DUNCASTER RETIREMENT COMMUNITY

Paying Dividends

Connecticut’s Energy Independence Act (EIA) has begun paying dividends for one of the largest continuing care
adult communities in the state.

Thanks to a grant from EIA, Duncaster, a Life-Care Retirement Community, had Dalkia Aegis, EDF Group (Holyoke, Massachusetts) install a 150 kW distributed generation (cogeneration) system with heat recovery at the community’s Caleb Hitchcock Health Center. The health center is an integral part of the community’s 87-acre complex in Bloomfield.

Incentive Funding

Duncaster is the first facility in the state to utilize EIA incentive funding. EIA is administered by the Department of Public Utility Control.

Distributed generation efficiently uses natural gas to generate electric power while at the same time meeting thermal load requirements with
recovered heat. Duncaster’s power planners will utilize two high-efficiency AEGEN 75 kW cogeneration modules as base load power supply.

Simultaneously, the recovered heat will be used to meet domestic hot water and space heating loads in the health center. In addition to the health center, the community includes an aquatics facility and longterm assisted and independent living units.

“The customer is extremely happy with the installation,” said Rick DiFazio, key accounts manager, Connecticut Natural Gas. “The facility will have payback in less than three years, thanks to the state incentives; the units will provide the facility’s energy managers with flexibility to use different operating modes to meet specific energy requirements without incurring high electric demand charges; the units also operate quietly.”

Duncaster’s power planners are so pleased with the performance of the distributed generation equipment that they have placed an additional order to install another 150 kW unit for use in the main administrative building.

The Duncaster community complex in Bloomfield. The community’s Caleb Hitchcock Health Center uses a 150 kW distributed generation (cogeneration) system with heat recovery for its hot water and space heating requirements. Above, right: CNG key accounts manager Rick DiFazio and Don Loughran, Duncaster facilities maintenance, inspect the facility’s Aegen DG equipment.