It’s no secret that energy costs have been consistently rising across the globe, which is impacting virtually every sector of the economy. A recent article by World Bank reports that energy prices are now expected to increase by an average of 50% this year. The same article states that relative to January 2022 projections, the prices of energy commodities are now expected to be 46% higher on average in 2023.

In the U.S. today, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, California, and New York are some of the states that face the highest utility prices.

This rise in energy costs has of course resulted in significantly increased utility bills, which has drastically impacted those multifamily and student housing properties that serve as all-bills-paid communities.

One of the most effective ways for property owners and operators to combat this problem is to monitor and control energy consumption throughout properties, ensuring that HVAC units are performing as efficiently as possible in vacant units, occupied units, and common areas. Not only will this prevent energy from being unnecessarily wasted, it will extend the life of HVACs and reduce the need for maintenance or repair – which provides another effective way for properties to reduce their costs outside of energy bills.

TrustHab is a proven energy management solution that leverages smart thermostats to deliver onsite teams with the actionable data they need to be able to remotely identify cost saving opportunities throughout their properties, specifically inefficiently performing HVAC units that are eating up energy and causing an unnecessary rise in costs. Properties typically rely on routine maintenance inspections to catch any HVACs that may be in need of servicing, but TrustHab does the work for you – entirely remotely.

In addition to collecting and analyzing this HVAC-related data, our solution also features a powerful real-time alerting system and the ability for teams to define thermostat set point limits to ensure that the temperature doesn’t fall too low or rise too high – either of which could result in anything from mold growth to frozen coils. In the event that a potential problem is detected with the thermostat or the HVAC unit, an alert is immediately sent to the appropriate personnel (whether that be the maintenance team or property manager) to notify them that something needs addressing. In most cases, the problem is able to be caught and rectified before the resident is even aware one has occurred.

With so many contractors completing work in vacant units and drastically lowering the temperature on the thermostat while doing so, it’s also important for teams to be able to ensure the thermostat temperature has been set back to normal when the contractor has finished. Many of our partners have reported that some of the biggest causes of their HVAC units needing repair have occurred as a result of the thermostat being turned all the way down, leaving the HVAC unit blowing cool air to a vacant unit, undetected, for an extended period of time.

We have a multitude of use cases available that demonstrate the success of our energy management solution. One of our partners even saw a 45% reduction in HVAC runtime after deployment.

As well as energy management, TrustHab also features solutions for Humidity Mitigation, Leak Detection, and Access Control. If you’re interested in learning more about what we can offer your property that will empower you to reduce costs and increase NOI, reach out to us today – we’d be happy to give you a tour of the platform.