MGE recently completed phase two of a study of multifamily buildings in our service area to benchmark actual metered energy use. The first phase of the study was based on electricity and natural gas consumption and cost histories of 66 sites for the period September 2004 to September 2005. Phase two added 17 more sites and updated all 83 sites to rates in effect from April 2007 to March 2008.

Annual total electricity and gas costs (sorted by lowest to highest overall cost per square foot) [PDF - 19 KB]

Findings from 83 properties:

• Total energy costs per square foot of floor space per year varied greatly—from about 74 cents to $2.13 per square foot.
• Heating costs varied from 12 cents to 75 cents per square foot. There is great potential for improvement, especially in newly designed buildings.

When comparing one HVAC class to another, it may be prudent to look at a few of the best buildings in each HVAC class and the decade built.

Note: Site #7 heating costs look low, but total energy cost is high. This was due to owners using commercial ovens to heat much of the building. This fact was not considered in the chart.

For more information

E-mail Mark Faultersack at MGE.

	Annual energy costs by site (sorted by heating-system type, decade of construction and number of stories) [PDF - 23 KB]
	Weather-normalized estimated annual space-heating costs by site (sorted by heating-system type, decade of construction and number of stories) [PDF - 21 KB]
	Weather-normalized estimated annual space-cooling costs by site (sorted by cooling-system type, decade of construction and number of stories) [PDF - 20 KB]
	Weather-normalized estimated annual space-heating and -cooling costs (combined) by site (sorted by heating-system type, decade of construction and number of stories) [PDF - 23 KB]

For more information
Energy use in multifamily buildings archive - Phase one only