Now more than ever, smart technology in multi-family properties is becoming a need more than an added bonus. Upgrading systems to create “smart homes” is not only eco-friendly but also important to residents. In a recent study, over 60% of respondents were interested in living in an energy-efficient or green building and willing to pay more to do so. While making your property more sustainable and eco-friendly may sound like a daunting task, implementing a series of small changes quickly and larger investments over time will improve the community’s marketability and, ultimately, resident retention.
Read on to find ways to integrate smart technology into your property or properties and how these sustainable improvements will help you go green and save green, too.
Multi-Family Smart Technology
Smart home technology or IoT devices allow multi-family property managers to have complete visibility and control over energy costs property-wide when paired with a unifying technology, like BeHome247’s residential operations platform. Further, enterprise smart technology delivers both marketability and monetization by selling smart technology access packages on leases and offering pay-per-use access to amenities like EV charging stations.
Which smart technology is right for your multi-family property or properties?
Smart Thermostats
A thermostat might seem to be a basic feature of any residential living space, but it can have a big impact on energy bills. Almost half of the monthly energy costs incurred by each resident are controlled by thermostats.
Smart thermostats throughout common areas and within resident units offer a unique opportunity to save on energy costs for everyone involved. Property managers can control the temperature of unoccupied units and vacant common spaces, and offer residents the ability to control their personal energy costs by accessing the smart thermostat in their unit—directly and by way of their Resident Connect app.
Smart Locks
Security and safety for residents, as well as all-around convenience, make keyless entry via smart locks a sensible upgrade. One of the biggest benefits of having a property-wide smart lock system is the ability to track who is entering and leaving the property at any moment, and allow residents to lock and unlock their individual unit on-the-go.
With BeHome247, monitor access throughout the community by assigning maintenance vendors, self-guided tourers, and others with unique, timebound keycodes. When smart locks are installed on every exterior door, the property will be as secure as possible, and each door can be monitored and tracked separately.
Self-Guided Tours
Many times, aspects of smart technology go hand-in-hand with one another. In self-guided tours, smart locks make properties easily accessible while remaining secure with one-time access codes. Once a self-guided tour is scheduled, smart thermostats can be set to heat/cool to a comfortable temperature. Control settings property-wide with BeHome247 and schedule units to reach ambient temperatures prior to self-guided tours.
Multi-family property managers can take advantage of self-guided tours and use that time to focus on other tasks. When smart technology is installed, it makes these tours a breeze. Flexibility is also increased, with tours offered at times later in the evening or on the weekends. Self-guided tours are a comfortable, stress-free experience for all parties involved.
EV Charging Stations
Adding electric vehicle (EV) charging stations to properties is not only an eco-friendly upgrade but one that will differentiate your listing from nearby ones. Once the EV charging hardware is installed, multi-family property managers can offer this as a free amenity or charge a per-use fee.
Electric vehicles are becoming more and more popular, and 80% of charging happens at home. By offering EV charging stations, prospective residents of multi-family properties who own or lease electric vehicles see this as a property requirement; not a novelty feature. As EV adoption continues to grow, the need for at-home charging stations will only become higher. Get ahead of the curve to take full advantage of the positive environmental impact EVs bring.
Smart Lights
Smart lights are one of the easiest sustainable improvements to make. Smart lights use CFL or LED bulbs instead of incandescent bulbs and can reduce the amount of electricity needed to light a room. A smart bulb uses 70 to 90 percent less energy than a traditional one.
Simply switching out current lightbulbs with wifi or Bluetooth-connected smart lights and connecting them to an included hub is all it takes. Smart lights can be further connected to BeHome247 to control lights remotely and offer control to residents via their Resident Connect app.
Sustainability Improvements for Multi-Family Communities
Smart technology not only makes multi-family properties more marketable, but each piece of smart technology can work together to offer both a best-in-class resident experience and allow property managers to receive significant energy savings.
Having a smart lock system means peace of mind for every resident, and once they walk in the door, a temperature set by a smart thermostat and rooms brightened are small touches that create convenience and comfort. Integrating smart technology and taking steps to go green are not only cost-saving and increase efficiency, but they also provide security and peace of mind for residents and multi-family property managers alike.
Once these smaller sustainable improvements are complete, consider exploring larger projects, such as investing in energy-efficient appliances or switching over to solar energy with solar panels and solar water heaters. If you’re interested in seeing even more ways to increase energy efficiency, check out our article on Energy Efficiency Management for Multi-Family Rentals.
Contact us to schedule a demo and see how BeHome247 can integrate all the sustainable improvements made to your property.
