Renting an apartment can seem like a compact, environmentally-efficient way of living, but when it comes to energy use, that’s not always the case. University of California, Berkeley economists Lucas Davis and David Levine recently found that renters are significantly less likely than homeowners to report having efficient Energy Star appliances.

What’s going on here? Davis and Levine think it’s the so-called “landlord-tenant problem.” […]

In the previous issue, I suggested targeting communities in your portfolio that use the most electricity, natural gas, and water, on a per-unit basis.

Following this strategy, you might now be looking at a short list of target properties, and wondering what to do with them. The answers may not be as easy as you would think. Sometimes, findings are quick […]

The U.S. electricity industry is struggling to figure out how to finance smart grid investments, a survey by the engineering firm Black & Veatch finds.

Investment in the so-called smart grid—where communications and computer technology more tightly tie and manage energy from the power plant to the home—aren’t easily captured in the rate structures most investor-owned utilities rely upon.

B&V surveyed […]

When they flick off light switches or ease off the gas pedal, many Americans feel they are doing their part to save energy. But the authors of a new survey say that consumers consistently ignore larger changes—more efficient appliances or vehicles, or the level of insulation in their apartment—that would cut fuel consumption far more dramatically.

The research from Columbia University is […]

New research suggests that fewer buy energy-efficient light bulbs when they’re labeled as being good for the environment, largely because the issue of carbon emission reductions is so politically polarizing in the U.S.

“I think we’ve shown the negative consequences of environmental messaging,” explained Dena Gromet, of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, lead author of a study. […]

What’s up with natural gas prices? Anyone who reads or watches TV probably knows about hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. But this is not about fracking.

It is, however, about its benefits. Top on the list: an abundant supply of clean-burning natural gas. If you are a consumer of natural gas, either for home or business, when did you last check the […]

Many multifamily owners and managers’ billing programs are on perpetual autopilot. If their efficacy were a billing cycle, it might be in the 90-day column.

When was the last time your property or regional managers sat down with your billing companies to look for new revenue opportunities? It’s a shared responsibility since no reputable billing company would make changes to your program […]

I’m first. I’m first. That’s my nanny-nanny- boo-boo prophetic warning to all y’all outside California. And, yes, you might want to throw my Birkenstocks and granola in the trash, but you best take a better look at what you are putting in that dumpster. Trust me; this is not some Charlie Sheen style “winning.”

I took the first recycling bullet with California’s […]

Natural gas is a hot topic these days, pardon the pun. We can’t seem to get enough of the conversation, from fracking, to cold winter pricing, and now, increasing our export of the stuff to Europe and Asia.

Twenty-one percent of U.S. natural gas supply heats the air and water of apartment dwellers, among others, and another 30 percent is used […]