Located in the city of Newark, the Pavilion Apartments is a multifamily apartment complex consisting of two 22 story towers. With over 650 apartment units, the Pavilion Apartments is one of the largest residential properties in the city.

For several decades, the two towers were heated utilizing two 500 hp Scotch Marine type boilers. One boiler acted as the primary and the other boiler served as the backup. Both boilers were located in the South tower and they provided steam to large heat exchangers located in the basement of each building. The steam was delivered to the heat exchanger in the North tower through underground pipes. The steam heated water in the heat exchanger, and the primary circulating pumps in each building circulated the hot water throughout the building’s heating system. Each building operated an independent water heater for domestic hot water.

Alpha Property Management (APM), a national property management company, is responsible for all aspects of the Pavilion’s operations, including the maintenance of its property, plant and equipment. In late 2010, APM recognized the need to replace the aging boiler plant, while also seeing the potential to move to a more efficient solution to its heating needs.

APM requested a proposal from American Boiler Company to replace one of the large Scotch Marine Boilers with new, higher efficiency boilers using a modular design. The modular design had been employed successfully at another APM managed property nearby named the Colonnades. APM also wanted to determine if the property was eligible to receive any rebates from New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program to offset the cost of the proposed upgrades to the buildings’ heating system.

It was determined after a review of the new boiler plant design that one Scotch Marine type boiler would remain in the North tower and serve as a backup boiler. The backup boiler would fire #2 oil in the event PSE&G requires building management to suspend its use of natural gas during a curtailment period.

American Boiler Company performed a basic heat loss calculation and informed APM that the Pavilion was an excellent candidate to receive a substantial rebate by participating in New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program’s “Pay for Performance” incentive. This program requires that a minimum energy reduction of 15% be achieved. Given the age and efficiency of the existing boilers and heating system, American Boiler Company notified APM that achieving the 15% requirement by upgrading to new boilers would be feasible.

APM gave American Boiler Company its approval to move ahead with the project in mid 2011. American Boiler Company then teamed up with Energy Squared LLC, a full service energy design consultant firm located in North Brunswick, NJ to supply the State of NJ with the required energy modeling, and analysis needed to qualify for the Pay for Performance rebates.

Facing a tight timetable, the team of ABC and Energy Squared, LLC marshaled their resources and provided the State of NJ with sufficient analysis and documentation required to win approval of the project. Shortly after obtaining the State’s approval, American Boiler Company and its experienced crew of pipefitters and welders went to work on creating the new boiler plant.

Less than six months later, American Boiler Company reached the milestone of firing up 6 new Fulton boilers with dual fuel capability. In addition to the Fulton boilers, American Boiler Company also installed 2 new steam gas fired boilers to service the air handling units in both buildings, installed 6 primary pumps with high efficiency variable speed drives, and installed a new concrete trench for venting.

Facing a tight timetable, the team of ABC and Energy Squared, LLC marshaled their resources and provided the State of NJ with sufficient analysis and documentation required to win approval of the project. Shortly after obtaining the State’s approval, American Boiler Company and its experienced crew of pipefitters and welders went to work on creating the new boiler plant.

Although the complete analysis of the project’s energy savings is still in progress, preliminary responses from the State of NJ indicate that the Pavilion project will receive more than $500,000 in Pay for Performance rebates.

If you want to learn more about the Pavilion Project, Pay for Performance, or our boiler services in general, please give us a call at (973) 923-1999.