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Every six to eight weeks, Performance Engineering Group puts out a newsletter in electronic and mail format with interesting up-to-date information on key topics, such as the impact of rising natural gas prices, impact of carbon monoxide, new technology, helpful hints and tips.  If you would like to receive a newsletter, please click on button below.

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April 4, 2005

About Performance Engineering Group

Property owners and managers throughout North America contact Performance Engineering Group for their hot water and heating solution needs. Generally, they are frustrated with trying to balance aging and inefficient equipment against rising utility costs, or wish to provide a more comfortable environment for their tenants. The programs and solutions we've developed over the last 25 years help them achieve their operational, budgetary and energy savings objectives. If inefficient property performance is a concern for you, might it make sense for us to talk?

Natural Gas Prices Soar: Is a Heating Cost Meltdown on Your Horizon?

A March 10, 2005 report issued by the Energy Information Administration¹ - a statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Energy - showed spot prices for natural gas climbing 17 to 76 cents per MMBtu between March 2 and March 9. Prices in the Northeast were at the highest end of the range, partially sparked by below-normal temperatures in major gas-consuming areas of the Northeast and Midwest. Crude oil traded at near-record highs on the West Texas Intermediate (WTI), rising $1.75 per barrel for the week, and closing at $54.75 per barrel or $9.44 per MMBtu.

The rising costs are ominous for the multi-unit building owner, who might easily see a financial meltdown on the horizon if something isn't done to curb rising costs, but there are steps you can take to make your buildings as energy-efficient as possible.

Start by looking at the age of your boiler systems. The "low mass" systems engineered in the last two decades have sophisticated electronic controls which provide increased efficiency, higher reliability and greater comfort in the heated space. Generally speaking, if your system is more than 15 years old you are losing money every time it clicks on and off, and it may be more cost effective to replace the entire system than to do repairs.

How Much Might You Save?

One large property management company in Southeast MI whose utility costs were soaring took advantage of the Performance Engineering Group eVALUation program, and subsequently implemented a planned replacement program for all of their properties.

During the summer of 2003, Performance Engineering Group facilitated the replacement of more than two-dozen thirty-year-old boilers. Each system was carefully analyzed and scheduled for replacement based on age, efficiency, and "rightsizing." The year-end energy reduction for the properties averaged 45%.

A planned boiler replacement program allows for redundancy - installing two smaller boilers in place of one larger, older system - which saves energy, money and time in that if one boiler fails, tenants will still have heat in their apartments from the second boiler, and management will eliminate the cost of having to provide hotel accommodations while the faulty boiler is replaced.