Overview

Facility Strategies Group (FSG) has provided engineering and consulting services continuously since 2011 for Reading’s renewable and energy financing projects including energy engineering, energy and renewable audits, building and equipment performance evaluations, design reviews, energy and building Code reviews, performance contracting support, measurement & verification services, utility benchmarking, and commodity purchasing support.

FSG is currently providing design engineering and commissioning services for the boiler plant decentralization at Glenside Homes. The multi-phase project consists of decommissioning the existing central hydronic boiler plant serving 48 individual residential buildings with new individual condensing boilers to provide both space heating and domestic hot water in each building. The project tasks included performing energy analysis and load calculations for multiple building types, selecting equipment for performance and ease of service, and coordinating controls equipment and sequences with the boiler and pump manufacturers. The project has included the installation of new gas lines as well as the replacement of some aging distribution piping. Design challenges included the utilization of existing piping and electrical infrastructure, space and routing limitations related to the relocation of heating equipment to individual existing buildings, and staging requirements necessary to complete the scope of work in the occupied buildings within budget and seasonal time constraints. For commissioning, FSG prepared BOD documents, design documents, and approved submittals, prepared the Cx Plan, pre-functional forms, functional test forms, completed inspections and reports, witnessed and reviewed reports for equipment start-ups and TAB, reviewed training agendas and content, and completed functional testing. Phase I was completed in 2022, and Phase II was completed in 2023, Phase III is currently close to completion, and phase IV just kicked off in June 2025. FSG is currently performing commissioning tasks for phase III and design/kickoff tasks for the final Phase IV of the project. Total project costs for Phases I-III total $9,8509,500.

FSG has also provided engineering, financial, and policy consulting services related to the agency’s energy performance contract, including reviews of measurement & verification reports, and support and negotiations related to deregulated electric and natural gas commodity purchases.