Green condos? Yes, they exist
June 21 is the longest day of the year, the day we’ll get the most daylight hours, which is reason to celebrate. Not to mention, it’s also my daughter Sherry’s birthday.
It makes sense to use that extra sunlight. It’s free, clean, renewable, and thanks to huge leaps in technology, it’s getting easier to incorporate solar power in homes.
And condo builders are joining the fun, too.
When most people think condos they think standard construction — if you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all. Not true. Just as the housing market has changed over the last 10 years, so has the condo market. Why? Because homeowners are homeowners, whether they live in a 3,000-square-foot house or a 500-square-foot condo.
Homeowners care about saving money on their monthly bills, healthy indoor air, sustainability, and most importantly they care about their home and how it works for them. Today’s smart condo builders know who they’re selling to.
It’s no secret I love houses. They are great investments homeowners can keep all their lives, and you can change the space so it works for you, especially as you grow older. But is buying a house realistic for everyone? No. More homeowners are being forced to raise their families in smaller spaces like condos. So issues such as indoor air quality and responsible building are becoming more important in the condo market.
Buying a condo doesn’t mean you have to sit out going green and accept the standard concrete box. You can do better than that and save money.
Some condos going up today are creating the highest level of environmental and sustainable standards. These condo developments are future-focused and help support healthier lifestyles.
For example, a smart developer will build a condo on a transit line, so you can be downtown within minutes without relying on a car. Think of how much money you can save being vehicle-free — not to mention the benefits to the environment, like fewer CO2 emissions and less fuel consumption.
Some new green condos also have programmable thermostats in every suite, quiet and energy-efficient air circulation (including fans), waste-heat recovery systems for heating and domestic hot water and greywater recycling. Some even collect rainwater to water the property, and some have an eco-friendly car wash.
It’s about incorporating smart and sustainable solu- tions that create more value — for condo owners and the environment — for example, cogeneration, or combined heat and power systems also known as “CHP.”
Typically in high-rises, as much as 30 to 40 per cent of the heat a building generates is wasted. But some condo builders are taking that energy and using it to preheat water for bathrooms, kitchens and laundry.
Really innovative condo builders are taking this cogen system and combining it with geothermal — so they’re creating a hybrid system that generates power, uses the heat from generating that power to heat water, and then using the temperature from the ground (geothermal) to further increase the temperature of the water for domestic use. So they’re using even less energy, and any excess energy produced by the condo’s system can be sold back to the grid.
There are huge benefits here: First, a system like this can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 7,500 tonnes over its 30-year life — the equivalent of removing 2,884 cars from the road!
Two, it can help protect condo owners from unexpected spikes in monthly fees, or “improvement fees.” And three, it provides on-site energy that can be used during grid interruptions or failure, so your lights stay on while the rest of the city is in the dark.
When condo builders build right and smart, they help residents save — up to 30 per cent over several years on utility and monthly maintenance costs. Who wouldn’t like that?
If you’re going to buy a condo, be smart. Look for one that’s built with your future in mind.
Watch Mike Holmes on Holmes Makes It Right on HGTV. For more information
visit makeitright.ca.