The “science” of being an effective Residential Property Manager changes with the times and the priorities that our society establishes.
Today’s homeowners and home-renters are motivated to save energy and be “earth friendly.” That is why the “Green” revolution has become so popular.
Whether it’s about conserving energy, recycling, saving money or feeling good about our environment, people of all ages are motivated. They like to know that they live and work in buildings that are healthy as well as economical.
So it came as no surprise when I saw an apartment building which had several vacancies with a big sign that read “We Help You Conserve Energy, Save Money and Go Green”. I called the property manager to find out what this was all about. It turns out that when residents move in they receive a supply of energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs. Included is a box of floodlights (the size that replaces 120-watt lights) that only use 23 watts of energy. This is a great way to make a resident’s move-in day extra special.
The manager told me (and I’ve since confirmed) that four of these 23 watt bulbs will save the resident around $465 over the life of the bulbs versus the 120 watt bulbs. In fact over the lifetime of the four bulbs in the package, the user will save 3,880kWh of electricity, which is enough energy to light the average home for approximately two years.
On the box of bulbs given to each resident it reads: Help the environment by reducing greenhouse gases. By using these lights you’ll be saving over 2,930 pound of coal from being burned or preventing over 6,270 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. The greenhouse gases saved using the bulbs in this package are the equivalent to planting over 65 trees. This makes residents feel good knowing they are helping to do their part while they save money in energy and the cost of bulbs.
The property owner also is willing to replace these bulbs (which have an average life of 10,000 hours) at no cost to the resident. They buy the bulbs at Costco and the local utility company gives them a rebate on every box they buy. Everyone comes out ahead.
Anything that gives residents a sense of pride about where they live and saves them money is a real plus and a good way to retain them.
Article Content Originally Posted by: Courtenay, Marc. (Oct.2009). “Green Incentives For Residential Property Managers.” Best Of, Green. Retrieved 31, Aug. 2016 from: http://www.propertymanager.com/2009/10/more-green-incentives-residential-property-managers-part2/
