Better Businesses Through Better Buildings
Empowered Energy Solutions Unlocks Profits Using Energy Efficiency
Jan 27, 2010 12:45 PM ET
(3BLMedia/theCSRfeed) Jan 27, 2010 - Recovery or not the economy remains slow, casting a long shadow on commercial properties and those who manage them. JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon says commercial real estate is “a train wreck” (Marketwatch Jan 11 2010), with property values down 44% since they peaked in 2007 and large numbers of buildings sitting vacant. What’s a building owner to do? One answer is improving the energy efficiency of buildings and their environmental performance to build value and profits. There’s a right way and a wrong way to do this though. To overcome the hurdles that often keep people from making energy efficiency happen, Empowered Energy Solutions Inc. (EESI) has developed an innovative, financially-driven approach to renovating commercial buildings to be not just greener, but better for business.
Millions of buildings across the US are not as energy efficient as they could be, wasting billions of dollars on inefficient heating, cooling, and lighting. Saving energy is good for the environment of course but it’s also good for business. Every thousand dollars that flies out the window or through the roof is a thousand dollars that could have boosted your bottom line. Energy efficiency may not be the first thing most people think about in the morning, but it provides a real opportunity and low risk strategy for building owners and managers to reduce operating expenses and build value. “If you’re not investing in efficiency, then you’re throwing money away,” says Ted Torre-Bueno, President and VP of operations for Empowered Energy Solutions.
Most building owners agree that energy efficiency is the right thing to do but they often hesitate because they feel they don’t have the funds to invest in energy retrofits or don’t have retrofits prioritized in their budget. Utilities and governments across the US are providing a broad range of incentives for businesses and building owners to invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy, including loans, grants, tax credits and rebates. EESI also works with lenders to provide financing options that make retrofits profitable. “We’re really a financial services company that uses energy efficiency improvements as a means to unlock profits for our customers” says Torre-Bueno. “We’re not just dealing with buildings, but optimizing assets.”
Incentives like these make energy efficiency an important opportunity for small businesses as well, particularly those who own their own buildings or have long-term leases. Small and medium sized businesses have also had a rough time in the down economy and while things are looking up they need every opportunity they can get.
Although they’re not alone in seeing the importance of energy efficiency for commercial buildings, EESI is unique in their approach. From his years of experience as an energy auditor and contractor, Torre-Bueno has learned the right way to pursue energy efficiency in commercial buildings, considering the full range of options available such as more efficient lighting, weatherization, insulation, and water conservation measures, in addition to solar energy.
The money saved from energy projects really adds up. A business like a restaurant will typically have a monthly utility bill of approximately $4000 to $5000 dollars before energy efficiency work, and without an energy project the amount spent on energy will steadily increase as utility rates rise the expected 9% a year. With energy efficiency work and solar power installation, the amount of money spent buying energy will drop dramatically, particularly with the broad range of incentives and tax credits now available. Financing avoids the difficulty of spending cash upfront for the work. Projects like this are almost always cash positive when completed, with total savings for a typical project in San Diego over the first ten years projected to be over $200,000 and greater than $1.3 million savings over 20 years.
With so many options available, finding the best set of options for each building can be a challenge. In their next big step forward, EESI is developing a unique evolutionary software solution that explores the wide array of options and evolves toward an optimal solution with the greatest savings, considering the financial incentives, how each building responds, and projected energy savings.
As important as the environment is, the important thing for energy efficiency work to transform the millions of buildings where it is needed is that the solutions help the building owners and property managers who make it happen. Businesses like EESI who place the client’s interests first and produce solid financial results will see huge growth ahead as energy efficiency finally realizes its true potential.
Contact: Ted Torre-Bueno, President and VP Operations of Empowered Energy Solutions
858 345-1239
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