Understood, thank you. I'm not sure that huge boilers for huge buildings are availabe as condensing types. Even if they are available, these boilers tend to be a bit more complicated and prone to break-downs. May not be wise in an indutrial/commerical setting.
Oil-delivery trucks blocking traffic circulation and fuel-oil storage tanks become an issue. (Traffic in many parts of Manhattan is hell). I'm not confident, either, that the gas mains in Manhattan could handle it if the skyscrapers of say 100 stories (levels) and smaller buildngs all came on-line seeking huge-demand gas service.
Also, at or below 20*F (-7*C) the gas companies require large industrial/commerical users of natural gas to stop using it. (Of course you'd have an interuptible-service agreement with a huge finanical incentive i.e. lowered rates). In order to GET gas service, if your usage is that large one has to to sign such an agreement. So FEH to natural gas. [There are gas/-oil burners with automatic change-over that receive signals over a telephone line as to when to change over to/from gas. The thinking is that on very cold days more gas is used than comes out of the earth. Forcing huge users to stop using gas ensures a supply (at adequate pressure) for homes and small commerical users.
In New York City commerical users of electricity pay a "penalty" fee for their greatest demand at one time. This makes eletricity extremely exopensive to them. As such, many larger buildings use city STEAM for air-conditioning. Some coolers are absorption principle, others are driven by steam-trubines. (then the "spent" steam [desuperheated] makes hot water for the taps or maybe goes to a second absortion unit.
BTW, more and more new large apartmetns buildings use hotel-style PTAC (Packaged Terminal Air-Condtioners). Some use hot water through coils for heat, others use a heat pump with back-up electric reisitance coils. Method #2 allows for tenants to pay for their own heat. The utilites like all-electric units in that the electircal demand in winter is greater-utilized, which makes for greater COST efficiencies (for the utlity). Even when such units are used, cooking tends to be gas, and hot water is centralized, being provided by the building using steam or a fossil-fuel.
Managing electrical demand at peak times is critical in NYC. Strangely, some newer Manhattan apartments have electric cooking, but that is because many Manhattanites don't use their stoves!
(Can you just picture our very own Launderess frying-up some chicken, okra and collard beans with corn-bread!) I can!
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