Apartment and Strata Energy Savings

Overview

Learn what you can do to help make your apartment building more sustainable.

Section 1: Resources - support for your projects including lighting upgrades, installing solar and electric vehicle chargers.

Section 2: Waterwise Apartments - water and cost savings program for apartments.

Section 3: Apartment & Strata Energy Savings project - overview and application.

1. Resources

Lighting

• Lighting upgrades in apartments - webinar with Wattblock presented for Mosman and Lane Cove Councils.

Water

• WaterFix® Strata program – Register for a free water efficiency assessment.

Solar

• Solar in Apartments - Webinar with industry experts and case studies with residents who explain key considerations for installing solar in apartment blocks. Linked slide presentations are also available here: Presentation 1(PDF, 4MB) , Presentation 2(PDF, 1015KB) , Presentation 3(PDF, 2MB).
• Solar in Apartments webinar presented by Wattblock for Inner West Council. Slide presentation available here: slides and resources.
• Solar Readiness for Strata Training from Wattblock - this online course is designed for an Owner, Strata Committee Member, Strata Manager or Facilities Manager to improve their knowledge of solar photovoltaic systems and their use on residential apartment buildings.

Electric vehicle charging

• Electric Vehicle Charging in Apartments - Webinar with industry experts and a strata resident who explain how to set up electric vehicle charging in apartment blocks.
• Making your residential strata building EV ready - NSW government resources to understand how to prepare and install EV charging infrastructure in your building, including example motions and by-laws.

For renters

• Alternative Technology Association - Renter's guides to sustainability (homes and apartments).

Legal

• 2021 NSW Strata Legislation amendment - making it easier for body corporates to approve sustainability infrastructure projects. Further details here.
• See electric vehicle charging section above also.

General

• Green Strata - For owners and owners corporations to learn about making apartment buildings more sustainable.
• How to make positive change around your apartment building - Overview of opportunities for sustainability upgrades.
• Guide to renovating or buying a sustainable apartment - Australian Government.
• Good Practice Guide for Facilities Managers - Guide from Facilities Management Association of Australia (FMA) to help facilities managers in their role to maintain and sustain their buildings.

2. Waterwise Apartments

Water and cost savings program for apartments

Many apartment buildings are literally pouring money down the drain by unintentionally wasting water. The WaterFix® Strata service(PDF, 221KB) helps apartments save on water bills with simple fixes (average 30% savings!).

It’s an affordable tailored service for apartment blocks to:

• Assess your building's water use performance
• Fix leaks inside apartments and common areas
• Install water-efficient devices in apartments.

How to take part? Simply register your building for a free water efficiency assessment, and Sydney Water will provide advice on next steps.

Find out more: Visit Waterwise Apartments

This initiative is brought to you by Randwick, Waverley and Woollahra Councils in collaboration with Sydney Water.

3. Apartment & Strata Energy Savings

This program is under review and is not currently available. We will provide an update in 2023.

Apartment & Strata Energy Savings is a free Council initiative to assist strata buildings to reduce energy use resulting in potentially thousands of dollars of savings per year.

Council will work with a select number of buildings to identify opportunities to reduce:

• Operating costs
• Common area energy use
• Greenhouse gas emissions.

Why get involved?

Buildings selected to participate will receive free:

• Energy efficiency and/or solar feasibility assessments performed by industry specialists
• Detailed reports clearly illustrating the financial case for upgrades
• Implementation support.

Project goals

Apartment & Strata Energy Savings has a goal of reducing common area energy use in all participating buildings by 20%.

This is a pilot project with the goal of creating case studies to demonstrate to other strata buildings the benefits of conducting energy efficiency assessments and upgrades.

Who should apply?

We are looking for strata buildings committed to reducing energy use and saving on strata fees. We especially encourage applications from buildings with high energy bills and large communal facilities such as pools, gyms and underground car parks.

We invite interested residents and body corporates to submit an expression of interest to be involved in this sustainability project to save money and reduce energy consumption.

Selection criteria: successful applications will be those whose applications demonstrate high likelihood of implementing energy savings measures, opportunities for emissions reductions and the prospect of providing case studies for buildings with similar facilities.

How to apply

Strata buildings interested in joining future rounds of the project can submit expressions of interest by completing the application form below.

Applications are closed until further notice. Please check back in 2023.

Apartment & Strata Savings Initiative application form

Project process:

1. Interested residents submit expression of interest application
2. Council assesses expressions of interest and determines successful applicants
3. Council organises and funds the energy assessments and reports
4. Body corporate reviews energy saving options and determines implementation
5. Council requests feedback from participants to create case studies to support other buildings interested in energy efficiency upgrades.