PUBLIC HOUSING CASE STUDY BRICKYARD CREEK APARTMENTS ­ RED BLUFF, CA Two expensive, hard-to-maintain boilers spelled trouble for the renovators of a large apartment complex. Bosch Water Heating solutions delivered a win-win for tenants, the managing agency and the environment. T he eight buildings that make up the Brickyard Creek Apartments house some ninety-two apartments, ranging in heaters to serve the two laundry rooms at Brickyard Creek. Each of these powerful tankless units supplies hot water to four washing machines. size from one to three bedrooms. In early 2003, the Community Housing Improvement Program, a publicly-funded affordable housing agency, began to renovate the nor thern California complex. The overhaul had two major goals regarding hot water. The first was to increase energy efficiency, reducing both costs and environmental impact. The second, to give tenants control over their hot water consumption, and bill them individually for it. Why the experts went with Bosch More for the money. The ar chitect and the ener gy consultant knew that the unit cost, high ener gy-efficiency, and ease of installation made Bosch tank less units very cost effective. 92 separate water heaters? The complex was previously served by two large central domestic hot water boilers, which wer e expensive to r un and dif ficult to maintain. The only effective way to bill the tenants for hot water was to install water heaters for each apartment. But impr oving the ener gy efficiency of the hot water system while changing over to 92 separate water heaters posed a serious challenge. After considering several apartment-appropriate options, the architect and ener gy consultant selected Bosch tankless water heaters for the pr oject. They also chose two high capacity Bosch tankless water Size matters! The small size of the tankless water heaters was another key advantage. Access to the attics where the water heaters would be located was difficult, and dragging heavy, unwieldy tanks up into the attic would have been nearly impos sible. Safety first. Tank-style water heaters installed in attics pr esent a gr eat risk to building owners because of the water dam age they can cause if they eventually leak. Unlike tank free water heaters, the majority of tank water Bosch technology gave the tenants of these publicly-funded apartments control over their hot water consumption, reducing both costs and impact on the environment. heaters have substantial leaks at least once -- commonly at the end of their functional life. Leaks from attic tank installations inevitably drip down into the apar tments below, damaging drywall, carpets and fur nishings. It's highly unusual for a tankless water heater to leak during its lifetime, which is a clear advantage over tanks. age gas tank water heater , and are less likely to end up at the landfill (or dump). Endless hot water. Another advantage of the Bosch tankless is abundant hot water. The unit can support shower after shower continuously, and will never run out of hot water like a tank. Since there can be as many as Going where a tank can't: compact Bosch tankless units fit nicely in attic space, minus the threat of water damage presented by tanks. The famous Bosch warranty comes through for Brickyard Creek The Bosch 15-year warranty is the longest in the industry, and more than twice as long as most tank water heater warranties. It's nice to know it's there, just in case ­ as the complex's manager Bob Lyon discovered. During the summer after the installation, several of the water heaters control boxes on the attic units failed. After some investigation, Bosch determined that the high daytime temperature in the attics (often above 160 degrees F) was causing an electr onics problem in some of the control boxes. five residents in each apartment, this is an important feature for Brickyard Creek. Energy efficiency. The most important consideration in selecting the Bosch tankless was energy efficiency. Each Bosch unit uses 30% less energy than the average forty-gallon tank, and doesn't lose energy efficiency over time as a tank does. This saves the apartment owners about $100 annually in energy costs on each unit, and more than $9,000 annually across the entire apartment complex. Bosch swiftly replaced all the control boxes at Brickyard Creek with a mor e heat durable version of the part at no charge. There have been no further pr oblems in the year since this incident. The tenants have been ver y satisfied with the performance of the Bosch water heaters. Bob Lyon reports that "The Bosch tanklesss units have performed well and been reliable. "And" he adds, " Bosch technical support has been excellent." Environment. Bosch tankless water heaters' greenhouse gas emissions are 30% lower than the aver The Bosch warranty is the best in the business -- and it works. When summer heat stressed a few of the control boxes on the attic units, Bosch swiftly replaced all of them with a more durable version of the part at no charge. BBT NORTH AMERICA CORPORATION Bosch Group Bosch Water Heating 340 Mad River Park Waitsfield, VT 05673 800-798-8219 www.boschpro.com ...