Home Energy Management These Are Exciting Times to be in the Green Laundry Business

These Are Exciting Times to be in the Green Laundry Business

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As someone who’s been in the laundry equipment business for more than 30 years, I can say without any doubt, that these are the most exciting times I’ve experienced. Technology in this industry has progressed to a level where it’s no longer just about throughput.

Programmability and engineering have made the machines immensely important management tools. Automatic weighing systems are now adjusting water fill levels and chemical dosing to match the loads. Residual moisture technology can continually measure the dryness level of the load and step down the heat, before shutting the tumbler off when the preset moisture level has been attained. Exciting engineering, indeed.

However, what I think I’m most enthused about is the changing mindset within the hospitality industry. By this I mean general managers, engineers, and laundry managers are embracing this technology. Gone are the days of viewing the laundry as just a back-of-the-house cost center. Today, those in hospitality who truly embrace the “green” concept are seeing the laundry as the cornerstone of sustainability. They are seeing that all this technology is more than just bells and whistles, but major management tools that can deliver major advancements in sustainability.

That’s just the case at the Hilton Concord in Concord, Calif.

Starting with a Plan

This 329-key Interstate Hotels & Resorts property recently completed a $10 million upgrade that focused heavily on sustainability. And the result is a hotel transformed into the standard for efficiency.

What’s inspiring is that the hotel had a plan and thought outside the box. Leaders in the initiative sought out partnerships with key stakeholders in the overall efficiency goal. In doing so, management garnered incentives and rebates from utility provider Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), Smart Lights, and Lodging Savers, as well as the Contra Costa Water District.

The hotel’s efforts were large in scope and included implementing 33 sustainability initiatives, such as replacing all 6,400 light bulbs with LEDs, adding motion sensors, swapping shower heads with new low-flow heads, adding window film to reduce energy use, a pillow restoration unit, food scrap digester and much more, even addressing landscaping and exterior lighting that utilizes LEDs and motion-sensing technology.

None of this, however, happens without a plan. This was especially true in the hotel laundry.

Dealing with Real Numbers

Too often in the past laundry decisions were made on machine price, instead of the operating costs. The technology we have today allows us to have much higher level conversations with hotel management about how the equipment can cut costs. However, it’s incumbent upon management to never take boasts of advertising, or claims of sales staff at face value. This is where the Hilton Concord team excelled.

Lead consultant on the project, Charles Smith, CEO of Hotel Sustainability Solutions Inc., looked at a variety of brands and equipment. But as he closed in on making a recommendation, he asked to see the details. He wanted to see hard numbers on what these cutting edge machines could do to bolster the property’s goal of becoming a sustainability flagship.

He knew that any new equipment replacing the worn out units would be an improvement. But being a flagship is about getting top-of-the-line efficiency and getting it from a manufacturer who is just as committed to sustainability in their own facility.

Water Savings Add Up

The Hilton Concord had been using soft mount washers in the laundry and Smith was committed to staying with this product type because of its high G-Force extraction speed versus hard mounts. Soft mounts also were preferable because they don’t require an additional concrete foundation to bolt to. However, lower installation costs and high G-Force extraction would not be enough. Water conservation, utility consumption, and operational efficiency were equally important.

Again, Smith dug deeper in looking at models and learned that, oddly enough, water savings sometimes started at the drain. The soft mount units (two 145-pound capacity and one 60-pound capacity) recommended for the Hilton featured a unique pancake drain that helps reduce water consumption during fills. The hotel’s existing units as well as competitive models on the market can waste as much as 2 gallons of water per fill because they include a large sump and drain hose in the fill. These new models utilize a pancake valve to keep the fill area confined to the wash cylinder.

Two gallons is nice…but it becomes even nicer when one does the math.

Considering a standard of five to six fills per cycle, savings total 10 to 12 gallons per cycle. Overall, the Hilton Concord is saving 192,960 gallons of water annually in the laundry. When added to the savings realized through guestroom improvements such as low-flow shower heads and toilets as well as other conservation efforts at the property, water savings total more than 525,000 gallons per year.

Savings grew with the addition of an ozone system. Ozone, when injected into the wash cylinder, increases the effectiveness of laundry chemicals, thus requiring smaller dosages, and eliminates the need for hot water. Linens also emerge smelling fresher and feeling softer compared to a normal hot water wash cycle.

The majority of the cost of the ozone system was offset through rebates from PG&E and the Contra Costa Water District—the first ever offered by the district.

Drying Efficiency

On the drying side, an agreement was reached on five 83-pound capacity dryers to replace the dated complement of two 150-pound and two 110-pound units. Though drying capacity went down, the speed and efficiency of the new dryers combined with the high extract G-Force of the washers enable the laundry to process more loads per day (9.78 loads versus 7.81).

Again, when one takes a close look at the features and technology, it quickly becomes apparent that there are real savings to be tallied in the laundry.

Moisture sensing technology, which enables the units to dry to a set moisture retention level and then shut off the heat, further increased efficiency.

With the majority of a laundry’s gas consumption coming on the drying side, this is where the Hilton Concord saw a huge reduction in utility usage and costs. Combined with the 90 percent reduction in hot water usage, the laundry is consuming almost half the Btus as it did with the old equipment. The laundry will see roughly $8,400 in gas savings annually.

Linens benefit from the reduction in drying time as well. The drying process degrades linens, causing them to wear out faster. So because more water is spun out in the washer and ozone injection opens linen fibers, only short dry cycles (or conditioning cycles before linens are ironed) are used. Linen life is extended. Table linens even go directly from the washer to the ironer, with no drying necessary.

And all this improved efficiency on both the wash and dry sides equates to a startling reduction in electrical consumption. The laundry is using about a third of the electricity as it did before the retooling.

Savings such as these, however, are only part of the green story. Because of the involvement of water and utility entities, $135,360 in rebates and incentives have helped offset purchase and installation of new laundry equipment and other efficient products, systems, and technologies.

Final Thoughts

These are exciting times…it only takes one glance at the savings the Hilton Concord is projecting, to see today’s laundry technology can positively impact a property’s bottom line, while helping it become more green.

The secret is in the up-front planning and careful investigation of the savings manufacturers tout. And once the equipment is installed and your green property starts saving some green…well, that’s where the real excitement starts.

Kim Shady is senior vice president of On-Premises Laundry Sales at Laundrylux. Kim has more than 30 years of on-premises laundry experience. His expert commentary on laundry topics has appeared in a variety of publications and websites covering a wide range of industries. He can be reached at kshady@laundrylux.com.

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