Aug. 9, 2011: Lack of Data Inhibits New Strategies to Reduce Energy Costs in Multifamily Housing
NEW YORK — Living Cities, a philanthropic collaborative of 22 of the world’s largest foundations and financial institutions, announced the release of a study analyzing whole building utility usage databases for the nation’s multifamily housing stock. The report, Multifamily Utility Usage Data: Issues and Opportunities, surveys databases operated by federal, private, and mission-oriented organizations and estimates that these databases capture only 2-3 percent of all of the multifamily units nationwide. According to Living Cities, the lack of large and robust data sets, a common data taxonomy, and accepted industry standards for data collection inhibits meaningful benchmarking of multifamily properties, the identification of appropriate energy conservation measures, and the development of large scale retrofit financing programs.
The study was conducted by Recap Real Estate Advisors, a provider of financial and advisory services for multifamily rental housing, with funding support from Living Cities and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.