SANTA CRUZ, CALIF.—Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), the utility which provides natural gas and electric service to approximately 15 million people throughout a 70,000-square-mile service area in northern and central California, is giving away money through rebates and owners of hundreds of lodging establishments have been more than happy to take it. Through its four-year-old LodgingSavers program, PG&E has made it easy and affordable for hoteliers to update lighting, install guestroom energy management systems, replace packaged terminal air conditioners (PTACs), and install new showerheads, faucet aerators and pool pumps.
How does LodgingSavers work? It is implemented by Ecology Action, a nonprofit in Santa Cruz, Calif., and funded by California utility ratepayers under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission. Available rebates can cover up to 100 percent of the cost of the products and equipment, as well as the installation. Hoteliers need not worry about having to pay for the entire cost up front and then wait for a rebate. According to Randy Parole, president of Progressive Lighting & Energy Solutions, a California-based contractor that does many of the installations, the process is an easy one for hotel owners.
“LodgingSavers does all of the paperwork,” Parole says. “The rebate is paid directly to our company as the contractor. The program is monitored by the utility. They do a post-installation inspection. The hotel is never billed by the utility.”
PG&E and the ratepayers benefit from the program because electricity demand is reduced at a time when energy costs are increasing. The more energy saved, the less likely PG&E will have to build new power plants—a very expensive and controversial prospect. Hoteliers immediately see a bottom-line benefit.
Proposal Details Expected Savings
Before actually doing the installations, LodgingSavers energy efficiency specialists will put together a customized proposal, show the hotelier what the energy and cost savings are going to be, and then how much of the costs PG&E will cover.
“We offer our customers highly trained contractors to perform the installation with minimal disruption to the site,” says Darren Nix, program manager of LodgingSavers. “We always specify the highest grade and most efficient material for our retrofits as well as material and labor warranties. The program has secured rock-bottom pricing for our equipment and will extend these pricing levels to our customers for their future replacement needs.”
Almost every energy-saving measure one can think of at a hotel falls under the PG&E program. An HVAC tuneup, including refrigerant recharge and condenser coil cleaning, is available at no cost. For those properties that have PTACs, LodgingSavers will pay for the purchase and installation of a guestroom energy management system. Lighting retrofits can be rebated up to 100 percent, depending on the savings in kilowatt-hours. Free low-flow showerheads and aerators are available, as well as controllers for vending machines. For kitchens, refrigerator door gaskets and strip curtains are also provided at no cost in most cases.
“What we have done is bring energy-saving programs to customers at affordable prices and made adoption very easy,” Nix says. “Some programs stick to ‘low-hanging fruit’ but we can present an entire suite of measures for hotels to take.”
Even though PG&E has companies such as Progressive Lighting & Energy Solutions available to help with installations, Nix says PG&E will allow customers to use their own contractors or in-house personnel.
InterContinental San Francisco Hotel Participates
One property that has benefited from LodgingSavers is the InterContinental San Francisco Hotel.
“We worked with the InterContinental Hotel for a large-scale lighting retrofit as well as an assessment of their building automation system,” Nix says. “It was found that their HVAC system, which was relatively new, could benefit immensely from the optimization and calibration of various sensors and controls. This resulted in not only the enhanced controllability of the system, but better performance, guest comfort and substantial energy savings.”
In 2009, the InterContinental San Francisco Hotel reduced its energy consumption by 763,215 kWh—an estimated annual savings of $94,000 with LodgingSavers rebates totaling $61,056. According to Progressive Lighting & Energy Solutions, the Radisson Hotel San Francisco Airport recently experienced an annual energy savings of $22,836 by participating in LodgingSavers.
Nix says LodgingSavers also offers rebates for retrocomissioning projects. Large hotels like the InterContinental San Francisco looking to upgrade their HVAC system, install centralized energy management systems, or in any way enhance the controls of their building can work with LodgingSavers.
While the LodgingSavers program is unique in that it pays for up to 100 percent of installations, Progressive Lighting & Energy Solutions’ Parole says his company is trying to change that by partnering with other utilities and organizations like Ecology Action in other states. Austin, Texas is the next target for Progressive Lighting & Energy Solutions.
Go to LodgingSavers and Progressive Lighting & Energy Solutions.
Glenn Hasek can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
