Building an Energy Management Legacy

Do you like to build? I do. And it’s a good thing, because this weekend I’m moving into an old Victorian home. How old? The year of construction is 1891.

Given the vintage of the home, I have every expectation that I’ll be building (or more accurately, rebuilding) for the next several years. But one of the reasons my wife and I chose this home is because it became obvious to us that the builders had been interested in leaving a legacy.

What about you? If you’re a facility manager, you’re working hard every day to keep costs down and maximize your buildings’ operational efficiency—but will you leave an energy management legacy?

Our home inspector probably told me half a dozen times during his walk-through, “This is a nice house!” The contractor who was doing some repointing of the foundation mortar actually deducted $35.00 from his bill because he couldn’t find enough seams to fill.

Added to this good news is the good feeling I get when I walk into the spacious foyer and look up the suspended staircase to the original wood trim ceiling. The floors don’t creak much, and those floor joists in the basement look like they won’t ever move (even though the house has settled a bit).

I don’t know who the builders were, but they were obviously interested in leaving a legacy. And because this matronly house is still standing strong and tall after all these years, I am grateful and appreciative of their craftsmanship and their efforts. They were obviously building to last!

Bart Astor, writing in Forbes Magazine, shares the merits associated with legacy, and reminds his readers of its ultimate value: It’s a way of extending yourself beyond your immediate presence. It’s as though you were still in the room (or in the conversation), years or even decades later. Does the idea of legacy appeal to you?

This month, Steve Heinz, Founder and CEO of EnergyCAP, Inc., and AEE’s former International Energy Engineer of the Year, will discuss How to Leave an Energy Management Legacy so what you have set in place continues after you’re gone. The webinar will be held January 22 at 4:00 PM, ET, and will be followed by Q&A.

This webinar has been recorded. Click the link below to access the recorded webinar.