In 2013, Balfour Beatty Communities, in partnership with WattzOn Inc., launched the Smart Meter Resident Energy Savings Program, an innovative behavior change program reaching 5,000 new and existing homes across 11 Southeast Navy communities. The program helped residents change their energy habits via personalized notifications while offering incentives for achieving community-wide goals.

The program utilized existing smart-meter technology to analyze residents' habits over time and sent real-time "push" notifications in the form of text messages, emails or social media posts to offer personalized tips for reduction strategies, such as turning off electronics or unplugging devices not in use.

By focusing on specific habits, rather than general savings tips, the communities significantly increased behavior change and the opportunity for savings.

When the year-long program was initially launched, it was supported in part through a matching Department of Energy Smart Meter grant. During the Smart Meter Resident Energy Savings Program pilot in 2013, 39 percent of residents opted into the program resulting in monthly average energy savings of 15 percent, or $20 per home, and reported high satisfaction survey results-all without energy upgrades to the homes.

Balfour Beatty Communities President Chris Williams says, "We are committed to managing communities that maximize resident value. We continuously search for innovative business models that empower residents and save energy."

WattzOn Co-Founder and CEO Martha Amram adds, "WattzOn has proven that when families are provided actionable energy tips, personalized through the use of smart meter data, they can really save."

As the pilot year drew to a close, Balfour Beatty Communities decided to stop offering the program for two key reasons: Onsite staff shouldered the responsibility of fielding resident questions and the service charge per month was not within the company's ongoing operational expense budget.

To address those barriers, WattzOn has implemented two program changes for 2015-creating a historic first for multifamily housing properties.

WattzOn recently created a partnership with third-party billing provider Minol to serve as the front-line service team and program interface at the local site.

This eliminates the time burden on property management staff, but remains a high-touch resident solution.

Experimenting with Negawatts

WattzOn is also working with Tabitha Crawford, SVP Innovation for Balfour Beatty Communities, to create and introduce a new financial model using "Negawatts."

Negawatts allow companies or communities to purchase energy savings, much like a Power Purchase Agreement. 

The community then receives guaranteed savings for every Negawatt purchased, so there are no separate service charges at risk. If savings are not achieved, the company or community is reimbursed-assuring there is no negative impact to community budgets.

"This proven, risk-free economic model is the first of its kind and is versatile enough to be implemented at any multifamily property," states WattzOn CEO Martha Amram. 

"The newly revised program characteristics also demonstrate the added value in a rental environment in addition to resident behavior change. As part of the program, local property management teams have the option to receive detailed monthly reports from WattzOn, identify high consumption homes and units as well as other tools that help teams identify and repair meter issues, HVAC and system problems."

According to a 2013 Strata Research study, 77 percent of respondents noted that green apartments were important. Offering free energy-saving incentives for current and potential residents can be the single greatest competitive advantage for a multifamily property looking to differentiate itself from the competition.

"Thanks to the innovative risk-free business model, Balfour Beatty Communities plans to begin a pilot program at our family housing community at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. We are excited about the potential savings a program like this could bring across our portfolio of 45,000 homes in the United States," says Williams. 

—Hayley King Schulist, LEED BD+C, CGP Sustainability Coordinator, Balfour Beatty Investments