Luxury Apartment Complex Comfortably Saves 30% by Switching to AERCO Solutions

Located 15 miles from Boston, Weymouth Commons is a luxury condominium complex that requires hot water systems to serve its approximately 563 units, as well as a state-of-the-art fitness center and business office. When the original systems were reaching end-of-life, the director of maintenance operations for Corcoran Management Company, Gary Saltmarsh, sought a more efficient condensing system that would decrease heating costs and provide the reliability necessary to keep tenants happy.

George T. Wilkinson, Inc. worked with Saltmarsh to design and install heating systems that included the AERCO Modulex EXT boilers and SmartPlate water heaters. Each building at the Commons features a hot water system with one Modulex EXT paired with a buffer tank and SmartPlate to provide both space heating and domestic hot water. The AERCO Modulex EXT units were selected because of their high efficiency of up to 99% and high turndown. A unique design allows the Modulex EXT 1530 and Modulex EXT 2295 to have four and six independent thermal modules, respectively, that create built-in redundancy for reliability normally associated with multi-unit systems. The SmartPlate water heaters can utilize boiler water as little as 5°F above the desired DHW temperature to minimize radiation losses and maximize boiler efficiency. Its compact footprint of <10 ft2 was also a big advantage. “The AERCO solution was exactly what I needed to maximize my condensing usage. The turndown ratio and redundancy of the Modulex EXT was a good selling point. The SmartPlate, with its temperature control and tankless design, speaks for itself,” said Saltmarsh. “I have at least 12 AERCO boiler setups and SmartPlate systems and not one has been a problem,” he said.

“We have been able to increase the amount of time spent condensing and decrease heating costs,” said Saltmarsh. “I can safely say we are seeing 20%-30% savings. The added benefits of resident comfort, safety, and ease of maintenance are priceless.”