PHILADELPHIA, PA—Simpson House, a Philadelphia-based continuing care retirement community, expects to save as much as $350,000 in energy costs annually with a makeover of its energy infrastructure being designed and implemented by New Jersey-based energy management and combined heat and power specialist ENER-G Rudox and partners and clean energy specialists, Blue Sky Power and MCFA Global.

The multimillion-dollar energy infrastructure improvements to the community's campus will include the installation of a highly efficient ER265UL tri-generation system that will provide heat, cooling, and electricity for the community.  The project will also include comprehensive lighting upgrades throughout the community and the replacement of existing boilers and chillers in the community's powerhouse.

"Historically, we've found that many senior living communities do not prioritize energy infrastructure upgrades because of economic concerns," says Blue Sky Power CEO Ben Parvey. "It turns out however, that many communities can actually reduce their carbon footprint and save money simultaneously, if they have the right approach. At Simpson House, we have been able to work with ENER-G Rudox to leverage a combination of technological, financial and regulatory best practices to deliver a solution that benefits the end-user economically, while simultaneously contributing to their organization's sustainability goals."

To deliver maximum benefit to the community, Simpson House has elected to fund the project via ENER-G Rudox's 'Energy Services Agreement' offering. Under this 20-year arrangement, ENER-G Rudox will fund both construction and maintenance of the tri-generation system, while Simpson House will pay a fixed rate for the electricity, heat and chilling delivered by the system. Under the terms of the contract, Simpson House will receive approximately $350,000 in guaranteed energy savings in each calendar year, while also reducing the community's carbon footprint by approximately 300 metric tons per year, the equivalent impact of reducing domestic gasoline consumption by 34,000 gallons annually.

"For many commercial and industrial facilities, the ability to obtain 'Triple Bottom Line' benefits exists through energy infrastructure projects, as they take advantage of the economic, environmental and operation savings provided.  In the greater Philadelphia metropolitan area, however, these projects are even more likely due to strong support at both the state and local level," says Ryan Goodman, president, ENER-G Rudox. "In many cases, the pieces are all on the table, but it takes someone familiar with all the facets of the industry and technology to put the project together."       

The Simpson House project received support from both state and local sources, including a $400,000 grant from Pennsylvania's Commonwealth Financing Authority. In addition, PECO has agreed to contribute approximately $200,000 to the project through its Smart-On Site Program. The project is also benefiting from the attractive cogeneration service rate offered by the facility's gas utility, Philadelphia Gas Works.