A few energy saving tips.

Here are some energy saving tips to help reduce your electric bill this summer that we found on the internet:

Turn your thermostat up. During warm weather, set your thermostat as high as possible, given health and comfort considerations and drink plenty of fluids. Turn thermostats to78 degrees when at home; 85 degrees when away. Use fans to circulate cool air.

Close your drapes or shades. Windows are one of the largest sources of heat gain in your home. Although not as effective as exterior shading, keeping your drapes and shades closed during the day helps keep unwanted heat out of your home.

Ventilate when it's cool outside. Most areas of Connecticut have cooler nights even after the hottest days. Cut your cooling costs by opening windows when it's cooler outside than inside. In the morning, close up the house to trap the coolness inside.

Use ceiling fans wisely. Ceiling fans create enough air movement in a room to make it feel cooler by four degrees or more. They use only about as much energy as a 100-watt light bulb. Since you will feel cooler, make sure that you turn up your thermostat to 80 degrees or higher to save on your energy costs.

Eliminate wasted energy. Turn off lights in unoccupied rooms. Unplug or recycle that spare refrigerator in the garage if you don’t truly need it—this seemingly convenient way to keep extra drinks cold adds 10-25% to your electric bill. Remove the refrigerator door for safety reasons and to prevent mold.

Use appliances efficiently. Do only full loads when using your dishwasher and clothes washer. Run your appliances during off peak hours or after the sun goes down. Be sure to clean your clothes dryer's lint trap after each use. Use the moisture-sensing automatic drying setting on your dryer if you have one. When replacing these appliances, buy Energy Star products. They save up to 30 percent over standard models.

Plug “leaking energy” in electronics. Many new TVs, VCRs, chargers, computer peripherals and other electronics use electricity even when they are switched “off.” Although these “standby losses” are only a few watts each, they add up to over 50 watts in a typical home that is consumed all the time.

If possible, unplug electronic devices and chargers that have a block-shaped transformer on the plug when they are not in use. For computer scanners, printers and other devices that are plugged into a power strip, simply switch off the power strip after shutting down you computer.

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Will Social Networks put "Social" back in Communities?

I imagine most communities are like the one I live in, which means residents are becoming more and more distant even though they live in close proximity. We have buildings with 18 or more units together and residents do not know and may not have ever seen people who live two stacks over. You may wonder how this is possible when you live in such close proximity to your neighbors.

I spent a while trying to understand why out of 166 families in our community I probably know about 20 by name and another dozen by sight. The rest of I could pass in the street and never know they were my neighbor.

What I came up with was:

• Our schedules have gotten busier,
• most of our entertainment is delivered right to our home,
• many of us have been taught to fear the unknown, so it is no wonder we do not know our neighbors.

We travel to and from our homes less frequently, we are able to be less social and still meet others and enjoy ourselves.

Can the internet and social networks turn this around? It is no secret that social networks like MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn and others are connecting people from around the world. Why can’t sites like these connect you to the person next door?

Social Networks are taking on new life

The next generation of social networking is emerging and freeing us from the strangle hold and open nature of the top social networks. The new social networks sites actually let us create our own social networks where we can choose to only open the network up to a select few.

What does this have to do with planned communities? If social network sites connect people from around the world, why not to connect the person right next door. With this new generation of online social networks you can create a custom site that is only open to your residents of the community and their families. A private social network eliminates the spam, unwanted contacts from complete strangers, and the fear of predators.

Experts are predicting that most businesses, families, and other groups will have their own social network within the next 5 years. Using these new software sites, this just may become a reality sooner than they believe.

A POLICY OF INCLUSION

It never ceases to amaze me when I overhear association owners and Board members talk about dealing with “renters” or “tenants.” As an outside observer overhearing the tone, tenor and content of some of these conversations and comments, one would think that “renters” or “tenants” were the scourge of the earth or at best, second class citizens. At times, actions taken by associations toward “renters” or “tenants” have bordered on discrimination and other cases actually were discrimination. There have been cases I have observed in which “renters” or “tenants” have acted out in ways to fulfill those negative vibrations to the detriment of the association. In some cases, “renters” or “tenants” have retaliated against certain treatment by the association in very unpleasant actions in which the “renters” or “tenants” prevailed.

What is an association to do? It is clearly the association’s responsibility to manage the relationship, and that should begin with a policy of inclusion. The best place to start is to dump the labels of “renters” or “tenants” or whatever favorite less than positive reference an association may be currently using to identify them and go with “residents” for everyone who resides on the property of the association. If a differentiation of terms is required when communicating with each group, try “for residents who own” and “residents who lease.” As a lead-in for communications with each group, use the specific clarification required, then shift to the use of residents only. Or, use your own variation on the theme.

Individuals who lease within a community association in general are no different than those who own units. A neighbor is a neighbor, good or bad, no matter whether they own or lease their unit. These residents can bring a lot to the table for the association if given the opportunity. People lease for a variety of reasons, not just for financial reasons. If associations reached out to residents who lease, they may be surprised to find there may be a very talented group of individuals living in their community who are interested and willing to volunteer their time for the benefit of the community. Associations who are on the lookout for new Board or Committee members may have untapped resources within their community.

Next step is follow-through. Establish policies that include residents who lease. Amend your Documents as necessary to include these policies, and then communicate the policies.

Some suggested policies are:

• Allow and encourage residents who lease to serve on Committees.
• Allow and encourage residents who lease to serve on the Board, provided the majority of Board members are residents who own.
• Communicate these policies and document provisions to realtors who are involved in leasing units.
• Communicate these policies and document provisions to residents who lease their units.

Some suggested document amendments are:

• Require that leases be in writing.
• Require that leases contain a provision that the lease is subject to the documents of the association.
• Include a copy of the association’s documents as an exhibit to the lease.
• Require that a copy of each lease be on file with the association.

Then communicate all of the above to all residents again and again and again, as well as actively implementing the policies.

The impression that managing a community association does not take effort and work is misguided. It not only takes effort and work, at times, it takes nerves of steel.

A policy of inclusion will do “what can be done.” The rest is up to the residents of the community to put it all together. There are no guarantees but doing something in this case is better than doing nothing.

Al Griffiths, PCAM is the owner of Whitney Management & Maintenance Co. based in Hamden. His firm is the only AAMC certified company in Connecticut. Al frequently speaks at CAI-CT education programs.

Striking a balance between homeowners and aesthetics

There are a multitude of personal views and opinions on landscaping. When you live in a planned community some of those personal views will be expressed and chances are they will be conflicting views. Money allowing this is an area that should always be handled with a plan and by a professional company.

Over the last year we have received some good and not so good ideas regarding ways to offset increases on landscaping. Here are a few that didn’t make the grade:

• One suggested that we hire a landscaper that would arrive only when we called. This way if the weather had been dry and there was no rain we could hold off on a cut or only cut those areas that were shaded had growth;
• Someone planted artificial flowers outside their unit, they felt it would save on replanting;
• And we had a resident plant wild flowers and wild grass in an effort to reduce on purchasing annuals.

None could conceive that their ideas were not well received by the board, other residents, or our contractors. While all of these ideas could work in your personal single family home they were not conducive to an expansive property that stretched over 18 acres.

There are great projects that condo residents can do working together to enhance the curb appeal while saving a few dollars:

• Plan a spruce up/clean up day. Ask for resident volunteers to work around buildings cleaning up, reducing weeds and plantings gone badly. Some complexes have wooded areas, trash areas, and other areas that tend to over grow or collect blowing trash.
• Purchase plants and/or mulch in bulk and make an outing of it. Planning something like this around a family day with a picnic lunch after is a great way to bring together a community.
• Adopt a planter. Ask residents if they would be willing to volunteer to take care of a planter or planting bed. This has worked for us with some success. We still have to care of some planting barrels and planting beds while others are done by residents that are close and want them to look nice every year.

Living in a planned community is always about balance. This happens to be an area where the results of a decision are very apparent because the result will be outside of the units and visible not only to residents but also to neighbors and everyone who passes the community.

Michael Zimmer is the President of The Meadows of Southington Condominium Association, Inc. Michael has served on the board of directors for this 166 unit complex in Southington for over 15 years and has held the position of President for the last 12 years. He can be contacted via email at mjzimmer@bigplanet.com