A Community Association's New Years Resolution to Save Money
Saving money is one of the most popular New Year's resolutions. Although less than 30% of New Year's Resolutions achieve success, your Community Association can save money in the new year by properly maintaining and value engineering the property. By planning for preventative maintenance and making educated decisions about common area lighting, mechanical equipment and replacements, community associations can substantially cut operating costs.
Planning Maintenance to Reduce Future Repair and Replacement Costs
The key to success, planning is also one method of saving money. In a community association, planning for proper maintenance of common elements such as roads, sidewalks, roofs and siding, can dramatically reduce future repair and replacement costs. With scheduled preventative maintenance, minor issues will be fixed before they become worse and more costly to remediate.
Planning Replacement Projects In Advance to Get the Best Pricing
Planning ahead for replacement projects, such as roofs, decks, retaining walls or roadways, gives community associations the time to have design specifications professionally prepared, to bid the work out and to compare contractor prices. Now is the time to request proposals for design specifications to be used for bidding springtime projects. Winter is a slow season for construction companies, who use this time to schedule the following year. Preparing for springtime projects in advance can help your association get the lowest pricing and best scheduling available.
Lighting Upgrades to Reduce Electricity Costs
Another way that community associations can save money in the new year is to invest in lighting upgrades. For instance, compact fluorescent lights are bulbs that use 75% less energy than regular bulbs and last 6 to 12 times longer. According to the EnergyStar online calculator, the energy savings from replacing just one 13-watt incandescent light used only four hours a day would render a payback of between 3 and 8 months. Now imagine the energy savings that would be realized after switching to CFL bulbs throughout the common areas of an entire Community.
For further savings in lighting, community associations can invest in lighting controls such as timers, occupancy/motion sensors, daylight and dimming controls. Timers or clock switches turn lights on or off for a specific period of time. They are especially useful for street, park and pool area lighting. Occupancy/motion sensors automatically turn lights off within a preset time period after the space has been vacated and are useful for clubhouses and common hallways. Centralized controls are capable of dimming the lighting based on the time of day and/or available natural light. These types of controls can be extremely cost-effective.
Value Engineering to Reduce Maintenance Costs
Based on life cycle costing, value engineering the common area components of a community can minimize future maintenance costs, reducing the association's operating budget. Value engineering takes the initial replacement cost into consideration along with the long term maintenance and energy expenses. By looking at the total cost of the component, the association can make an informed decision that will save the community money in the long run.
Wood fencing, decks and gazebos make for a great example of the cost savings value engineering can produce. Typically, old wood decks are replaced with new wood decks that require periodic staining and have a useful life of approximately 15 years. To value engineer the component, a community would consider other materials that do not require repeated staining or maintenance. While the initial cost of the maintenance free-material might be higher, this added cost could be offset in a short period of time by the savings in maintenance costs. Whether it be composite-wood picnic tables, high grade roof shingles with imbedded copper to prevent algae or stain resistant vinyl siding, value engineering a community's common area components can substantially reduce ongoing maintenance costs.
Mechanical Equipment Upgrades to Reduce Energy Costs
One of the most significant opportunities for associations to save money is to value engineer the community's mechanical equipment by upgrading to more efficient systems with improved controls. Opportunities for mechanical equipment cost savings include upgrading boilers, furnaces, chillers, fire pumps, cooling towers, heat exchangers, back up generators, trash compactors, pool heaters/pumps and/or exhaust fans.
For instance, upgrading to a more efficient boiler can yield a rapid payback with thousands of dollars in savings over the life of the equipment. The new system would use significantly less fuel than the existing boiler and would not only offset the additional purchasing cost in a short period of time but also save the association a considerable amount of money in the long run. For further savings in the area of mechanical equipment, associations can invest in programmable controls. This technology allows the association to adjust the times and settings of the heating and/or air-conditioning in common area buildings according to a pre-set schedule. As a result, the equipment can be set to operate only when necessary. In addition, lowering the temperature of a clubhouse or common area during non-open hours or when residents are sleeping can reduce utility bills by 5-15%.
Overall, saving money does not necessarily mean making a sacrifice. Unlike cutting calories from your diet, a community association can cut costs without cancelling the annual Halloween party, shortening the pool season or self snow plowing. By planning for preventative maintenance and making smart choices about lighting, mechanical equipment and the materials used for common area components, community associations can make their New Year's Resolution to save money a financially savvy reality.
If you are interested in having a Kipcon Value Engineering Analysis prepared prepared for you community or building, please contact Kipcon for a proposal.
