Originally built in 1961 as a golf course facility in Vancouver, Washington, Club Green Meadows has grown significantly over the years. What began as a modest clubhouse is now a local destination featuring tennis and pickleball courts, as well as a dedicated event hall.
These additions have created more opportunities for members, but they’ve also made managing energy across the large facility more challenging. Older equipment and limited system visibility also made it difficult to find problems or prioritize upgrades.
“Obviously, it’s an old building, so it’s one of those things where you always learn some new electrical alarms, or HVAC, there’s always some good surprises,” said Kent Stricker, operations manager at Club Green Meadows.
To gain a clearer picture of how the building was operating, the team installed smart thermostats throughout the facility. The thermostats give staff greater visibility into temperature and HVAC performance, making it easier to spot potential issues, adjust settings and make more informed decisions about building comfort and energy use.
Making the connection to Energy Trust of Oregon
Club Green Meadows, a NW Natural customer, first connected with Energy Trust through its previous maintenance manager, who worked with an Energy Trust energy advisor to assess the facility and identify potential energy-saving improvements.
After Stricker stepped into the role, an energy advisor returned for another walkthrough to reevaluate the building and potential energy-saving opportunities. That assessment showed that smart thermostats could help the club gain better control over its energy use.
They received $1,200 in Energy Trust cash incentives to install new smart thermostats, fully offsetting the cost of the upgrade. The new smart thermostats are also expected to save the club approximately $130 in natural gas costs annually.
Controlling energy with data
While new smart thermostats are delivering energy savings, Stricker says their value goes beyond the utility bill. The technology provides real-time insight into when and how equipment is running, helping staff identify and pinpoint issues without time-consuming manual analysis.
Smart thermostat schedules also help prevent systems from running unnecessarily, such as heating spaces overnight. And when members have feedback about comfort, staff can quickly check conditions and adjust remotely.
Stricker is also using data from the smart thermostats to help him prioritize future improvements based on the performance and needs of each space.
“The data is everything for me. If I can collect that data just to see if the unit’s working at optimal efficiency, I just need to see how much we’re using at each source. Then I can grasp where we should optimize first.” – Kent Stricker, operations manager, Club Green Meadows
With more smart thermostats planned, Club Green Meadows is continuing to build on its energy-saving upgrades and find new ways to manage energy more efficiently.
“I really appreciate that Energy Trust understands that this is a work in progress and not just ‘here’s the incentive, let’s leave,’” he said.
Learn more about how you can save energy with support from Energy Trust. Visit our cash incentives page or get started by emailing existingbuildings@energytrust.org.