Balfour Beatty Capital has said that its subsidiaries Balfour Beatty Communities (BBC), and Balfour Beatty Energy Solutions (BB Energy) are collaborating on a joint energy technology and behavior change pilot project committed to conserving energy and reducing costs for military base residents.
The pilot Resident Energy Technology Program will be implemented at Travis Air Force Base in California, which is part of BBC’s AMC West military housing privatization project, and will focus on energy conservation and cost savings for residents through the implementation of smart in-home energy monitoring devices and behavior change coaching techniques.
BB Energy will provide this pilot program, named ‘INergY: the Change is In You’, to the military housing project and will be assisted by third-party energy management companies Ennovationz and EnergyHub, in providing the technology and related resident communication services.
The company said that many residents in privatized military housing are consuming energy at approximately 35% above the expected consumption for their house type. This could translate into greater expenses for all of US service members and their families once military housing residents begin paying for individual energy use without the knowledge of techniques to conserve gas and electric.
The objective of the Resident Energy Technology Program is to provide both technologically advanced tools and customized coaching from energy experts to help military residents lower their energy consumption and therefore minimize the total cost of their energy use.
The study will utilize a variety of elements and procedures to achieve this goal, including energy monitors, prizes and rewards, energy saving technologies and energy audits, and coaching sessions, the company said.
Tabitha Crawford, division president of BB Energy, said: ”Our team of experts has chosen Travis AFB as the pilot site for this important, first of its kind study for a variety of reasons, one of which is that Travis AFB residents are at a significantly higher risk for facing considerable price increases once the partnership changes its energy purchasing practices.
”In this pilot program, we will work with residents to identify specific behaviors that cause high energy use, and help change these behaviors with a combination of providing real-time access to consumption information via smart in-home devices and coaching residents using specific feedback.”