South Winds (Fall River, MA)
South Winds Apartment Community provides an ideal foundation for ESS’ Carbon Neutral Energy Efficiency retrofit program.
South Winds is a 27 building, 404-unit garden-style multi-family complex in Fall River, MA. The complex features a mix of 1, 2, and 3-bedroom units arranged in 3 story buildings across a 27-acre property. Originally completed in 1972, the all-electric property features many of the original building systems.
Through the ESS retrofit process, South Winds saw an 80% increase in energy savings, resulting in a 70% decrease in utility costs and an $800k NOI increase. South Winds now avoids 1,550 tons of CO2 each year. To date, improvements to the property’s building envelope include upgraded doors, windows, LED lighting, insulation and weatherization. Going forward, plans call for a full retrofit of existing HVAC with advanced cold-climate air source heat pumps to dramatically reduce energy demand and improve energy resiliency.
In order to meet the remaining energy consumption of South Winds using a renewable source, ESS is in the process of installing roughly 1.37 MW (DC) of rooftop solar PV.
Following the construction of the property’s new energy infrastructure, ESS will manage, maintain and monitor these systems to maximize energy efficiency and environmental health through our integrated energy management and monitoring system.
