With the recent push by the White House to address environmental issues, energy conservation has, once again, come into sharp focus. Some hotels do nothing to conserve energy, while others make a cursory effort at it. The fact is that for some nominal cost and effort, real energy savings can be gained, along with the hotel doing its part to reduce greenhouse gases. The two biggest energy costs in a hotel are lighting and heating. The other two, air conditioning and “base load” (fans, motors, etc.) are also significant. Lighting can account for up to 30 percent of a hotel’s...

VANCOUVER, B.C.—A green facility since it opened in 1987, the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre (VCEC) is on track to triple its size in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics. The addition to the existing building will be a dramatic one and will include a six-acre green “living” roof, seawater heating and cooling, a fish habitat built into the building’s foundation, and an on-site water treatment facility. Forty percent of the addition will sit over the water, creating a striking contrast to the famous fabric roof sails that are part of the original building. According to Catherine Wong, vice president...

SCHILLER PARK, ILL.—Eclipse Lighting introduces its new Green Series fixtures. All 20 listed styles in the Green Series have earned the Energy Star. In addition, these energy efficient fixtures meet California’s Title 24. Replacing wasteful incandescent lighting with the Green Series compact fluorescent fixtures can abate a significant amount of pollution. During the 10,000-hour life of just one bulb, once can achieve the following: • Eliminate nearly 574 pounds of CO2 emissions—a major source of global warming; • Eliminate nearly 4.2 pounds of SO2 emissions—a cause of smog and acid rain; and • Eliminate nearly 2.7 pounds...

NIANTIC, CONN.—With the simple push of a green button on the INNCOM International e4 smart digital thermostat, guests can make the choice to participate in a host of environmentally-friendly and energy-saving programs predetermined by the hotel. ENVIRO-MODE will debut in Booth #1025 at the Hospitality Industry Technology Exhibition and Conference (HITEC) June 26-28 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. “Our customers—hotel owners and operators—want to better respond to guests’ demands that hotels be more environmentally friendly,” says Duane Buckingham, chairman and CEO of INNCOM. “While INNCOM has always been at the forefront of guestroom innovation,...

BANGKOK, THAILAND—Six Senses Resorts & Spas’ Soneva Fushi, in the Maldives, is the first of the group’s properties to implement a program to offset its guests’ flight emissions. This step will make Soneva Fushi carbon neutral by 2008. The resort has a goal of being carbon free by 2010. The resort is a main contributor to the Six Senses Carbon Offset Fund, which initially will support the Converging World project. This project will establish alternative energy production methods—such as wind turbines—in communities of developing countries before they become dependent on energy from fossil fuels. The first initiative is...

SEATTLE—Impex Development LLC and Whirlpool Corp. have formed a marketing partnership to provide distinctive and sustainable interiors based on realistic price points for the hospitality industry. The partnership will incorporate energy-efficient appliances from Whirlpool Corp. within Impex’s manufacture of eco-friendly kitchens, baths and architectural door systems. “Both companies are passionate about making it easier for hospitality and multifamily professionals to create exceptional, eco-friendly environments,” says Jeff Smitley, LEED AP, president of Energy & Environmental Solutions. “Interiors from Impex help contribute points toward the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED rating system and the Green Building Initiative’s Green Globes rating...

DANBURY, CONN.—FuelCell Energy Inc., a leading manufacturer of efficient, ultra-clean power plants using renewable and domestic fuels for commercial and industrial customers, announced that its modular 300-kilowatt (kW) Direct FuelCell (DFC) power plant (DFC300MA) has met the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) stringent distributed generation emissions standards for 2007. An earlier model of the DFC300MA, which was capable of producing 250 kW of power, had previously attained this certification. Through the incorporation of an advanced cell stack design, FuelCell Energy achieved a 20 percent increase in power output this past fall which required the plant to be recertified...

NATIONAL REPORT—When looking for ways to green your hotel, one of the first things you should focus on is energy efficiency. Pure economics show it is cheaper to save a kilowatt hour then it is to produce it. Couple this with reduced carbon emissions, and efficiency is one of the first things a property should consider, even before looking at renewable energy sources. The first energy conservation measure that should be evaluated in hospitality, whether it is a small 100-room property or a large destination resort, is lighting. Common lighting opportunities include T-12 to T-8 or super T-8 linear fluorescent...

NATIONAL REPORT—State-of-the-art concrete building systems can save a hotel owner money through energy savings. But equally important, concrete systems can provide hotel guests with a comfortable, healthy, environmentally friendly place to relax during their time away from home. Concrete can provide a sustainable structure that will maintain its durability, energy savings and beauty for the full life of the building. Hotels built with concrete wall, floor and roof systems that incorporate rigid foam insulation with concrete, have optimal energy performance because of their inherent thermal mass properties. Thermal mass has the ability to store heat during the hottest periods of...

DUNEDIN, FLA.—Temperatures are heating up for the summer season and that can only mean one thing for your property—higher energy costs. To keep your guests and staff cool and content while keeping your energy costs as low as possible, Mintek Mobile Data Solutions recommends the following 10 action steps: 1. Find and seal air leaks that cause drafts and make your cooling system work overtime. Sealing and insulating your building can prevent the loss of cooled air and help save up to 10 percent on your energy bills each year. To ensure a sufficient level of indoor air...