Solar Energy and Bodies Corporate
BY: JUDY CARTER, GOLD COAST GENERAL MANAGER
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Solar electricity is quickly becoming the energy option of choice for many Australians. The advantages for you, your family and the environment are compelling and easy to understand. Financially, solar power makes a lot of sense over time, with the benefits only growing in the future. Fuel costs have risen massively in the onslaught of these turbulent recent months we have just been through. It is almost certain that the cost of living will continue to rise higher and higher. Those without electricity bills will have a huge advantage.
Did you know that if you team up solar power with your largest user of electricity, your hot water, you can significantly reduce your future power costs with the added benefits of reducing CO2 emissions and making your home more sustainable?
For those with solar power, the hard times will be easier to get through. Even if your home is only partially powered by solar power, you will still save a substantial sum of money on your electric bill. The upfront cost of a solar power for homes system setup may seem prohibitive initially, but, in almost all cases solar power for homes will pay for itself in less than ten years.
The urban myth regarding the rapid rises in residential electricity costs are I fear going to become an urban reality. Most of the utilities we grew up with and have to some extent taken for granted, are becoming increasingly "user pays" cost based.
It does not take a big leap to realise that as time progresses costs will continue to rise, and the time to look at alternatives is fast approaching.
One of the ways we can do this is to examine energy alternatives such as Solar Energy. Until recently, the QLD Government actively encouraged us to do this and some very attractive subsidy schemes were put into place. The carrot and stick approach to: household water tanks, solar energy and no insulation were seen as a very effective incentive scheme especially if the change-over costs were attractive.
Like all good things, these schemes will come and go, but the time has come to seriously look at options based on the costs for the short and long term and how they can fit into our current situations.
If you are a suburban householder of freehold or leasehold land not under body corporate title, then the local government regulations will apply. Not so for body corporate communities. In these situations, covenants that are approved at Design Review or Architectural Review Committees will determine what we can or cannot do in regard to the installation of solar hot water systems, water tanks etc.
The question we have to ask ourselves is: "Is it time that the by-laws and restrictions that apply to the installation and ownership of this type of technology or product caught up with the costs now and predicted for the future."
In most of the developments commenced and structured in the 1990's and in the early years of 2000 our resources in QLD were seen as adequate into the future. The deregulation of the electricity supplies promised cheaper prices and more competition. Unfortunately, that bubble burst in a big way in 2007.
While we can employ economies on an individual basis and conserve water and energy to achieve some significant savings, is this the whole answer?
Or does the adoption of new technologies as conservation strategies give us a better platform into the future. If so, then the by-laws and covenants which now determine our strategies will have to move with the times, and a way of making these changes will have to be examined by each body corporate community where these restrictions currently apply.
I believe that the bodies corporate of the future will have to take on board some of the seemingly "extreme" eco-friendly developments. In 10 years time, I believe these energy strategies will become compulsory. Change is at hand. Is your body corporate ready?
