KINGSPORT, TENN.—Through its line of performance films, Eastman Chemical Co. has partnered with the Hyatt Regency Houston and Green Generation Solutions (GGS), an energy-efficiency and sustainability engineering firm, to measure the true energy-savings impact of EnerLogic 35 low-e window film.
The 924,000-square-foot Hyatt Regency Houston sought to address temperature complaints from guests, as well as its high energy expenditures that totaled $1.6 million annually. The high utility bills were diverting resources the hotel uses to offer best-in-class service and amenities to guests.
“Most solar films are great at blocking solar energy from entering a building in the summer, but they do very little to keep the cold out in the winter,” says Ric SanDoval, senior vice president at Green Generation Solutions. “Because EnerLogic improves the insulation of the window, it also keeps the heat in during the winter months. This creates year-round savings and improves occupant comfort.”
Sub-metering System Installed
During window film installation, GGS engineers also installed an extensive sub-metering system to monitor energy use in 96 rooms (48 rooms with window film, and 48 rooms without window film).
“Real-time energy meters have never been used to monitor this kind of energy use and savings on such a large scale,” says Steve DeBusk, global energy solutions manager for window films at Eastman. “The study was the first of its kind to directly measure the energy saved through window film installation alone.”
The rooms with window film showed a reduction of 23 percent in cooling energy use and 25 percent in heating energy, according to the comparative sub-meter data. Using national average installation costs, and taking into account for an energy efficiency rebate provided by the local utility, these energy savings provided a payback on the hotel’s investment in 3.6 years, or an ROI of 28 percent per year.
“The Hyatt staff and the ownership group are extremely pleased with this solution,” says SanDoval. “They believe the exterior aesthetics of the hotel are greatly improved because it’s a more uniform look from window to window; guest comfort complaints are also down, and the energy savings are making the asset manager really happy.”
Click here to watch a video on the project.
