Paramount Plumbing installed a parallel cascade of Bosch Therm 1210ESC gas tankless condensing water heater units.
Paramount Plumbing installed a parallel cascade of Bosch Therm 1210ESC gas tankless condensing water heater units.
Paramount Plumbing installed a parallel cascade of Bosch Therm 1210ESC gas tankless condensing water heater units.
Paramount Plumbing installed a parallel cascade of Bosch Therm 1210ESC gas tankless condensing water heater units.
Paramount Plumbing installed a parallel cascade of Bosch Therm 1210ESC gas tankless condensing water heater units.

NYC art school gets tankless retrofit

Oct. 10, 2014
The retrofit was for the student dormitories at New York’s School of Visual Arts Paramount Plumbing was able to transport each unit in the building’s elevator to the rooftop mechanical room Paramount suggested using a parallel cascade of seven Bosch Therm 1210ESC tankless condensing water heaters The other major challenge was replacing the leaking gas-fired units with no interruption of hot water service The Bosch units are connected to an Aquastat to maintain hot water setpoint Energy savings from the installation will cover the cost of the project over a six to 10-year period  

NEW YORK — Aerial acrobats need not apply. At least that’s one of the reasons Mike Salera, partner/vice president, Paramount Plumbing, decided to go with a tankless retrofit instead of a similar replacement of the two aging 250-gallon direct-fired hot water tanks at one of the student dormitories at New York’s School of Visual Arts (SVA).

Space restrictions an issue, Paramount Plumbing, located in The Bronx, New York, was able to transport each unit in the building’s elevator to the rooftop mechanical room — without the use of a crane, as would be required with a large direct-fired water heater.

“There were space restrictions that limited getting equipment on the roof and into the elevator,” said Salera. “And the high cost of using a crane made tankless an easier choice.”

All in with tankless

New York's School of Visual Arts.

Established in 1947, New York’s School of Visual Arts is a leader in the education of artists, photographers, film producers, designers and creative professionals for more than six decades.

Comprised of more than 6,000 graduate and undergraduate students at its Manhattan campus, maintaining hot water delivery for one if its main student dormitories was critical.

When the two 250-gallon domestic hot water gas direct-fired tanks began to leak in a 25-story student dormitory, the School of Visual Arts turned to Paramount Plumbing.

Paramount suggested using a parallel cascade of seven Bosch Therm 1210ESC gas tankless condensing water heater units, rated with a thermal efficiency up to 98% to solve their problem. The Bosch units were purchased through Solco Plumbing Supply of New York.

Service, uninterrupted

The other major challenge was replacing the leaking gas-fired units with no interruption of hot water service.

“There were two 250-gallon direct-fired hot water tanks serving the 25-story building with hundreds of student residents,” said Salera. “We had to replace the leaking old gas-fired units with seven Bosch Therm 1210ESC condensing tankless water heaters — with no interruption of hot water service. While installing the tankless units, the old hot water system continued to function through bypass valves, allowing for no service disruptions.”

According to Jordan Stern from Marplat, a manufacturer’s rep in New York, the customer had two large direct-fired water heaters that were leaking due to expansion in the hot water system, and could not readily obtain replacement units.

“We were able to get the 1210 ESC units mounted on the wall while the leaking units adequately maintained hot water for the building,” said Stern. “Once all the 1210 ESC units were piped and vented, Paramount Plumbing was able to remove the old water heaters and run the hot water system with the Bosch tankless units and the three existing 350-gallon indirect hot water storage tanks.”

The Bosch units are connected to an Aquastat to maintain hot water setpoint temperature automatically, with no special control wiring.

Owner feedback

Service was maintained throughout installation and the Bosch units now provide 100% of the building’s hot water added Scalera.
“We’ve heard excellent feedback from the building owner and have had zero callbacks after two years in operation,” said Stern.
“Substantial savings from the parallel tankless installation over a six to 10-year period will cover the cost of the project itself,” said Salera.

Paramount Plumbing specializes in new construction projects throughout New York City. The company is currently doing installation work at 432 Park Avenue, a residential high rise building, which will be completed in 2015.

With 125 condominium apartments and a height of 1,398 feet, the residential high rise will be the third tallest building in the United States, and one of the tallest residential buildings in the world.

The building will feature high-end fixtures and amenities such as multiple restaurants, pool, spa and gym levels.

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