Use your energy well!

Don't be a fool; use your energy better! The way your commercial real estate property uses energy is extremely important, especially in terms of office buildings. Efficient energy costs not only drive down costs for you, the owner, but it also alleviates the costs for your tenants. The price for energy is important for these “extended-stay guests”, so the lower you can keep it, the better, unless you plan on dealing with some new vacancies.

So, why is it really important to use energy efficiently? Well, for one, you are helping the environment. That's a good thing, right?

Also, according to Reit.com, “In the competition for tenants, a building's energy usage and overall efficiency can be a determining factor.” Ed Wilson, director with Constellation Energy (CEG), said that, “GSA leases requires that buildings be at a 75 percent rating (on Energy Star's (ESG) benchmarking scale) or above.”

We all know that GSA leases are a valuable asset, and if you are an office building owner you don't really want to lose that kind of tenant because you aren't using your energy well.

“Wilson said that while a great deal of attention has been put on renewable energy sources, he said the most likely scenario in the future will feature a wide-range of energy sources. “

“It is going to be renewables, nuclear generation, natural gas fire generation and other sources. But certainly renewables have a critical role,” he said.”

Going green is always an option, and with the cost of doing so constantly decreasing it is definitely a smart, and responsible, idea.

The most important thing for building owners at this point is to check out their energy efficiency. Losing tenants is not very awesome, but maybe you like losing money. Who knows? I sure don't.

If you are interested in checking out, or looking into, using energy more efficiently for your commercial real estate property you can check out the U.S. Green Building Council's website for some great information.

What do you think about energy efficiency?

Source article by Allen Kenney at Reit.com

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