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Increasing Comfort, Lowering Fuel Costs for Condos and Co-ops

Increasing Comfort, Lowering Fuel Costs for Condos and Co-ops. Lessons Learned A Presentation By Robert Thomason o f GlobalResourcesNews.com , Past president, present energy chair of the Boston House robert@ globalresourcesnews.com May 16, 2012. Introduction.

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Increasing Comfort, Lowering Fuel Costs for Condos and Co-ops

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  1. Increasing Comfort, Lowering Fuel Costsfor Condos and Co-ops Lessons Learned A Presentation By Robert Thomason of GlobalResourcesNews.com, Past president, present energy chair of the Boston House robert@globalresourcesnews.com May 16, 2012

  2. Introduction • Inexpensive energy lead to inefficient design. • Legacy costs • Challenges can be overcome. • Start where you are, work with what you have, do what you can!

  3. Triple Bottom Line People • People pay to be comfortable. People make decisions. • Fiduciary duty Money matters • Conservation is critical to prosperity. Purse Planet

  4. Take a top-to-bottom approach • Know your building systems comprehensively. • Building components interact with each other. • Battles for energy conservation are won or lost by how well all these elements work together.

  5. The Tao of Hot Water • Hot water is more than just efficient boilers. • Storage • Piping & Insulation • Balancing water flow • Pump efficiency • Finding and fixing leaks • Energy Star appliances • Encourage conservation • Your sewer bill is based on your water bill. Images from Creative Commons Some Rights Reserved: shower head by anonymousthomas, yin yang symbol by DonkeyHotey

  6. Know your energy use • Monthly statements show how much you spend on utilities. • DC benchmarking laws will give baselines for utility use. • Pepco plans to provide a Web-based monitor of electric use. • Weekly manual readings help. • Creative Commons • Some Rights Reserved by Kai Hendry

  7. Know your association procedures • Reserve studies estimate life span and replacement cost. Focus on what needs to be replaced soon. • Assess energy use during annual budget process. • Your bylaws may determine how you can add new, expensive upgrades.

  8. People Power • People differ in attitude towards energy efficiency. • Foster energy awareness among staff. • Contract with qualified specialists to make your building more efficient. Crowd Some rights reserved by Andrew Pescod

  9. Energy Study • Building systems are complicated enough to warrant special studies. • Engineering firms will do top-to-bottom energy studies. • In addition to providing recommendations, these studies also provide a good basic overview of how energy flows through a building. Directors and concerned owners are well-served to have a holistic acquaintance with all the systems.

  10. Useful Links DC Benchmarking http://green.dc.gov/energybenchmarking Energy Audit information http://globalresourcesnews.com/ashrae2 537 Energy Conservation Measures http://dailyhomerenotips.com/energy-conservation/ Stories about efficient condos and co-ops http://globalresourcesnews.com/channel-condominium Stay in touch: robert@globalresourcesnews.com

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