By Patrick Adrian Staff Writer
CLAREMONT — The Claremont Housing Authority (CHA) has announced that it will fund up to $17,000 for an engineer to assist in a major heating system overhaul to the Marion L. Phillips Apartments building. Meanwhile, Claremont Mayor Charlene Lovett will explore renewable energy options in addition to the recommended fossil fuel.
On Thursday, the Claremont Housing Authority Commission voted 3-0 with one abstention to hire an engineer to consult in the design of an upgraded heating system in Marion L. Phillips Apartments, a 96-unit public housing complex that serves low-income seniors and people with disabilities, most of whom receive Section 8 subsidies toward their rent.
Energy performance contractors — Dana Nute and Chase Pennoyer of the Concord-based Resilient Building Groups (RBG) and Gabriel Leonard of Soutwestern Community Service — recommended hiring an engineer to assist in the replacement of Marion Phllips’ current system, which comprises about “eight or nine individual boilers’’ that operate on heating oil. The contractors recommended replacement would be composed of “three larger, modulating boilers that can either work together or individually, depending on the heating load.”
“We want [an engineer] to make sure that the boilers are sized accordingly and correctly and that the piping system [currently] in the basement can handle it and is the correct design for those modulating boilers,” Pennoyer explained to the board.
The contractors also hope to include a fuel switch to propane, which would be stored in an underground tank and increase the facility’s total heating efficiency by nearly 20%.
Lovett, however, said she would also like this engineer to provide recommendations in regard to all the fuel-system options, including solar-powered and biomass.
“If we are going to hire someone to do the engineering, I would like to see what all of our options are,” Lovett said.
The big hurdle to a solar or biomass system will be the funding, the contractors explained. This project, which will include energy-efficiency upgrades to the facility’s lighting, major electrical appliances like refrigerators and the water-pressure system, is being almost entirely funded by Eversource through the New Hampshire Saves program.
According to the contractors, Eversource is only guaranteed to fully-fund the heating system replacement if the fuel source is oil or natural gas.
The problem with a solar-powered system is that solar is electrical, which means the system will be increasing the facility’s electrical output to provide heating, said Nute, president of RGB.
“This whole Eversource program is intended to reduce electricity,” Nute said. “So if I propose a system [that] uses heat pumps, you are now increasing your electric usage. [The program administrators] do not like to approve a fuel change to make you have a higher electric bill.”
As for biomass, a system fueled by burning wood chips — which are typically harvested from forested timber — Nute said he was not certain whether Eversource would fund it.
“We haven’t gotten one through the utility program,” Nute said.
Nute’s company RBG completed a similar energy project with the Laconia Housing Authority last year, installing new windows, air conditioning units and LED lighting at Laconia’s 96-unit Sunrise Towers housing project. Those upgrades, with a cost of $650,000, were fully funded through the New Hampshire Saves program.
The money appropriated for the engineer will be funded by the Claremont Housing Authority.
While the engineer will give recommendations regarding all fuel-sources, Claremont Housing Authority Director Michelle Aiken said on Thursday that the CHA is relying on Eversource’s funding of this heating upgrade and would not be able to cover the expenses of a renewable fuel alternative.
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