Utilities and benchmarking

Utilities are one of the few expense lines that continuously reports on the building's health. Track usage (kWh, CCF, therms) separately from cost — rates change for reasons that have nothing to do with the building. Compare each month against the same month last year, not last month: irrigation and heating make month-over-month noise that seasonality-aware comparison removes.

Set an anomaly threshold (say 30% above the seasonal baseline) and investigate rises with no occupancy explanation: running fixtures, failed irrigation valves, stuck heating stages, or metering errors. A leak found on the bill is a leak found late — but it is still weeks earlier than waiting for a puddle.

Benchmark intensity (kWh/SF, CCF/SF) across the portfolio and against published medians for the property type. Outliers fund the retrofit conversation: LED lighting, controls, schedule fixes — often the highest-return capital in the building.