City of Melbourne’s new “smart blocks” energy rebate program

The City of Melbourne has announced solar and lighting rebates to help city apartment owners reduce the emissions and power bills generated by common areas.
The rebates will reimburse half the cost, to the value of $3000, for solar panels and LED lighting upgrades that reduce energy use in the common areas of established city apartment buildings.
The rebates are part of Smart Blocks, a national program designed to help apartment owners work with their owners corporations and building managers to reduce environmental impacts and energy costs.
The Smart Blocks initiative supports the City of Melbourne’s goal to become carbon neutral by 2020. Currently, 80 per cent of dwellings in the City of Melbourne are apartments and the population of the city is predicted to double by 2031.
Studies have found that apartments in mid rise and high rise buildings consume 25 per cent more energy than detached dwellings, and almost half that energy consumption occurs in common areas including foyers, corridors, pools, gyms and car parks.
Most city apartment blocks can reduce energy consumption by 25 to 30 per cent by applying a range of measures that often pay themselves off in three to five years.
City of Melbourne Environment Portfolio Chair Councillor Arron Wood said energy efficient buildings help reduce owners’ corporation fees and attract better tenants.
“All energy savings translate to cost savings for apartment owners and as power bills rise, energy-efficient buildings will also be better investments,” Cr Wood said.
John Larner, whose company Woodlands Cleaning and Property Services manages three medium to high rise blocks in the city centre, says LED lights use 80 per cent less power and have up to eight times the lifespan of halogen lights and fluorescent tubes.    “It’s ludicrous not to change,” he says. “It’s not only cost-saving in terms of power. But you don’t have to pay someone to change globes as often.”
Apartment owner Tim Esmonde helped his owners committee retrofit a seven-storey Parkville building with LED lighting and sensors in 2012.
The retrofit cost $6500 but already saves the owners corporation $2000 a year in electricity bills. It will pay itself off in just over three years and reduces the building’s carbon emissions by 50 per cent.
Esmonde says the owners plan to use the Smart Blocks rebate to add solar panels to the building.In addition to rebates, the program provides an interactive online toolkit to help people learn how to improve the energy efficiency of common areas and get their project approved for the rebate.
Rebate funds are limited so owners and managers are encouraged to start projects today, and join the 125 buildings that have already signed up for the Smart Blocks program in Victoria. The Smart Blocks program will help apartment owners and managers make Melbourne a more sustainable city, one block at a time.

About Smart Blocks
The Smart Blocks program was designed to help apartment owners and owners corporations save on power bills, reduce carbon emissions and improve the value of their properties.
The Smart Blocks online toolkit surveys a range of smart energy projects including:- solar panels and energy efficient lighting; Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system controls; hot water system upgrades; and simple improvements like carbon sensors for car park ventilation units and covers for heated pools.
The Smart Blocks program was developed in partnership between Strata Community Australia, City of Melbourne, City of Sydney, Owners Corporation Network of Australia and Green Strata. The Smart Blocks program received Federal funding as part of the Energy Efficiency Information Grants (EEIG) program managed by the Department of Industry.
A case study: How many apartment owners does it take to change 1200 light globes?
At Freshwater Place Apartments, a 530-apartment, high-rise development in Melbourne, an energy audit and five-year energy plan motivated the owners corporation to replace 1200 common area, 20-watt, halogen lights with 6-watt LED globes.
This strategy reduced annual electricity consumption by more than 62,000 kWh per year and CO2 emissions by more than 84,000 kg per year, and the changeover paid itself off in just over 2 years. Residents were also offered LED globes at wholesale prices for their own units.
“The energy reduction plan got residents involved … and allowed us to take action on energy efficiency,” said Peter Renner, apartment owner at Freshwater Place.

smartblocks.com.au