NHP Foundation: Bayview Towers

BACKGROUND

Bayview Towers Apartments is a 200-unit affordable apartment complex for families. The property consists of two high-rise style buildings – 21-story and 9-story, respectively – and was built in 1973. In 2012, NHP began a significant renovation of the property that included kitchen and bathroom upgrades, domestic and sanitary plumbing line upgrades, new flooring, new windows, new electrical panels, new AC units, and energy-efficient appliances, windows, and lighting. Exterior concrete repairs, a new roof, and a new look for the exterior of the buildings completed the renovation in 2014. While energy savings of 17 percent were documented in Portfolio Manager, boiler and domestic hot water (DHW) upgrades remained unaddressed and an opportunity for substantial energy savings.

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SOLUTIONS

This project was done in conjunction with an energy audit performed by Steven Winter Associates, Inc. The goal was to identify any low-hanging fruit that would be available for the property. It was determined that the HVAC and DHW systems were the two buildings systems that had not been addressed in the 2012 renovation. Knowing this, project engineers worked to design a system that not only increased the current level of efficiency and reliability, but also maximized all available utility incentives from the properties service provider Eversource. The efficiency of the system was dramatically increased, as were the projected energy and operational cost savings, with the Eversource funding that accounted for 54% of the project cost. The system features a bank of hi-tech condensing boilers with superior operating efficiencies of up to 99% efficiency integrated with three indirect water heaters along with new pumps and variable frequency drives (VFDs) to help reduce both natural gas and electric consumption associated with these system loads.

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OTHER BENEFITS

The new HVAC and DHW systems will not only improve system performance but will result in greater tenant comfort and reduced maintenance costs, as the old system was original to the building and was inefficient and costly to maintain. In addition, while water savings are often expected from a new system such as this, all available water efficiency measures were implemented during the 2012 renovation so they were not included in these estimates.

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Annual Energy Use

(Source EUI)
Baseline (2017)
185 kBtu/sq. ft,
Expected (2018)
139 kBtu/sq. ft,

Energy Savings:

25%

Annual Energy Cost

Baseline (2017)
$280,000
Expected (2018)
$254,000

Cost Savings:

$26,000

Sector Type

Multifamily

Location

Project Size

153,500 Square Feet

Financial Overview

$483,000

Bayview Towers
Bayview Towers

Original Boiler System (circa 1972)
Original Boiler System (circa 1972)

New Boiler System (circa 2017)
New Boiler System (circa 2017)