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Case study · Eniscope
Florida retirement community saves $120,000 in year one
Rising energy costs were being passed straight to residents on fixed incomes. Measuring first, then fixing, turned that around within a year.
- Kings Point (Vesta Property Services)
- Residential communities
- Delray Beach, Florida, USA
$120,000
cash saving in the first year
- $120,000
- cash saving in year one
- 35%
- reduction in annual energy spend
- 13,000+
- residents in the Kings Point community
- 2 years
- payback, down from an estimated four
Brief overview
Energy increases were landing on fixed retirement incomes
The residents' association at Kings Point had the thankless task of monitoring increasing energy costs across a retirement community housing more than 13,000 residents in Delray Beach, Florida. Vesta Property Services, responsible for the site's daily operations, had been forced to pass those increasing costs on to residents as part of a standard monthly assessment fee.
With year-on-year increases of between 10 and 15%, energy costs presented a serious issue for retired residents who had to pay any increases out of fixed retirement incomes.
The Kings Point team were no strangers to energy-saving initiatives. They had already been burnt by an expensive solar system fitted to an outside pool, which delivered negligible savings and a 15 to 20 year payback. It was one of many initiatives that had promised a lot and delivered little.
A transparent, proven approach
Put the committee in the driving seat
The EnergyMaps formula gave the Kings Point association a way to take charge of rising energy costs: a transparent, proven approach to energy monitoring and efficiency.
No longer would the management team need to accept the exaggerated claims of well-versed salespeople. They would be in the driving seat, and the energy savings would be there for all to see.
“EnergyMaps gives a clear and easy to follow process that everyone can understand. Investing in alternative energy is expensive; identifying wasteful practices and inefficient equipment results in far less investment and more money in our customers' pocket from day one.”
The planning
You can't control what you can't measure
Following a comprehensive initial site survey, Eco Energy installed the Eniscope real-time energy management solution at one of the main energy hotspots identified: the large clubhouse where much of the residents' day-to-day activity took place. The Eniscope let the team monitor activity and usage patterns and prepare a full commercial energy audit, with savings suggestions, from the collected data.
Before installation, Dave walked the committee through the methodology: control, reduce and ultimately eliminate their energy costs. His agreement with the client stated that should a 25% saving be possible, they would act on his suggestions. When the audit came back, the potential for savings was clear for everybody to see.
The strategy
Four fixes, chosen from the data
Aircosense. Intelligent air-conditioning control for the community's shared spaces.
Chilled Unit Energy Savers (CUES). Refrigeration controls that cut compressor run-time without affecting temperatures.
Variable frequency drives on pool motors. VFDs fitted to pool motors across the site, matching pump speed to actual demand.
The decision
Passed 15 votes to 1, and paid back in two years
Due to the complexity of the site, a four-year payback was proposed. That was outside the two-year target Eco Energy usually works within, but far better than the 15 to 20 years Kings Point had been offered before. Without the full site survey, the Eniscope data and a clear understanding of their energy costs, it would have been impossible to identify the key areas of consumption, demonstrate the savings and provide a payback period.
Dave and his team presented the solution at the next meeting of the energy committee. Viewing the Eniscope historical data for themselves, the committee voted the package through by 15 votes to 1, with the single dissenter only asking for longer to consider. The actual payback period has since fallen from the estimated four years to just two.
The results
Every resident has already seen a lower monthly fee
Just over 12 months on, Kings Point has benefited from an up to 35% reduction in its annual energy spend, a cash saving of $120,000 in year one. Every resident has already received the first reduction in their monthly assessment fees, keeping more of their budget for the nicer things in life.
Further opportunities to push the savings even further are now being investigated, as the management team explores extending the scheme to other areas of the site.
“We would absolutely recommend the BEST product to other companies. Vesta Property Services will continue to implement the products across the facilities we manage so that we can pass on the reductions to our residents.”
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