Condo Media - March 2023 - 24

SUSTAINABILITY
TO ADDRESS the increasing prioritization
of energy management and sustainability,
it's important to have an expert team
that specifi cally focuses on these matters.
Dedicated expertise and resources are key
to helping residential condo associations
effectively achieve their energy management
and sustainability goals in the most impactful
and cost-effective manner. The following fi ve
key steps can bring the myriad benefi ts of
sustainability to your community.
2
1
Conduct an
Energy Audit
ENERGY COSTS can account for up to a third
of a residential community's operating budget.
Therefore, managing energy procurement should
be at the top of the list of your association's
sustainability objectives. Firstly, there's much
to be learned and gained from assessing utility
bills. It's not uncommon to fi nd inaccuracies that
are costing your association thousands of dollars
a year through incorrect sales tax, rate code,
or erroneous supplier charges. Through an audit
and assessment process, you may also fi nd many
ways to cut energy usage as you evaluate, monitor,
upgrade, and automate controls for lighting,
HVAC, cooling and refrigeration, motors, pumps,
compressors, and boiler systems. In trying to
undertake this project, you may fi nd that it's
easy to get overwhelmed and even discouraged
by the amount of time and resources it takes.
Engaging with the utility company to determine
what resources they offer for free is a good start.
As you get further into the process, it is recommended
that associations engage a professional
energy consultant to conduct a utility bill analysis
as part of a more comprehensive energy audit.
An energy audit should include the development
of an overall energy and sustainability strategy
comprising services such as benchmark reporting
for city ordinances; energy effi ciency projects and
rebates; onsite solar, offsite solar, and community
solar; electric vehicle charging stations; electric
and natural gas procurement; and more.
24 CONDOMEDIA March 2023
Go Solar
AMONG THE RENEWABLE energy
sources available to residential communities,
solar energy, with its many options, is
proving to be both practical and affordable.
Because electricity usage and set-up vary widely by property, there is no one-size-fi ts-all approach
for going solar. In some instances, individual condo owners pay electric bills, while in others, those
costs are built into condo fees. All these factors must be taken into account when evaluating which
solar application best fi ts the needs of your community.
In our experience, the less complex and more straightforward the project is, the more likely it is to
be successful. Many times, the easiest option for going solar in a condominium community is to use
solar power for electricity in common spaces for elevators, lighting, and HVAC systems. This strategy
will work if your building is master metered or is separately metered with an electric meter for the
common spaces. By minimizing electricity usage in your community's common areas, all owners
will benefi t equally, and the cost of the solar system can be fi nanced by the condo association and
incorporated into condo fees, if appropriate. If you have a central water heating system that supplies
hot water to all residential units, you can also consider installing a solar thermal heating system that
will lower the costs of heating water for all residents.
Another cash-fl ow-positive solar option for condo associations is using community solar. Unlike the
more common approach, where solar panels are installed on a building or property, community solar
allows communities to effectively purchase solar energy from panels that are not on its property and
not owned by the association itself. Community solar fi elds consist of panels that generate renewable
electricity and feed that electricity into the utility grid. In order to participate in community solar, your
state needs to have a program in place that allows " virtual net metering. " Virtual net metering provides
an association with credits on its utility bill for the grid-connected solar it receives through a community
solar project. Fortunately, community solar projects are located in the majority of U.S. states.
3
Inst
all
Elec ic Car
Charging
tr
Stati
ons
THE RISING POPULARITY of electric vehicles is something that
associations must take into account, and it is only a matter of time
before EV charging stations become an essential requirement in
residential communities. While recently built communities may
already have charging stations available to residents, older communities
should have plans in place for installing charging stations
in the near future. Because the car charging station or stations will
be located on common property and the cost to power it will be
shared by residents, it's extremely important to gauge interest and
garner support from the majority of owners. It also makes sense to
defi ne a position for the installation of charging stations in private
spaces. Once these parameters are established, the association
should work with its energy consultant to schedule a site visit with
a local EV charging provider to determine the electrical availability,
service options, and costs. Other considerations include determining
if stalls are exclusive to residents or available for visitors to
use; planning to add stations over time; devising a system for stall
sharing and usage, such as creating charging station passes; and
anticipating necessary upgrades to the electrical system as more
stations are added. It should be noted that there are solar-powered
EV charging stations that use the sun to charge electric cars.

Condo Media - March 2023

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