LED Lighting Retrofit of a Strata Building in B.C. – A Success Story

Heritage Grand is a picturesque strata nestled in Port Moody, British Columbia, and consists of a collection of 158 spacious townhouses built in 1996 with shared underground parking. It’s strata council was increasingly concerned about the escalating Hydro bills and constant budget overruns. It turned to Chelsea Leask, Property Manager at Profile Properties, for help. With insights and valuable experience gained from prior cost reduction projects, Chelsea contacted Titan Enersave and requested an energy audit and LED lighting retrofit proposal which was eventually presented and approved at Heritage Grand’s AGM in March 2017.

  • Following are highlights of the lighting retrofit of Heritage Grand which all property managers and administrators should find instructional and serve as a useful guide when advising their strata clients regarding cost savings opportunities:
  • Annual energy savings of 162,000 KWh (972,000 KWh over 6 years) representing a 54% reduction in lighting energy consumption.
  • Annual energy cost savings of $16,200 ($96,000 over 6 years)
  • Annual maintenance cost savings of $3,600 ($21,600 over6 years)
  • Investment required: $46,897 (Turnkey. All inclusive. Including taxes)
  • Investment per strata unit: $297 each.
  • Investment payback period: 2.27 years

The strata’s Treasurer sent the following note to all parties involved in the project: I would like to acknowledge how pleased we are with the new lighting installation. It has made such a difference to our complex and have received many compliments regarding this upgrade. Thank you.” Priceless !

Property managers need to become proactive in this area. It does not require much extra effort on their part to get quotes from a few retrofit vendors, who will perform the energy audit at no cost. The excuse that “it’s not my job” or “i’m too busy” will not cut it. As gatekeepers, Property managers have an obligation and duty to educate their strata clients on cost saving opportunities. Besides that, think of the huge impact on the environment from upgrading a single high rise building. In the example above, nearly 1 million KWh of hydro energy will be saved over the next 6 years, which is something to be proud really proud of, n’est-ce pas ?

Other items of interest:

In a typical high rise, the parking area consistently accounts for 60%+ of the building’s total lighting consumption, representing the most significant opportunity for energy cost reduction.

Also keep in mind that lighting, which is only one component of a strata’s Hydro bill, usually accounts for about 50% of total common area energy consumption. Furnace, elevator, HVAC, air circulation fans, etc, account for the balance.

Anil Mehra, CA,CPA,

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