Starting in the parkade, I see many that are heated more than necessary. It’s debatable whether a parkade should be heated at all, but if it is going to be heated, the thermostat should be set ‘way down. Keep in mind that the necessary ventilation sucks that heat out of the garage almost as quickly as you can put it in. Install a gas-sniffing switch on the ventilation fan, so that it only runs when necessary, rather than 24-7. If your car ramp is heated, consider putting an end to that. A little de-icer and/or grit, followed by our regular Chinook weather will do almost as good a job at a fraction of the cost. As well, ramp hot-water heating coils are fragile and very expensive to replace. I wouldn’t make that a priority.

In the boiler room we might find a single large cast-iron boiler. Those were never models of efficiency, and are best replaced by a twin set of higher-efficiency boilers. During warmer weather you can run just one, providing heat if necessary, but burning only half the BTUs. You also get the benefit of a backup boiler if one needs service during a cold spell, and they usually fail when running flat-out at the coldest time of year. Ensure that the boiler room’s fresh-air intake is large enough, and that the grate is not clogged with drawn-in leaves and old newspapers. You get more bang for the natural gas buck if flame burns freely with adequate air.

Over at the domestic water heaters (supplying your taps), consider turning their temperature down just one or two degrees. Remind your condo neighbours that water comes into the building stone cold, and must be heated to dishwashing and showering-hot temperatures at great cost. Give every suite a free low-flow shower nozzle with a pause switch. This last initiative saves money three different ways. It reduces your natural gas use; it reduces your metered water bill; and it reduces erosion of your copper piping, perhaps adding decades to the life of the building’s hot-water delivery system.

Some condo apartment buildings have their hallway fresh-air furnace (“make-up air”) on the roof. If so, you might install a heat exchanger, which draws the warmth from the roof vents exhausting hot air, using it to pre-heat the fresh air being sucked into the furnace. There are engineers who specialize in this type of installation and overall condo building energy efficiency. Check the yellow pages or the web site for the Canadian Condominium Institute for names.

In the building’s entry and hallways I often find heaters by doorways running full-tilt, which is hardly necessary. Those areas have people in them perhaps two hours out of 24, and they’re likely already bundled up for outdoor weather. Sure you want lobby and entryway heating, but these are transition spaces, not living rooms.

Lastly, hallway and stairwell lighting should long ago have been switched to neon bulbs from incandescent. There’s a lot of power saved by going from 100-watt or 60-watt bulbs down to 13-watt neon tubes. While the tubes cost more than incandescent bulbs, their 10,000-hour life pays that back, so the energy saving is for free. As energy costs rise, the goal should be to limit your condominium’s combined utilities expense to the 30 per cent of your budget that it likely is today.  As Mom might say, turn down the heat and put on a sweater.

Gerald Rotering  is a condominium-specialist Realtor with Realty Executives, Chinook City, is President of his own building’s condominium corporation, and is a professional member of the Canadian Condominium Institute. Extensive further information about condominiums can be found on his web site: http://www.CondosInCalgary.com.