Condos slow to join green bandwagon

Condos slow to join green bandwagon

Larry Pynn, Vancouver Sun

Published: Thursday, October 25, 2007

Builders of residential housing are doing it. So are owners of single-family homes. So why are condo owners among the last to jump on the energy-efficiency bandwagon?

It's not for lack of trying.

The Light House Sustainable Building Centre on Granville Island reports it has been swamped with calls from frustrated condo owners wanting to take action to create greener buildings, but finding themselves limited in what they can do without authorization of their strata councils.

"We get a lot of strata owners coming in looking for help," confirms Helen Goodland, executive director of the non-profit society.

Without permission from their strata councils, individual condo owners may be restricted to measures such as changing light bulbs or appliances to more energy-efficient models.

But if they belong to a condo building that assesses heating fees on a uniform basis or by size of unit rather than through individual metres, the individual might not see the financial benefits.

"People want action, but in a strata you have to go through steps to have your voice heard," Goodland said. "It's a complicated system that requires time and energy. As the occupant of a suite, you have very little control."

Generally in a strata there are a handful of enthusiastic individuals; their job is to present a solid financial case showing their fellow condo owners that the energy benefits outweigh the costs.

"They're always concerned on how they're going to pay for it," said Eileen Keenan, a HomeSpa consultant for Light House.

In response to demand, Light House has created a Green Building 101 seminar for strata councils through its HomeSpa program, visiting condos and providing personalized advice extending to factors such as windows, insulation, lighting, and heating sources.

The first step is to have an energy assessment of the building (probably costing less than $ 1,000) and come up with an energy-efficiency plan that can be unfolded at the time of routine building maintenance and upgrading.

Another option is to develop a green roof that absorbs water while cooling the building during the heat of the day and keeping it insulated during cold periods.

"Condos can be energy-intensive, especially older ones," said Goodland, recognizing that strata councils are also cautious not to do anything to trigger leaky-condo syndrome.

"It's not an easy science. You need someone who knows what they're doing."

Liisa Peitso attended the 101 seminar on behalf of her 44-unit Kitsilano condo, a development on West Fifth Avenue that is more than 30 years old. Peitso said she raised the issue of green initiatives after buying into the development in February and found the strata council receptive to green change.

But she notes there are seniors on fixed incomes in the building whose position must be carefully considered. "There are a lot of elderly people and they are more hesitant," she said.

Among the future upgrades under discussion are initiatives such as improvements to drafty single-pane windows, replacing top-loading washers and dryers with front-loading models, installing light-emitting diode bulbs, and replacing fixed lighting with motion detectors in the garage.

"Our plan is to apply a green lens to projects, maintenance, etc., that we undertake in the building to see if there are more sustainable options," added Jean Lederer, another member of the strata council. "We'll also propose setting up a sort of community garden in the back for residents to grow vegetables."

Keenan said strata councils are curious to see solid examples of older condo buildings that have successfully undergone green-energy retrofits, but she is finding there are few examples out there.

Councils are also keenly interested in knowing about the costs of going green and about any grants and incentives for green building upgrades, and disappointed to hear there are so few.

"It's a shame to tell people," she said. "People say, 'Oh, there's bound to be one in the future so I'll just wait.' They may be right. But in the meantime, it's causing people to delay."

(For information on BC Hydro initiatives, visit www.bchydro. com/business/incentive/incentive 8821.html, and for federal grants www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/residential/ personal/homeimprovement.cfm).

Vancity Capital has also jumped on board, working with strata councils to finance green retrofits such as solar hot water or geo-exchange systems that employ the energy of the Earth. The energy savings are calculated and folded into strata fees, the costs amortized over 10 to 25 years.

With strata councils notoriously misery with their expenditures, the struggle is to convince them to look at the costs and benefits.

Derek Gent, the institution's investment manager, noted that buyers can be reluctant to pay extra for a condo with the latest green-energy options. "They'll pay extra for granite countertops, but they won't pay extra for geo-exchange, even though the countertops don't have a payback."

He added: "We're trying to finance the business case for greening your condo. If you make that investment, it will have cost savings down the road.

"People are reluctant to make that up-front payment to go really green. So we'll saying, 'What if we loaned you the money, and then you pay us out of the cost savings down the road?'

"We're trying to lead the market a little. As energy costs keep going up, the business case keeps getting better."

WindSong, opened in 1996 in the Walnut Grove area of north Langley, is one of three co-housing developments in the Lower Mainland. The others are Quayside Village in North Vancouver and Cranberry Commons in Burnaby. More are being developed in North Delta, Vancouver, and Yarrow in Chilliwack (www.cohousing.ca).

Condos are managed by a strata council composed of individuals who have purchased their units from a commercial developer. Co-housing developments are built by a collection of individual owners interested in close-knit community living, including the sharing of certain common areas such as crafts rooms and kids' play areas.

WindSong is investigating the feasibility of a geo-exchange or solar-based system for heating the 34-unit townhouse-style development, said co-founder and resident Howard Staples.

The capital costs should fall below $1 million, he said, money he hopes could be paid back in 15 years through reduced natural-gas heating bills.

"We'd like to dramatically reduce our gas usage," he said, noting that the people drawn to co-housing are more environmentally minded.

"Money is a key factor. There can be a lot of inertia. Strata corporations are encouraged to act more conservatively. You can't go out and raise strata fees randomly. But with the rising cost of gas, we have an opportunity."

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