Dear Tony: We live an older mid-rise building in Burnaby. Several owners are requesting permission to install EV charging for their vehicles, and the owners particularly on the south of our building have requested permission for summer cooling systems.
We have completed our electrical planning report in advance of these requests and find out we have limited power available for any of these options. Our building has hot water heating, which does not operate in the summer, but it is heated with gas not electrical.
The report indicates we have only 5% spare capacity and that will be insufficient to accommodate sufficient charging and cooling. Are we compelled to upgrade our building electrical capacity and services? The initial cost is not a priority for our owners. We require a new roof in 2026 and our elevators are due for major upgrades.
Will A.
Dear Will: Many strata corporations are finding themselves in the same situation. At the time of construction, the property is equipped with sufficient electrical services for safe operating with the designed building operating systems and unit demands. Your decisions to have your Electric Planning Report (EPR) in advance identified the limitation and provided you with the technical information you require for decision making.
Your report requires an evaluation of the electrical demands for potential electrification and possible methods of reducing your demands. It must include: a list of existing demands on the electrical system, including, without limitation, demands from EV charging infrastructure, if any, and heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting systems; the current peak demand on and spare capacity of the electrical system; if applicable, an estimate of the electrical capacity that would be needed to power systems, including heating, cooling and ventilation systems, that are currently powered by an energy source other than electricity; an estimate of the electrical capacity needed for any other anticipated future demands on the electrical system, including electrical capacity needed to power heating, cooling, ventilation and other systems that the strata corporation anticipates may be modified or installed in the future, and EV charging infrastructure that the strata corporation anticipates may be installed in the future; steps, if any, that the strata corporation could practicably take to reduce the demands on the capacity of the electrical system; upgrades or modifications, if any, to the electrical system that the strata corporation could practicably undertake to increase the capacity of the electrical system.
I recommend strata corporations with underground parking and common area hallways with lighting look at the conversion of lighting systems to LED. The cost recovery is generally 16-24 months so can be funded with approval from the reserve funds. The savings can simply pay back the fund, and a significant amount of energy savings enable other operations. LED lighting also improves light levels in common areas, reduces heat loading in hallways, and the savings will be reflected in your future budgeting.
tony @choa.bc.ca
Tony Gioventu is executive director of the Condominium Home Owners Association.
