Dear Tony: I am on the strata council of our strata corporation, which is part of an Air Space Parcel (ASP) that includes commercial properties. In the process of evaluating our carbon reporting to the City of Vancouver, the consultant who completed the report questioned why our utilities for electrical consumption are so high. Our common area electric is limited to our mechanical systems and common area lighting.
We have converted most of the lights to LEDs and have modernized much of our operating systems. Is it possible the manner in which the electrical systems were created that we have portions of the electrical from other air space parcels on our electrical and meters? Is there a method to determine the use on our system and meters? Would our Electric Planning Report not have captured this?
Thanks, Frank
Dear Frank:
One of the reservations I have with new strata buildings in any type of strata is the lack of commissioning. If I was a commercial property owner, once construction is complete, I would hire an independent consultant to commission the building.
The commissioning does an operational evaluation for performance and delivery of general construction, operations, mechanical and electrical systems, heating and ventilation, safety systems, elevators and lifting devices, and building envelope performance and completion. The real question is, did we get what we paid for and are we using only services and utilities consumed by our property?
To determine if your community is not funding other properties within the ASP relationship, it will be necessary to retain a firm with a specialty in electrical engineering. They will help you determine what systems and demands are being covered by your distribution and whether it is exclusive to your property.
A short-term shut down of your building electrical to determine affected areas may be necessary, or a short-term management system. This can also be helpful to determine your loads and electrical capacity. Without an audit to establish use and distribution it is impossible to determine whether your costs are being fairly allocated.
Start with a detailed review of your ASP agreement, source all of your plans and documents and speak to a consultant to determine feasibility and cost of an electrical audit.
Tony Gioventu is executive director of the Condominium Home Owners Association. Email tony@choa.bc.ca.
