PUBLIC HOUSING CASE STUDY Harrison Village ­ McKeesport, PA The architect quit, the plumber went broke and the plumbing inspector never heard of tankless. So how did this 50-unit renovation project turn out to be such a success? M cKeeseport Housing Authority owns and manages more than 2,000 housing units situated in McKeesport, a sub- tankless water heaters would help the renovators comply with an important HUD regulation for public housing. This federal standard requires local housing agencies to select the most energy efficient and economical appliances that ar e easily available. The choice was clear. A Bosch water heater was installed in each of the fifty homes at Har rison Village. urb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This includes Harrison Village, Bumps in the road, Bosch to the rescue Projects sometimes run into major roadblocks. Harrison Village had its The outstanding energy efficiency of Bosch tankless water heaters helped the renovators of this public housing complex comply with an important HUD regulation. share. For starters, the plumbing contractor went out of business. The a community of 50 townhouses and apartments. In early 2002, the Authority began a renovation project for the Village. One of the major goals of this project was to maximize usable space in each of the Village homes. housing authority had disputes with the architect, delaying the project's completion. And then, after a new architect and plumbing contractor were brought in and the renovation was nearly complete, the county plumbing inspector refused to approve the water heaters for the installation. The inspector mistakenly believed the tank- More energy efficiency in less space The architect advised that replacing the old bulky tank water heaters with compact, wall-hung Bosch tankless unit would free up several square feet of floor space. Even better , the extraor dinary efficiency of Bosch less units were designed to supply only a single plumbing fixture and so wouldn't provide enough hot water for an entire onebathr oom townhouse. Although Bosch tankless units have been approved for use in all fifty states, Bosch has often helped a customer overcome the assumption held by an inspector of the "old school" that all water heaters have to be tanks. In the case of Harrison Village, Bosch spearheaded a concerted effort to address the situation. Two appeals later, the water heaters received final approval. "Plenty of hot water!" Today, each Village townhouse has three sinks, a shower/tub combination, and a clothes washer hook up. Many of the townhouses have three bedrooms and as many as six residents ­ often several morning showers are run consecutively. At most, a forty-gallon tank would have supplied perhaps two or three showers in a row. The Bosch unit just keeps chugging along, providing all the hot water those mor ning bathers need. And each Bosch water heater uses approximately 30% less gas than a forty-gallon tank, saving $80 to $100 a year for each unit installed. Finally, the Bosch tankless fifteen-year war ranty is about twice that of Efficiency expert: replacing old, bulky hot water tanks with compact, wall mounted Bosch units freed up much needed floor space, as seen in the laundry room photo above. Many Village townhouses have thr ee bedrooms and as many as six residents ­ often several morning showers or laundry loads are run consecutively. The Bosch water heater just keeps chugging along, providing all the hot water residents need. the average tank warranty, which is fitting since the unit typically lasts about twice as long. This reliability allows the Housing Authority maintenance staff to focus their energies on issues other than replacing water heaters for the foreseeable future. "The tankless water heaters have been reliable, and the tenants are getting plenty of hot water," says Jay Graham, Assistant Maintenance Superintendent for Harrison Village. "That's one less thing to worry about." BBT NORTH AMERICA CORPORATION Bosch Group Bosch Water Heating 340 Mad River Park Waitsfield, VT 05673 800-798-8219 www.boschpro.com ...