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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 March 9 meeting at Fairmont Copley Plaza
are linked and
summarized below. See the other sections, too.
Our next meeting will be April 27 at Taj Boston
.
Dan
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Boston Green Tourism Meeting
March 9, 2017
Location
: Fairmont Copley Plaza
Hosts
: George Terpilowski, Jean-Francois Lincourt, Eric Ulvila, Brooke Lizotte
Present
: Eric Ulvila, Stephen Ferriter, Laurel White, Samantha Sorrin, Tedd Saunders, Ed Dustin, Fred Mahoney, Joe Riordan, Alex Alexandrovich, Mike Youngs, Jennifer Higgins, Cameron Ritzenthaler, Robert Guillemin, George Papadopoulos, Paulina Guerero, John Pifer, Matthew Tuttelman, David Radford, Kevin Lubinger, Dan Ruben.
PRESENTATIONS
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Proper LED Selection for Lighting Upgrades;
Improving Guestroom Energy Management System Performance
Eric Ulvila, Director of Engineering, Fairmont Copley Plaza
Installing LED's in an old, historic and luxurious building can be challenging. The Fairmont has experienced problems with flickering, dimming and getting the color right. So they
conducted extensive testing and hired lighting engineers and lighting control specialists to help them. They also rewired their building, which enabled them to install a comprehensive network lighting system.
The Fairmont has an INNCOM guestroom energy management system. Mr. Ulvila created a comprehensive training program for the engineering staff so they would understand how to operate it well. This program has reduced guest complaints about in-room comfort by 40%.
John Pifer, Director of Engineered Systems, OpTerra Energy Services
Opterra and GreenCharge are subsidiaries of ENGIE, the world's "
number one energy efficiency services provider." Opterra has
conducted thousands of energy efficiency projects, saving over $2 billion. Mr. Pifer and Mr. Tuttelman
discussed two innovative technologies.
Mr. Pifer explained the advantages of Tecogen natural gas heat pump water heaters. Opterra has installed them in commercial buildings, including a New York hotel.
This compact product is remarkably efficient, because it captures and reuses waste heat.
The simple payback, in the example cited, is 4.28 years, not including incentives. However, hotels can be cash flow positive from month one by leasing these units.
Matthew Tuttelman, Business Development - Strategic Partners, GreenCharge
Battery storage will soon become a smart investment for MA businesses.
The MA Department of Energy Resources (DOER) is expected to announce financial incentives for commercial battery purchases in June. The incentives, paired with sharply declining battery prices and high demand charges, will enable the battery market to take off here--as it has in several other states.
Battery storage can be used to reduce demand charges on electricity bills.
Hotels will be able to recharge batteries during non-peak hours and automatically discharge them during periods of high-price peak electricity use.
GreenCharge will start selling batteries to MA businesses in July--pending the DOER decision. Businesses that acquire GreenCharge batteries could: purchase them outright; have GreenCharge own the units and split the electricity bill savings with the business; or choose a hybrid of these models.
Kevin Lubinger, Program Manager, Energy Efficiency, Eversource
The Mass Save program was a big success in 2016. MA companies saved over 847,000,000 kWh's / year, 10,800,000 therms / year--and $1.5 billion.
In 2017, Eversource will install a digital, streamlined application process.
See the presentation to better understand the incentives for energy efficiency initiatives.
Slide 47 lists 2016 hotel projects that cut energy use from 176,000 to 971,000 kWh's / year.
Mr. Lubinger emphasized that the application process works best when hoteliers contact him early in the project evaluation process. When they do, he can explain how the Mass Save program works, how to maximize the incentive and how to minimize processing time.
Dave Radford, CEO and President of Q Free Boston
Parking guidance systems:
- track vehicles entering and exiting a parking facility, floor levels and parking spaces,
- direct drivers to open spaces, and
- provide real-time reports to parking managers.
By helping drivers find parking spots quickly, they improve guest satisfaction and traffic flow, while reducing air and noise pollution.
Parking guidance systems help hotels manage their parking space inventory and enable them to control who can park in which spaces. These systems can identify incoming VIP's and other guests, so hotel staff can greet them.
The presentation depicts systems installed in hotels, hospitals and other commercial facilities.
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Food Waste Solutions: EPA Launches Website Resource Center
The Further with Food website, developed by the EPA and a dozen other organizations, is a hub of information about reducing food waste.
Here are documents that help restaurants cut their food and waste hauling bills:
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World Wildlife Fund, AH&LA and The Rockefeller Foundation Bring Hotel Brands Together to Prevent Hotel Food Waste
Press Release, The Rockefeller Foundation, March 21
Hotels representing Hyatt, Marriott, IHG and Hilton will conduct a 12-week pilot project designed to reduce food waste. Participating hotels will measure food waste, train employees
, create menus that cut food waste and raise customer awareness.
Soon WWF, AHLA and Rockefeller will publish a toolkit for hotels, based on their findings.
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Boston Mayor's 2017 Greenovate Awards
If you want me to nominate your hotel for a 2017 Greenovate Award, please contact me by March 28.
This year's award categories:
- Waste Reduction
- Community Engagement
- Buildings and Energy
- Sustainable Food
- Trees, Open Space, and Landscaping
- Sustainable Mobility
- Climate Preparedness and Resiliency
If you have a good story to tell, and many of you do, I encourage you to apply.
WaterSense 2017 Webinars
Here's the schedule for 2017 EPA WaterSense webinars.
Learn how to find and fix leaks.
Assess your facility's water use and identify waste. Learn about simple and large-scale improvements, and how WaterSense tools can help.
H
ear a case study about a business that successfully cut its water use.
Learn about water-efficient operations and maintenance practices, retrofits and replacement options for restrooms and laundries.
Learn about WaterSense tools that identify water-efficient products and practices.
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Jennifer King and Christopher Perry, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, February 2017
This 44-page document summarizes the state of today's smart building technologies. I recommend it for planning your next smart building improvements.
The authors show how buildings that use sophisticated information and communication technologies can cut their energy costs by 30% -50%. Of course, hotels use some of these technolgies already, such as guestroom energy management systems, building automation systems, lighting controls, demand controlled ventilation and variable speed drives.
RecyclingWorks in Massachusetts, 2017
This guide helps business develop, manage and adjust contracts for trash, recycling, and food waste hauling services.
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The following meeting will be 2:30 to 4:00.
| April 27 |
Taj Boston |
| May 25 |
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| June 22 |
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| Sept. 14 |
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| October 12 |
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| December 7 |
Le Meridien |
See you April 27 at Taj Boston!
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