanes, drought, or fuel shortages.  Specifically in this blog post, I’d like to talk about how resilience applies to energy.  

Whether you're looking to become a more informed citizen, or just kill some time before 5 on a Friday, WegoWise has got you covered.  William Gibson famously said: "The future is already here — it's just not very evenly distributed." Each news cycle brings more support to his claim as wild technologies aim to transform the way we use energy, grow food, and live on our planet . Read up on some of the latest revolutions happening around us, and be sure to share the information you learn with other interested parties at the parties you're hopefully attending this weekend.

At a launch event on February 6^th at the HUD regional office, WegoWise was on hand as Boston LISC unveiled their recently published guide for “Green & Healthy Property Management”.  The guide provides an incredible resource for affordable as well as market rate multifamily housing owners to explicitly define and apply green measures within their portfolios.  In this post, we’ll highlight the most important features of this publication, but encourage our readers to check it out in its entirety! 

Whether you're looking to become a more informed citizen, or just kill some time before 5 on a Friday, WegoWise has got you covered.  With President Obama's State-of-the-Union endorsement of energy efficiency, we're looking forward to seeing what new initiatives get pushed forward in the coming years.  One rising trend in energy legislation is the growth of municipal benchmarking and disclosure laws.  From New York to Seattle to Washington, D.C., cities are catching on to the value of measuring, comparing, and analyzing how buildings use energy. So read up on some of the latest developments in this field, and be sure to share the information you learn with other interested parties at the parties you're hopefully attending this President's Day weekend.

As the first major city to pass Energy Star benchmarking and disclosure laws, Washington DC led the country. However New York City left DC behind with NYC Local Law 84 implementation.  Now the DC energy disclosure rules are final and the time has arrived to report your Energy Star score for your commercial building.  Multi-family buildings also have to submit their energy usage to the EPA through Energy Star Portfolio Manager, though they don’t have to collect tenant data (yet). 

Trying to stay warm is perpetually on the minds of New Englanders during the winter months (or at least those native to more southern states). However, climate change considerations and heating bills keep many of us from cranking up the thermostat. While the occasional jumping jacks in your apartment can help stave off the shivers, there are other options to maximize energy efficiency while keeping your home or apartment cozy when temperatures drop below freezing.

Whether you drive, bike or ride the subway or bus each day, public transportation almost certainly affects both your daily commute to work and personal travel. For some of us, it can be a headache -- causing traffic congestion and wasting tax payer dollars -- but for others, public transit can serve as the most cost effective and convenient way to reach a desired destination.

Whether you want to be a more informed citizen, or just want to kill some time on a Friday before 5, WegoWise has got you covered!  You've got apps for making faux-polaroids, apps for flinging birds, and apps for finding restaurants, but do you have any apps that are saving you energy?  Here are a few apps for your smartphone that will help you green up your pocket-warmer.  So peruse our best links, give us some feedback, and be sure to share some of the information you've learned with other interested parties at the parties you're hopefully attending this weekend. Brought to you by Catherine, Casey, Joanna, Sam and Adam.