Sustainable communities and environmentally friendly business practices are gaining traction in multifamily, as renters and investors alike are increasingly targeting green developments and management. While many management companies have responded by deploying energy-saving solutions, the reality is a collective effort is required by the industry to move the needle in terms of sustainability.

Devices, consumer apps, enterprise platforms, integrations and partnerships are all paramount to meeting and exceeding sustainability goals. Serving a multitude of purposes, these same technologies provide operational efficiency and asset protection, as well as boost resident satisfaction and property value. While each green product or practice deployed makes a difference, the greatest strides are made via a network of connected smart devices conveniently controlled through a singular dashboard.

Connecting Communities

Apartment operators with a holistic approach to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) efforts are seeking software solutions that connect their smart technologies. When connected devices like thermostats, lighting, window blinds and outlets are interoperable and orchestrated through the single dashboard and centralized rule engine, operators gain valuable insights into the impact of these products on green initiatives. They also generate a more comprehensive picture of their overall energy consumption.

More sophisticated options such as electric panel monitoring can pull circuit-level measurements in real time, showing residents, operators and owners exactly when and where energy is distributed and wasted. These same devices act as dynamic load centers, essentially acting as the central nervous system for the property, tracking circuit-level strain and shifting load to prevent shorts, outages and fires.

That single source of information enables better reporting and analysis, empowering operators to pinpoint ideal product settings and train both associates and residents to optimize energy efficiency and mitigate risk.

Convenience is Key

In today’s landscape, the level of user engagement in green initiatives hinges largely on convenience. The easier it is to engage with, the more it will be used. For today’s renter, that means the dashboard used to manage connected smart devices must live on their smartphone. Modern renters expect to be able to manage their lives – including their apartments – through a mobile device.

They want the ability to program, adjust and preset their in-home climate and ambiance at the click of a button, so they can reduce their energy consumption when they don’t need it or when they aren’t home. They want the flexibility to turn off the lights or air conditioning remotely if they forgot to do so before leaving for the day. They also expect the capability to restore their apartment to their preferred customized settings before they return home. Remote home control from a phone or via voice command are common resident requests in a post-pandemic world. Putting these tools into end users’ hands enables them to be environmentally responsible stewards and enforces efforts toward conservation and decarbonization.

Multifamily associates are no different when it comes to convenience. Consolidated controls accessed through a mobile dashboard empower on-site teams to minimize the energy use of their communities. Mobile dashboards make it easy to manage the climate and ambiance of common areas and amenity spaces. Teams can automate settings for after-hours energy conservation, so that lights are turned off and climate controls turned down at the end of the day. Such pre-programmed settings ensure that settings are adjusted daily, whereas busy associates may forget or fail to adjust lighting and thermostats in a timely fashion.

Teams can also program default settings that automate when a home is marked as “vacant” in the property management system, turning off lights, controlling blinds and minimizing climate controls, and eliminating the need to manually go through each home upon resident move-out.

Use Data to Futureproof (and Enhance) Operations

Convenience, coupled with easily accessible data, creates an ideal situation for today’s owners. Operators can glean easily dissectable property performance data or macro portfolio metrics all the way down to individual appliance and equipment health, all from a single panel of glass. Data can illustrate asset quality and identify areas where maintenance might be required. When proper algorithmic models are applied, the ability to detect anomalies or prevent failure becomes feasible. This empowers maintenance associates to react and quickly solve problems before they become costly and catastrophic. Interoperability between hardware and software, combined with seamless integrations of third-party applications, has never been more critical.

Operators fully invested in minimizing the environmental impact of their communities can take a critical first step by implementing smart home software to connect smart devices and centralize device management. Connected communities not only create operational efficiencies, they enhance energy savings and position operators to reach their ESG objectives.