Energy retrofit in a condo: the decisions to prepare, in order

Most energy retrofit projects fail at the meeting. Almost never on the merits: on the order in which they were prepared.

An energy retrofit is rarely decided on voting day. It is decided eighteen months earlier, in the order the board built the file. Presented too early, it meets "we don't have the figures". Presented too late, it arrives with stale quotes and an improvised funding plan.

Step 1 — Establish the real state of the building

Before any works scenario there must be a diagnosis: what heat is lost, where, and roughly how much. An energy audit provides that basis and avoids the endless debate between "we should change the windows" and "we should insulate externally".

Here the board brings something no consultancy has: the history. Which works were already done, when, and with what result. That is what the building maintenance log should contain — and failing that, what the board must reconstruct before the audit, not after.

Step 2 — Price scenarios, not a project

A general meeting rarely votes a single project presented as the only option. It votes far more readily between two or three priced scenarios: an essential core, an intermediate version, a full one — each with the cost per share and the expected saving.

Each scenario must rest on comparable quotes, which requires an identical specification. See requesting quotes from the manager and the comparison grid: on this kind of project, differences in scope between quotes often exceed differences in price.

Step 3 — The funding plan, before the vote

This is the step boards skip most often, and the one that sinks projects. The gross cost interests nobody: what matters is what each owner will actually pay, and when.

• What the existing works reserve fund covers — see the works reserve fund.
• Grants available, individual and collective, and above all: who prepares the applications, and within what timeframe.
• The phasing of calls for funds, the single most decisive factor in acceptance.
• Any collective loan, which must be explored well in advance.

A priced project with no funding plan is not a project: it is an announcement of higher charges.

Step 4 — Preparing the vote

Resolutions must be drafted so they can be voted: precise amount, contractor, reference to the attached quote. An open item such as "start thinking about renovation" leads nowhere — see how to get your items onto the agenda.

Plan the communication too: on a project of this size, absent owners decide on what they received. See how to communicate better with co-owners.

Step 5 — After the vote, the tracking

An energy retrofit runs for months and involves several trades. The works tracking table becomes essential, and acceptance snags must be photographed one by one.

With CoproHarmony, quotes, decisions, exchanges and site photos stay together throughout the project — including after the board changes. Create your space for free.

One measure often comes with these works, and is frequently mandatory: individual heating cost allocation.

The starting point is now mandatory: the collective energy assessment, and how it fits with the technical survey and works plan.

The sticking point is almost always the same: see how to fund major works.

One funding avenue is worth examining alongside: solar panels.

Two decisions structure the project: replacing the heat source and, where relevant, connecting to district heating.