Submetering can help motivate behavior change among tenants in order to reduce energy use. Tenants consume a great amount of energy in buildings. Submetering, together with tenant engagement strategies, can increase occupant awareness about energy-saving actions and contribute to savings for the whole building.
Submeters allow landlords to collect tenants’ energy use and provide data so they can monitor behavior in a transparent way. Energy display dashboards, emails, monthly reports, fliers, and web-based portals are used as methods to provide tenants information so they can be mindful about how they can save energy.
- Conservation-Minded Tenants Are Ready to Pay More
Conservation-minded tenants will often be ready to pay a bit more in rent fees or lease in smart buildings that use submetering, in exchange for being able to manage their own utility costs.
Besides receiving accurate energy bills, tenants are able to see their own part in real-time data for their space. This allows landlords to interact better with tenants and put together a unique offer, which gives them a competitive advantage.
- Equipment On/Off Time
With real-time energy data, tenants see how their behavioural changes can affect utility bills. Each sustainability effort they make will be visible in the energy consumption bill, to motivate them to make simple adjustments, like turning off heating or lights during off hours.
- Become a Corporate Responsibility Leader
Corporate responsibility is becoming a more important factor in every organization, so many companies, property managers, building owners, and tenants like to understand their effects on the planet. Submetering allows insight into when and how energy is consumed, allowing the decision-makers to find inefficiencies and take necessary action to curb waste.
- It Encourages Tenant Engagement
Submetering data also allows property managers and tenants to participate in energy efficiency and sustainability competitions. These competitions look at building electricity, gas, and water consumption compared to similar buildings in order to judge how sustainable the building is. This can attract great attention to the building and increase the value of the asset.
- Tenants Will Be Able to See Energy Data
If tenants can see real-time data showing their energy expenses, they can start to make changes in order to lower their bills, creating energy savings for the whole building. The most successful energy efficiency initiatives include collaboration between tenants and landlords. ENERGY STAR reports that tenant engagement is critical for achieving energy efficiency goals. When they see the exact data behind their energy use, they are motivated to make small changes, such as turning off lights, which contribute to energy savings.