Get Energy Smart! NOW!

I’ve written, previously, about how difficult it is to get people who live in master metered communities to care about efficient use of water, gas and electricity when they never see a utility bill. It can be done but it’s a hard slog. The most effective way to reduce consumption in these buildings is to upgrade inefficient central systems and install more efficient common area lighting. Master metered multi family housing is older housing stock in urban areas and these improvements cost money. There are other demands on older buildings that take priority…sometimes because of a crisis.

• Systems are failing (in my condo’s case it’s the elevators, exterior light poles, converter risers for the heating and a/c, an old roof, need for new pool deck, and …) If you think that’s a murderous list, consider another decades old County condo high rise that’s hit for a $12 million repair of its indoor, below ground garage!
• The economic downturn has condos hurting because of loss of monthly fees (delinquencies and foreclosures)
• Utility costs and local taxes continue to rise

Fortunately for our building several things fell into place enabling us to make some central system improvements that will save money for many years to come and at very little cost.  First, we were able to receive a grant from the State of Maryland to conduct an energy audit. We knew our local electric utility, PEPCO, had in place an incentive program which would pay for part of the cost of energy efficient upgrades, but the remainder of the cost of still seemed prohibitive to our board.

Our condo is located in Montgomery County, Maryland. The County decided to use  some of the funds received from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) for energy efficiency efforts in existing buildings  (see reference to BAM below). Our building was one of about 24 projects that received County grant to undertake upgrades identified in the audit. Among the projects included in the grant and nearing completion:

• upgrade of our chiller motors and HVAC pumps
• more efficient air circulation handlers in the hallways
• changed exit lights on all floors to LED lighting.
• upgrading our garage lighting to be more energy efficient by using more efficient bulbs (T-8) and partial sensor activated lighting.
• We put light sensors in the laundry/trash areas and the exercise room (but that was not included in the County grant).

Next on my agenda is a program sponsored by PEPCO providing free CFLs, low flow showerheads, aerators for kitchen and bathroom faucets and smart power strips for every unit upon request of the owner.

My dream list for future improvements includes:

• A green roof with
  • Solar hot water
• A rainscape garden to capture runoff
• Permeable pavers for the pool deck
• New and energy efficient elevators

Our building is one of the many older master metered multi-family units in our County.  (A County association is forming. The Alliance of Master Metered Community Associations draft mission statement after the fold.) Most urban areas in country have an inventory of these types of buildings and many recognize the unique energy wasting issues of they present.  For example, in the Bay Area of California (BAM) ARRA money was used to retrofit  some older  buildings. According to reporting on this program (see LIIFund, report pdf link under “green development”), this program had some real successes. Auditing of 32 buildings showed:

• Utility savings from 10 to 47 percent in master metered buildings with an average of 26 percent in savings.
• Per unit savings of $270 per unit … per year

Hmmm … what unit owner wouldn’t want to see $270 more in their pocket each year … tax free .. year-in, year out?

Related / Previous Posts Include

• More on my master metered condo
• My Master Metered Condo and Its Priorities
• Improving Energy Efficiency in Master Metered Condos
• Recycling in a Multi-Family High Rise Condo
• More Musing on Master Metering
• Solving the energy wasting dilemma of residential master metering
• Energy and the tragedy of the commons: the condo-building and master metering
• Calculating the Financial Benefits of Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFLs): the case of a condo building

You aren’t alone if you live in a master metered building and care about energy efficiency although sometimes you may feel you are banging your head against a wall because nobody in your building cares. In our community we are in the throes of organizing an alliance of like- minded people so we can learn from each other and act together. Below is our draft mission statement. Feel free to use it.

Alliance of Master Metered Community Associations
(Montgomery County, Maryland)

Mission

• To build a coalition of master metered multi-family associations to:
• Collect and share best practices for conserving utility usage (water, sewer,
• electricity, gas, oil)
• Learn about energy efficiency and renewable energy and their use in our communities
• Advocate for equity in public policy (government, quasi-government, utilities) with respect to services, programs and taxation

Background

Unlike owners and residents of single family dwellings, master-metered communities seeking to reduce their building’s energy consumption face unique challenges that go beyond the issue of encouraging residents to conserve usage in their own units.

In some buildings, residents don’t just share common metering.

• They also share high- energy use common elements such as boilers and chillers.
• In such cases, meaningful savings are beyond the control of individual residents.
• Incentives such as tax breaks, grants and rebates offered by utility companies and government are, for the most part, directed to individually metered units in multi-family communities and to single family homes and not available to owners of units in master metered communities.

Associations seeking a comprehensive approach to energy efficiency and energy conservation find a scarcity of resources  (expertise and products) available to address energy conservation in multi-family structures.
When there have been extended power outages, master metered buildings have found they are low priority for service restoration because with one meter they are counted as one customer even though hundreds of households may be affected.

Who we are:

• This alliance consists of representatives from master-metered associations in Montgomery County, Maryland (board member, energy chair, “green committee” rep property manager)

What we will do:

• Hold periodic meetings to learn from each other (share experiences, information, problems)
• Meet with experts and service providers
• Advocate to government, quasi-government and utilities on behalf of master metered communities

Benefits

• Learn how others have solved problems your community has (or didn’t know you had)
• and learn at no cost
• Have a stronger voice with government and utilities
• Get exposure to resources and expertise that can help your community,

January 26, 2012