OBJECTIVES
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Improve margins by reducing energy spend
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Find hidden causes of energy problems
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Maintain good tenant relations
SOLUTION
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USE Manager adaptive energy management
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USE Enterprise analytics
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USE Alliance services
RESULT
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Significant energy consumption reductions
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Sources of excess consumption revealed
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Maintenance issues addressed cost effectively
Newmark Grubb Knight Frank (Newmark) is one of the world’s leading commercial real estate advisory firms. The company also owns many buildings in New York, where James Coffey is senior vice president of building operations.
“At Newmark we are always looking for ways to improve returns,” said Coffey. “Energy consumption is something we identified long ago for special management attention because it’s such a big part of operating expense.”
The ‘No Improvement’ Payback
Initially, Newmark installed USE Manager in five buildings. Four of them showed immediate energy savings, but the fifth building had no improvement.
“That building proved the value-add that USE Alliance delivers,” said Coffey. “We had a balancing problem where one side of the building was too hot while the other was too cold. No matter what we did, someone was unhappy.”
“US Energy’s team analyzed the data and worked with our maintenance people, who discovered that a clogged riser was causing the problem. We were unable to trace this problem until we brought in US Energy Group.”
“After repairs, this building realized energy performance improvements comparable to the others. We’ve now rolled out USE Manager to 27 buildings.”
Partnering for Energy Outcomes
USE Manager monitors energy data 24x7 and uploads it to the Energy Data Cloud. USE Manager’s analytics highlight long-term trends and enable out-of-pattern energy behavior to be spotted. USE Energy experts proactively review energy performance and operate as an extension of the Newmark management team.
Newmark managers get instant alerts when real time data reveals something that needs immediate attention, and they also receive in-depth analyses for improving returns and reducing risk.
“US Energy has made a huge positive difference,” said Coffey. “They provide us with the specialized energy expertise we don’t have. They always have eyes on a major expense – something our people can’t do because they have other responsibilities. We can certainly recommend US Energy Group to other building owners.”
The Power of Analytics
“We were certain that our energy spend could be reduced, but we didn’t have the expertise, time, or tools to analyze all of the data across our entire building portfolio. That’s where US Energy Group made a big difference.”
USE Manager delivers a portfolio wide view of detailed energy performance data. Issues to address and opportunities to improve are revealed – even when tenants are not complaining about building comfort.
“Without the right analytics, you can be wasting energy and not know it,” said Jeffrey Wyckoff, project analyst at Newmark. “With USE Manager, we see what is really going on. We not only maintain excellent building comfort, we eliminate hidden waste and preempt unexpected equipment expenses.”
Newmark also takes advantage of USE Manager’s services option, USE Alliance, in which US Energy experts work with building managers to continuously optimize energy performance.