Five Questions to Ask Yourself Before Investing in Building Energy Improvements

Photo: USNEWS.com

This article is for Building Owners, Managers and Investors who want to reduce their gas and electric utility bills, without negatively affecting tenant satisfaction. Saving energy and reducing utility costs should start and end with dollar signs. 

We recommend that you wait to hear about the details with the technical solutions until the dollar savings are estimated, agreed on and a decision making plan is developed. We have seen many costly engineering studies sitting on shelves gathering dust because the consultants did not ask the right questions in the beginning.

We suggest you ask yourselves these five questions before listening to anyone making a pitch for your energy conservation dollars.



Number One: 
Since energy saving strategies cost money, how much am I willing to spend?



Number Two: 
How much will the return on investment be? And show me a projected cash flow proforma.

Number 

Number Three: 
Is a utility cost reduction and energy conservation project at the top of my list of priorities?



Number Four: 
Do I trust who the person trying to sell me this project?



Number Five: 
How many buildings have you done this for in the past?

You shouldn’t have to pay a large sum of money, upfront, to size up a building energy conservation opportunity.

 f your vendor or contractor or consultant can’t lay out the potential savings and income stream, upfront, don’t do business with them.



Developed by Building Success, LLC, a different kind of Energy Services Consultant, whose mission is to help buildings perform the best they can with what’s installed and the staff they already have at the most economical costs possible. We can be found at www.bldgsuccess.com.motc

Via International Facilities Management Association on LinkedIn

Ted Tuesday: The Power of Human Energy

“Passionate, positive human energy can provide a counterbalance to the disruptive negative forces of an age of unprecedented change. Through it comes confidence, inspiration and the power to transform things for the better.”

Good Morning Folks,

My greatest challenge and I'm sure it's the same for many leaders today, is to continue to rapidly evolve FSO to keep pace with as fast as the consumer and technology are changing. Regardless of this market dynamic, one thing has stayed the same.

Today Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts talks about the positive and transformative power of human energy. Burberry’s CEO turned an aging British icon into a global luxury brand. Accordingly, American-born, Angela Ahrendts, is the highest paid CEO in Britain and one of the richest and smartest women in the business of fashion. (Angela Ahrendts, from Indiana, took home a total pay package of £16.9m, putting her top of the executive pay league in the UK)

I'm ecstatic to see a corporate CEO standing in front of millions with this message. A message rooted in truth, and so desperately needed in corporate business. A huge call out and thank you. We should all recognize the courage it took for her as a CEO to pave the way for necessary change in business today.

The Power of Human Energy
We are all at an incredible inflection point today - living and working in fast-moving, digitally-driven and globally connected societies where change is constant and we must thrive in ambiguity.

In many ways, digital must be this generation's greatest gift. There has never been more creative freedom and potential, or more opportunity to connect and learn.

But the pace of change also presents challenges: feelings of fear, distrust and uncertainty are pervasive. So, how can we respond?

The answer might be surprisingly simple. A powerful force we’re all born with – Energy.

Not oil, natural gas, wind or solar. Not ways to conserve or sustain. But the transformative potential of the energy each and every one of us is born with and take in and emit like the air we breathe. Think of it as ‘emotional electricity’ that powers and connects people, and their collective spirit, to achieve extraordinary things.

Passionate, positive human energy can provide a counterbalance to the disruptive negative forces of an age of unprecedented change. Through it comes confidence, inspiration and the power to transform things for the better.

This concept of energy is at the heart of our culture at Burberry and comes from a deep core of shared values, based on:

==> Trust 
The basis for all human relationships and where we derive our greatest strength and power. Trust is single-handedly the most powerful source of positive energy and once in place, unlocks a freedom and peace to explore.

==> Intuition
Usually more right than wrong, intuition is the wisdom formed by feeling and instincts – a gift of knowing without reasoning. Intuition teaches us to use our natural inclinations to protect the possibilities rather than simply accepting the probabilities.

==> Belief
Ignited by hope and supported by facts and evidence, belief builds alignment and creates confidence. Belief is what sets energy in motion, and creates the success that breeds more success.

This  brief 13-minute TED talk reflects on why passionate people need energy to blow the negativity out and draw happiness in, what makes it work, how it can be communicated and where it takes us. I hope its lessons are timeless and universal.

Have a GREAT day,

Love One Another As I Love You,

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer  

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"People will forget what you did, they will forget what you said, 

but they will never forget the way you made them feel”. 

~~ Maya Angelou

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