New Georgia Apartment Property Enables Residents to Control Energy Usage Remotely

St. Mary’s, Ga.–A new 196-unit apartment complex in St. Mary’s, Ga. will allow management and residents to control and monitor energy usage in the units, enabled by WiFi technology.

Brant Creek Apartments, scheduled to open in June, will feature technology, developed by California-based energy solutions company Our Home Spaces and the Radio Thermostat Company of America, that will make it possible to remotely control the residences’ thermostats, and the plans are to add technology that will allow remote control of water heaters, lights, and security systems, either online or through cell phones.

For example, Brant Creek Apartments’ management team will use the remote energy management system to monitor and control energy usage in unoccupied apartments, helping to avoid unnecessary energy consumption and equipment use. If a maintenance worker adjusts the temperature while working in an unoccupied apartment, the management team can remotely check the settings and adjust if necessary after work is done.

Leaving air conditioning on unnecessarily in an unoccupied unit can be very expensive, says Brant Creek Apartments’ managing member Tom Purdie. “It could add up to $15,000 to $20,000 a year in a 200-unit complex, depending on how often apartments turn over,” he says.

There are significant advantages for the residents with this system, Purdie says. A resident can turn on the apartment’s air conditioning while still at work, so the apartment will be cooled off when the tenant comes home.

Offering this technology will help tenants save energy, in addition to another important benefit, Purdie says

“It means you are going to have happy tenants, and happy tenants are going to stay with you longer,” he says. “That’s going to result in a better bottom line.”

Brant Creek Apartments will feature one, two and three-bedroom units. The apartments will have washer and dryer connections, nine-foot ceilings, six-panel doors, and modern kitchens. All residences will be equipped with the latest technology from DIRECTV. Community amenities include a swimming pool, and a clubhouse with fully equipped kitchen, theater room, and free wireless Internet access at the clubhouse and pool.

The community is located near downtown St. Mary’s, near the Kings Bay Naval Station.