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In Victoria, there are the Rental Minimal Standards. The minimum is that you need 2 hot plates.
We have the problem in the 1960s complex that the original gas pipes are steel and are coming to their use-by date.The 2 yearly gas check showed a gas leak (at the meter) and as the gas pipe is within the common walls it is impossible to find. The solution is to go all-electric. However there is a limit on the amount of electricity that comes into each apartment.
This is becoming a nightmare. 3 new electric appliances are coming into the apartment. A Split System Revresible Cycle air con. A new hot water system (HWS) and a new stove which already had an electric stove.
There is not enough electricity coming into the apartment regardless of any internal rewiring. This means the tenant will need to avoid having a shower whilst the aircon and/or the oven is on or some other combination.
It is hard to know what can be done. The old HWS was under-bench and instantaneous. There is no electrical equivalent. Under bench it can be a 50 Litre tank which reheats in 45 – 50 minutes. So maybe it will cope with 2 consecutive showers.
The OC have basically said it is not their problem, but they have allowed the owner to put the aircon outside equipment on common property.
It is hard to know what to do. I wonder how other 60s buildings cope?
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Many people think that property is a passive investment. Buy it and forget about it. That applies particularly to a multi dwelling units.
The reality is that buildings decay over time. They need initially upkeep, and then eventually modernisation.
Notice that office buildings go through substantial renovation about every 20 years.
In residential, lifestyles change. That means that the building has to be modernised, and money spent.
Speak with the committee. Remind them that for people, it is either there largest asset, and their largest investment. By not investing money and modernising, they are devaluing the potential value of their property.
It sounds like the instantaneous hot water is the problem. They require high power for a short period of time. If a larger tank can be accommodated somewhere, the water can be heated more slowly at lower power – same energy over a longer time. Ideally, a heat pump hot water system with a decent sized tank would store hot water and it would require lower power still due to its intrinsic efficiency.
You might need to put two compressors outside on common property, one for the reverse cycle aircon (efficient electric heating) and one for the hot water system.
Sir Humphrey – thank you. Looks like the next step is to ask for 2 compressors to be on common property. Could they just say no? Where do I find the information to present to the OC that it is necessary to have the compressors so as to fit the amount of KWs available?
You would need an electrician to tell you the available supply capacity into each unit. Doing load calculations is something an electrician should be able to do. That said, be a bit careful. Some will, for example, incorrectly calculate as if an electric hob will draw its full rated current, when in practice nobody ever has every ring on full power at the same time.
Then the key thing to understand with a heat pumps, whether for space heating/cooling (ie an air conditioner) or for water heating is that a system rated at (say) 3kW heat output only requires 1kW or less electrical input. This is because the electrical energy is only being used to move heat from the air outside into the space or water. Even when it is subjectively cold outside, the air still contains heat. This is what makes heat pumps so much more efficient than converting the electrical energy into heat, which is necessarily using 3kW of electrical energy input to produce heat output at 3kW.
As for ‘Can they say no?’. ‘They’ is you. You and your neighbours are the Owners Corporation. You are all in the same boat. I think you need to work with your committee and/or some neighbours to develop an energy plan to work out the best solution for getting the building off gas that can work for every unit and be given permission for. If that means two compressors, then the OC as a whole might want to decide on a uniform solution about where they may and may not be put.
It is difficult to have a discussion with the OC when the SM has said it is not their problem.
Is it really not their problem? Just because they say it, doesn’t mean it’s true. Check with CAV.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
Sir Humphrey
always like your responses.
As for electricians calculating the demand.
Every electrician will come to the same answer. The method to calculate “ maximum demand” Is prescribed in the Australian Wiring Rules AS3000.
And the wiring rules recognise that not every stove element will be used simultaneously, nor every power point will be on all the time.
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