ENERGY SYSTEMS

Michael Geller

Iwill never forget the time I suggested to my 85-yearold father that he turn down the heat in his condominium apartment. “Can I?” he replied.

He had been living in the building for about three years and had not once adjusted the in-floor radiant heating system. It was a seniorsoriented building I had developed for people like my father who were ready to downsize, but not downgrade.

Knowing seniors would be concerned about ongoing operating costs, I installed an energy-efficient gas-fired hot water system, rather than an electric baseboard system. The latter would have been less expensive to install, but probably more expensive to operate over time. Moreover, an in-floor radiant system generally offers greater flexibility in furniture layouts and more even heat than electric baseboards.

I mention this since for many years, condominium buyers have often paid little attention to the type of energy source and heating system installed in their apartments. While managing the development of the Bayshore project in Coal Harbour, I recall conversations with pre-sale buyers of expensive units in other Coal Harbour developments who did not even know what kind of heating system they had bought.

At the time, many preferred a unit with electric heat since they thought it was easier to be individually metered and they would not have to pay for energy in their monthly strata fees . . . or as they put it, pay other people’s heating bills if they went away for the Winter.

During the last decade, however, the situation has changed. As a result of rising energy costs and increased awareness about “sustainability” and greenhouse gases, more home buyers are taking an ever-increasing interest in the type of heating (and cooling) systems installed in their homes. And so they should.

While the jury is still out on whether new home buyers are prepared to pay the full up-front costs of a geothermal energy system or a building that can be hooked up to a District Energy System (DES), there is no doubt that for some buyers, more energy-efficient systems offer a marketing advantage.

That is a good thing since an increasing number of municipalities are now installing District Energy Systems and requiring developers to hook up their projects to them . . . no doubt inspired in part by Vancouver’s highly publicized Southeast False Creek system that collects heat from sewer lines and similar systems throughout Europe. In theory, district energy offers the potential of lower capital and operating costs.

I say in theory since while buildings do not have to install their own expensive boilers, if the municipal system is not in place by the time the first residents move in, developers still need to install their own boilers, on the understanding they would be discontinued at some time in the future when the district system is in operation.

Connecting into a district energy network can allow a choice of heating and cooling systems in the apartments, including “hydroponic” baseboards, similar in concept to the radiators that used to be installed in buildings; individual heat pumps that can offer forced-air heating and cooling; and in-floor hot water radiant systems, although the latter is less likely in concrete apartment construction since it requires an additional layer of concrete on the floors.