Smart home technology is often thought of as a consumer purchase first, but recently, property managers have also begun looking to smart home tech to solve issues for their businesses, too. Specifically, property management companies are interested in enterprise solutions that enable them to control utilities and interior conditions for any number of properties from a single place.
Heating and Energy costs
Heating and air conditioning costs are two of the top concerns for property managers. When tenants or guests leave air conditioning units on after a property is vacated costs can skyrocket, let alone lead to frozen pipes in the winter that causes a whole other set of problems. The ability to reduce the energy consumption of heating and cooling even by a small percentage would have a significant impact on the overall energy bill of many properties.
Smart thermostats can be managed remotely and programmed with high/low setpoints that prevent residents from abusing the heating system. Smart valves combined with temperature and leak sensors can stop eventual property damage when configured by the smart home system to close the water when a leak is detected or simply run some residual heating just to prevent pipes burst in the first place.
Management costs
Properties need constant maintenance to remain usable and profitable even when a unit is vacant. A smart home platform allows property managers to track if your maintenance personnel has shown up at the property per their schedule and completed their work as billed. A notification is sent as soon as the maintenance personnel is of the property. This way your vacant unit is back on the market as soon as possible without losing hours or even days with the unit closed for maintenance.
Another way of cutting down on management costs is using a single app for energy, account management, and smart home control. This way, your residents can view and manage their utilities, pay their bills, and you as a property manager can even schedule the HVAC servicing, all from a single app. You can start simply by adding a basic control hub to your system, such as the Ezlo Energy Plughub, and extend your unit’s capabilities as needed, by adding cameras, thermostats, lights, and more.
Monitoring your unit’s energy consumption can help you or your residents set conservation goals to save money. Use the same app to personalize their experiences through scenes for everyday routines and special events. And even add another layer of security with 24/7 professional monitoring service
According to builderonline.com survey says that Millenials are willing to pay 20% more per month for smart home technology so make sure your properties are exactly what the markets expect from them. This will not only lower your exploitation costs but also make your units more desirable for future residents.
