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Boston Green Tourism
...advancing the green hotel movement
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Dear Boston Green Tourism Members,
The presentations from the February 1 meeting at Seaport Hotel
are linked and
summarized below. See the other sections, too.
Our next workshop will be March 8 at the Lenox Hotel.
Dan
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Boston Green Tourism Meeting
February 1, 2018
Location
: Seaport Hotel
Hosts
:
James Carmody, Marianna Accomondo and Rachel Barney
Present
: Rachel Barney, Stefan Fitz, David Fazo, Edwin Medeiros, Samantha Sorrin, Andy Coffin, Bill Scherer, Karen Weber, Kyle McGrath, Sean Gaines, Daniel Cook, Dan Ruben.
PRESENTATIONS
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Kyle McGrath, Commercial Sales, National, Fresh-Aire UV
UV lights, which produce Ultraviolet Germicidal Radiation (UVGI), are now used to clean air handling
unit coils and ice machines. The advantages:
- They clean the coils on a 24/7 basis.
- After installation, they need minimal maintenance--just replace the lights every two years.
- Equipment doesn't need to be shut down for maintenance.
- They improve indoor air quality by preventing and killing mold, bacteria, viruses and fungi.
- Perpetually clean coils save energy, because heat transfer isn't impacted by bio-film buildup. Also, coil fins and air filters remain unclogged.
- While installation costs are high, low maintenance costs more than overcome the initial outlay.
Fresh-Aire UV offers a free 90-day trial to new users.
Sean Gaines, Senior Account Executive - Channel Management, BuildPulse
Fault Detection Diagnostic (FDD) Systems (aka continuous commissioning) identify HVAC issues in real time. By doing so, they enable facility managers to address their most important HVAC problems quickly, use engineering staff efficiently, reduce equipment breakdowns, improve guest comfort and cut energy bills.
Until recently, FDD systems were expensive to install, because they required extensive programming to work with Building Management Systems. That's changed. The BuildPulse FDD system doesn't need to be programmed, so the installation cost is modest. So is the annual license fee. Because charges are so low, customers' investments are paid back in merely months, and the properties save money after that.
The Buildpulse system calculates the potential savings earned from addressing each problem that it identifies.
It's designed for common spaces, not guestrooms.
The presentation provides more specific information about costs, system training and ongoing support. It also contains some interesting case studies.
Recovering Wasted Heat to Reduce Energy Costs:
Three Opportunities for Hotels
Daniel Cook, President, Conservation Solutions Corporation
Heat exchangers can capture and reuse the heat coming from showers, the laundry, dishwashers and other equipment.
Phase change materials absorb and release heat in buildings, keeping them in the desired temperature range with less energy need for heating and cooling.
Phase change materials are particularly valuable in spaces where the the temperature is impacted by human bodies inhabiting the space, electronics, solar gain and continuously opening doors. They absorb that heat, reducing the need to air condition; and they releases it when the room cools down, thereby reducing the need for heating.
The materials are best placed above dropped ceilings and in the walls. They can also be placed behind pictures, mirrors and headboards.
This simple chiller system retrofit enables facilities to store thermal energy during off-peak hours and release it during peak demand periods. Thus, chillers can be turned off or down when electricity is most expensive. PhaseStor can also reduce the number of chillers that facilities need.
The systems aren't mechanical, so they don't break down.
The BioPCM phase change material is stored in a tank in which pressurized heat exchangers are immersed in Phase Change Materials.
Compared to ice-storage systems that serve the same purpose, this product is more energy efficient, the tanks are much smaller and maintenance is virtually eliminated.
PhaseStor can also use for storing heat from boilers.
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Tim Logan, The Boston Globe, February 10
Developers of new buildings and owners of existing building in the Seaport district, East Boston and downtown are taking steps to protect their properties from the rising sea and the flooding that it will bring.
The Boston Planning and Development Agency, insurance companies and investors have been recommending such actions to building owners.
Developers have many options for flood protection, like raising building ground levels above projected flood levels. Owners of existing building have fewer practical alternatives. One measure that the City recommends: move mechanical systems to upper floors.
Some building owners are buying temporary protective barriers that they can install in emergencies. During the January flooding event, Marriott Long Wharf workers improvised by building a temporary dam from snow to protect the hotel.
The City is undertaking some preventive measures for vulnerable neighborhoods and studying others. These solutions will inevitably be very expensive.
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Barbara Bohn, Hotels, January 8
The author interviewed
Denise Naguib, Marriott International's Vice President of Sustainability and Supplier Diversity on the sustainability component of Marriott's Serve 360 initiative.
As mentioned in an earlier article, Marriott has aggressive environmental goals: "reducing water by 15%, carbon by 30%, and waste by 45% on an intensity basis by 2025, along with achieving a minimum 30% renewable energy use." It wants 100% of its properties to have earned a sustainability certification by 2025.
Marriott is educating its owners on the business case for sustainability--that it reduces costs, mitigates risk and appeals to consumers.
Each hotel will have a sustainability report. Also, each Marriott hotel will have
a Serve 360 section on its website, "by 2020 where current and potential customers can view impact metrics.
"
Marriott will have more sustainable products included in their brand standards.
The company's 2025 Sustainability & Social Impact Goals are described here, and its 2017 Sustainability and Social Impact Report is here.
Dan Ruben, The Boston Green Ribbon Commission Commercial Real Estate Blog Post, January 29
It's become much easier for hotels to donate large and small quantities of surplus prepared food.
Donors working with Rescuing Leftover Cuisine simply, "enter descriptions of surplus fresh and/or prepared food on the RLC website, and...store it at the proper temperature until RLC volunteers pick it up."
At least five Boston hotels donate their surplus prepared food.
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The following meeting will be 2:30 to 4:00.
March 8
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Lenox Hotel |
April 5
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The Ritz-Carlton, Boston
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October 11
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The Langham, Boston
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* We'll have one more meeting in the fall. I haven't scheduled the date yet.
See you March 8 at the Lenox Hotel
!
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