This article was published by The Energy Mix on June 27, 2024.
By Energy Mix Staff
A strata (condominium) owner in Richmond, British Columbia is facing a C$2,600 fine after installing a heat pump on his unit.
And the tab could have been far higher—the strata corporation was prepared to charge Sina Shakibaei $11,600 for the unauthorized installation before the province’s Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) ordered the fine reduced, CBC reports.
Efficient home cooling has become a top-of-mind issue since a devastating heat dome, which scientists said would have been “virtually impossible” without climate change, killed 619 people and raised anxiety about climate emergency preparedness, especially for vulnerable populations. In the aftermath, the B.C. government pledged $10 million to distribute 8,000 free air conditioners to households at greatest risk, prompting calls for the province to opt for external shading, better urban tree canopies, and heat pumps as safety measures that would help more people at less cost.
But that story was just beginning to unfold when Shakibaei, who was vice-president of his strata’s seven-member council at the time, obtained permission to install the heat pump in 2021, becoming the first owner in the 130-unit complex to opt for either a heat pump or an air conditioner. In September, 2022, according to the tribunal report, the strata corporation complained the unit had damaged the building envelope, and said Shakibaei had contravened a bylaw requiring unit owners to get approval before modifying property held in common. The corporation instructed him to remove the heat pump within a week or face a weekly fine of $200.
Shakibaei maintained he had permission to install the heat pump, based on an agreement signed by the strata’s former council president and former manager. They both said Shakibaei had presented the request at a meeting, where he abstained from voting as vice president. “However, four council members say they were not at that meeting, never received correspondence about the heat pump or voted on it,” CBC writes. The tribunal ruled that the approval was invalid, but found a precedent to reduce the fine.
Tony Gioventu, executive director of the Condominium Home Owners Association of BC, did not respond to a request for comment on the demand for heat pumps among B.C. strata owners, how much that demand has increased since the heat dome, or the steps strata boards can take to address the climate and energy resilience issues that unit owners are beginning to face.
However, in a January, 2024 opinion column [pdf], he described heat pump conversions as “an excellent option to manage a stable climate within your building common areas, which will reduce cooling demands in homes as well.”
Gioventu said the latest generations of heat pumps “have greatly reduced noise levels, energy demands, and higher performance levels,” but urged readers to check into permitting requirements, increasing electricity demand, and the complexities of the actual installation.
Citing provincial data, CBC says there are currently 254,000 heat pumps installed across B.C.
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