Aimco Energizes Three Philadelphia Properties with New Cogeneration Plants

Philadelphia–Tenants at three apartment communities in Philadelphia will see green now that owner Apartment Investment and Management Company–with the assistance of a $1 million competitive, matching grant from the State of Pennsylvania’s Green Energy Works! Program–has installed a new energy efficient system that will significantly decrease tenants’ utility bills and allow them to keep a little extra change in their pockets.

Aimco joined forces with Aegis Energy Services to devise a plan for incorporating Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants into existing infrastructures at the three chosen Aimco properties. The multifamily communities involved in the project are the 315-unit Chestnut Hall Apartments in the University City area at 3900 Chestnut Street; the 535-unit Sterling Apartment Homes at 1815 JFK Boulevard in Center City; and University Square, an apartment community featuring 442 residences at 3901 Market Street.

The activated CHP systems provide the properties with electricity, hot water and heat. The energy-efficient technology relies on one fuel source to produce heat and electricity; at the three Aimco properties, that singular fuel source is natural gas. Taking all three properties into consideration, the new combined heat and power plants will create electrical and thermal efficiencies totaling approximately 85 percent, a notable improvement over the 33 percent achieved with traditional centralized electric power stations.

The benefits, however, extend beyond Aimco’s apartment communities. “With the state grant and support of the Department of Environmental Protection, we are able to reduce the load on the city’s power grid and cut our carbon emissions by 2,500 tons,” Martin Sprang, Aimco’s vice president of energy, notes in a prepared statement.