From Interpretation to Direction – How to Track Energy Usage to Actually Reach Your Goals
Many real estate companies track their energy usage by comparing it to the same period last year, or by using relative consumption to benchmark between properties. These are absolutely relevant metrics – but there’s one problem:
They leave too much room for interpretation. And when the goal is to actually reach something, analysis isn’t enough – you need to be able to steer.
A familiar pattern: engagement varies
When we talk to our customers – energy managers, sustainability leads, and property operations – the same thing comes up again and again:
“We see properties that stand out. But it’s hard to know when to actually take action.”
The responsibility often falls on technical managers who are excellent generalists – but don’t always have the time or tools to determine what’s a real deviation, what’s expected, and what requires action.
A typical example:
A property showed a downward trend in energy usage compared to the previous year.
Good? Not necessarily.
Because it was still far above its long-term target – and would never reach its 2030 goal without intervention.
What’s needed isn’t more graphs.
What’s needed is direction based on a defined goal.
From analysis to goal tracking – here's what we recommend
Instead of just looking back or sideways, we suggest you:
Set a long-term target – e.g. reduce energy use by 10% by 2030
Break it down into an annual or monthly budget
Track performance monthly against that budget – just like you do with finances
This gives instant clarity:
Where are we on track?
Where are we falling behind?
Where should we act – and by how much?
You can still use trends and comparisons – but now as context, not direction.
You don’t have to be the smartest person in the room
When you build your own solution in Power BI or Excel, you’re often the only one in the room – you have to define the KPIs, decide what’s “good,” and determine what’s a deviation.
With Homepal, we’ve brought together the strength of 32 real estate companies working on the same challenges. That means:
Every KPI is developed together with the industry
Every improvement is based on real-world needs
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel – someone else has already tested it
We’re not just building a system.
We’re building a way of working with energy that is shared, refined, and future-proof.
Three new KPIs to support your energy work
To help you manage energy through clear goals and budgets, we’ve released three new KPIs:
Together, they make it easy to plan, track, and take action – before things go off course.
Curious what this looks like in practice?
We’d love to show you how our customers are tracking goals, spotting deviations, and driving real change – with numbers that actually mean something.
