Is it R-22 or R2D2 - That's what I want to know...

One of our Building Engineers is investing in his career by pursuing a certification from BOMA - Building Owners and Managers Association.  BOMA's educational offerings are made through Building Owners and Managers Institute, or BOMI.  After each class, we ask him to come share his learning with the rest of us, because, as I have mentioned, it our mission to Make Places Better.  

His most recent class was about energy efficiency.  I thought it was all going to be about the benefits of installing an energy management system, which I know is important, but which is also not always possible to do.  Instead, what I discovered was that many ways to improve efficiency have to do with basic maintenance and smarts about how to operate the property.  

Take air filter changes for example.  We are 99% there because we contract with a company who assesses and installs the right filter for the right unit for the right environment.  On top of that, however, changing the intake filters on all the HVAC compressors is something only our Building Engineers or HVAC service technicians know how to do, and it should be done at least annually.  

We also discussed how one of our Engineers manages to seriously minimize certain HVAC costs for his property, not by cutting needed maintenance or service, but by being a smart about how he buys supplies for his equipment.  As a group we decided to adapt his strategy at all our properties.  Don't hesitate to contact me if you'd like to hear more about what that is.

Insurance and Risk, two sides of ten coins

Since some of our properties are owned by partnerships we control, several years ago we huddled with our insurance agent and combined all of the insurance policies for those properties into a single "master policy" that renews annually on March 1.  A couple of years in we started offering our third party clients the opportunity to add their property or properties to the portfolio.  Working through the renewal process, though, is always an education in the arcania of insurance terminology.   Wind and hail deductibles, all other perils, terrorism, and "umbrella" liability, are all terms you seem to need a PhD to understand. This year we got the opportunity to learn about buying flood insurance when there's a property actually in a FEMA flood plain.  Fun stuff, I'm telling you.  We get that when you own a property, you have to understand these things. With our ability to cover a portfolio, we have perks we would never have with an individual policy, such as the ability to have--yet another arcane term--"blanket" coverage and the ability to cover vacant properties at reasonable costs.  This year we're celebrating the fact that our premium didn't go up over last year, which is under $.20 per square foot for most of our office properties.  Given that we live in tornado alley, that's an accomplishment, and worth the brain damage, maybe even worth that PhD.