Written on: October 13, 2025 by Indoor Comfort
Joe Benedetto’s career in the HVAC industry spans more than 32 years, characterized by an unwavering work ethic and meticulous attention to detail. His professional journey has left a significant impact on both colleagues and clients.
At age 20, he began his apprenticeship at an oil company in southern Connecticut. Seeking broader experience, he moved to a larger oil company where he honed his boiler and furnace skills. There, he worked with an extremely capable, talented service and installation technician named Justin Thompson. They remain close friends, although their work lives eventually took them in different directions for a while.
Benedetto eventually transitioned to a larger mechanical firm, where he met and worked with a controls specialist by the name of Frank Nerkowski. He didn’t know it when he founded Benedetto Heating & AC LLC. in Essex, CT, but Thompson and Nerkowski would both re-enter his professional life.
Quality Then & Quality Now
Benedetto Heating & AC is a full-service mechanical company serving Middlesex County and its neighboring areas. It maintains a small service territory to ensure fast response times and reduce stress on the team. In 2012, Benedetto hired Thompson, who had operated his own company for a few years before deciding that entrepreneurship wasn’t his cup of tea.
“Justin has grown so much in the trade,” Benedetto noted.
“He can do anything. We have a meeting before each boiler replacement, then he makes the dream happen on his own, adding his own unique flair.”
Thompson’s signature touch includes LED boiler system lighting, which homeowners seem to love.
“I want people to walk into a mechanical room and immediately recognize a Benedetto job,” said Thompson.
“The LEDs, straight piping, quality components and hidden wiring are our calling cards, continuing the quality work Joe has always provided.”
From Co-worker to Client
After leaving the mechanical company where he met Benedetto, Nerkowski became a programmer for Trane. He is currently the Director of Solutions Engineering for Phaidra, a company that controls industrial systems from the cloud via artificial intelligence (AI). When Nerkowski’s 40-year-old boiler was at the end of its service life, he could’ve replaced the boiler himself as a licensed electrician and pipefitter, but instead called Benedetto, recalling the quality of his work.
“I ran the gas line to the new boiler myself, but the retrofit was more than I wanted to tackle, especially considering the old oil tank, water heater and cast-iron boiler needed to be removed,” said Nerkowski.
“I don’t have outdoor access from the basement, either. I’ve always been impressed by Joe’s work, so I didn’t even get a second bid.”
Built in the 1950s, the 1,500 sq ft house has a two-zone of fin-tube baseboard hydronic system. Nerkowski plans to add a 600 sq ft, two-story addition next year, which will introduce three new zones to the system.
“Frank has been in this industry for a long time, and he wanted to be ‘wowed’ by the boiler retrofit,” said Thompson.
“That’s our goal on every project. We started with a 136 MBH Alta Combi and header kit. We zoned with valves, and a Grundfos pressure-sensing pump is used for the system circulator.”
Benedetto and Thompson prefer the Alta boiler for its three-sided cabinet access and the location of its supply and return connections, making it a direct replacement for most existing wall-hung boilers.
Explained Benedetto, “Replacement parts for the Alta are less expensive, but we haven’t needed them. We have 40 of them in the field and the only issue we’ve ever experienced was one boiler pump failure. We have the big parts kit from U.S. Boiler Co. in case anything comes up!
“Another big benefit to installing the Alta is U.S. Boiler’s outstanding tech support,” continued Benedetto.
“Tom Secondino, Technical Sales Support Specialist, is great at his job in addition to being a great human.”
Ironically, Secondino and Nerkowski have known each other for at least 20 years and worked together for a time, although they didn’t make the connection until after the boiler installation was complete.
Joe Benedetto in front of Frank Nerkowski’s boiler system.
Modern & Efficient
Wanting something modern and efficient, “I was just excited to get rid of the masonry chimney, oil tank and water heater,” noted Nerkowski.
Thompson began the project in mid-May, using a stair climber, straps and a dolly to haul the old boiler and 275-gallon oil tank up the basement stairs and out through the kitchen. The new boiler and components were mounted on painted plywood, with CPVC used to sidewall vent the unit. In addition to power and low voltage lines, a switch was wired in to control the LED lighting.
“This system is propane-fired, like 90% of our condensing boiler installations,” explained Thompson.
“Converting the Alta from natural gas to propane is as simple as turning a fuel selection key on the gas valve and selecting LP in the programming menu. We’ve been programming the Alta with the USB-Connect app, which is unbelievable. It’s so much easier than any other high efficiency boiler I’ve ever installed, and the U.S. Boiler Connected Service Tool allows real-time access to boiler data/status should I need to remotely view an install with my crew.”
The Alta’s adaptive combustion feature combined with rate-based reset means the boiler is always running at peak efficiency, almost like having a boiler operator onsite 24 hours, constantly tuning the boiler. Despite the Alta’s automatic calibration, the company still performs a combustion analysis on every boiler they install. Benedetto sees no reason to break a good habit, and in the unlikely event of a future problem, they’ve established a baseline for the boiler that can be referenced during the diagnostic process. They can also link a boiler report (and photos) to the serial number data from previous visits.
Craftsmanship
The project was completed four days after it began.
“Joe’s motto is ‘pride and quality count,’ and that’s what we strive for,” said Thompson.
“It’s easy for me to work for someone who demands perfection and isn’t pushy. We don’t cut any corners. After all, you’re only as good as your last job.”
Piping boilers is Thompson’s favorite task, considering it a form of artwork. He goes so far as to sign the back of each boiler he installs.
“The work is state-of-the-art,” said Nerkowski.
“If you take a level and check the pipes, you’ll find that it’s all level, square and plumb. The spacing is perfect. The craftsmanship is very impressive.”
What’s something else Nerkowski has noticed? His boiler no longer rattles the shelves upstairs and he feels good knowing that he’s saving energy. ICM
