Most people have spent some stretch of time living in an apartment building. If you’ve ever rented an apartment, you know that noisy neighbors, shared laundry machines and crowded conditions can be downsides to apartment life. But having the freedom to move out as soon as a lease ends helps make such inconveniences worthwhile. And as a tenant, you also don’t have to worry about the large amounts of money required to keep an apartment building operational.

Unlike tenants, apartment building owners see their buildings as long-term investments, with long-term costs. Building owners, for example, must frequently pay the entire building’s monthly water-heating bill. Every time a tenant cooks a meal, does laundry or uses the bathroom, that’s money out of the building owner’s pocket! And the more people there are living in the building, the higher the owner’s costs.

Water-heating can account for a large percentage of an apartment building owner’s monthly energy bills. Solar thermal systems reduce energy bills, insulate owners from rising natural gas prices and help owners go green by using the sun’s energy, rather than electricity or fossil fuels, to heat the water used by tenants. A solar thermal system can produce 60% to 80% of an apartment building’s hot water load, and also help differentiate the property among environmentally conscious tenants.

For apartment building owners and tenants, solar thermal is a win-win!