At a trade show for the Metro Multifamily Housing Association — a group he’s now president of — Knakal saw an Energy Trust of Oregon booth and learned how energy-efficient measures can increase property values and reduce operating expenses.

Knakal decided to put Energy Trust’s pitch to the test.

“A couple of properties I manage needed new windows anyway,” Knakal says. “It seemed obvious to buy efficient replacements and see what happened.”

Sold on efficiency
The results sold him on energy efficiency’s benefits for good. The project cost $133,700 and earned $64,000 in incentives and rebates. The annual savings were almost $27,000, making it profitable in less than three years. On top of that, individual tenants averaged monthly electricity savings of $35, allowing the owner to raise monthly rent without significantly increasing overall tenant expenses.

On newer buildings that won’t need window replacements anytime soon, Knakal looks to savings measures like low-flow showerheads and upgrading common-area lighting.

“With rebates and incentives, these projects pay for themselves surprisingly quickly, and then start making you money,” Knakal says. “Meantime, your buildings have better curb appeal and your tenants are happier.”

Spreading the word
Now he teaches others — from clients to fellow property managers — why energy-efficiency makes good business sense. He now speaks at free energy-efficiency seminars from PGE for multifamily property managers, showing properties that have undergone a retrofit and how quickly they provided a return.

“The green benefit is great, for sure, but property owners want to know how it’s going to affect their bottom line,” Knakal says. “Property managers really have to sell it to owners. If you understand the economics and return on investment of energy efficiency, it becomes a no-brainer.”