Our next meeting will be Thursday December 6 from 2:30 to 4:00 at
Sheraton Boston in the Public Garden, floor 5.
Everybody reading this newsletter is welcome to attend and bring guests.
I thank our host: Jeff Hanulec.
.
I hope you can come!
Dan
SPEAKERS
Boston Green Tourism Meeting
December 6, 2018
Location: Sheraton Boston Host: Jeff Hanulec
2:30 to 2:40
Introductions
2:40 to 2:45
Update
Dan Ruben
2:45 to 3:15
Demand Control Ventilation with Improved Sensors: Optimize Air Quality and Achieve Energy Savings;
Precise Management of Guest Room Thermal Control;
Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation for HVAC and Ice Machines: Improve Fiscal and Physical Health
Tom Proietti, Sales Engineer, Flow Tech, Inc.
3:15 to 3:35
Better Buildings Tools and Resources for Achieving Energy Savings
Cindy Zhu, Fellow, U.S. Department of Energy
3:35 to 3:45
Mattress Recycling: Market Improvement
Adam Doorly, President, Green Mattress
3:45 to 4:00
The Green Hotel Movement: The Next Five Years
Dan Ruben, Director, Boston Green Tourism
IDEAS
Ice Machines: Energy Efficient, Water Efficient and Well Maintained
The
first hotel ice machine for guests was installed in the original Holiday Inn in 1952. The hotel chain's founder wanted ice to be free. The idea took hold--hotels now purchase
20% of ice machines in the U.S.
Ice machines are both energy and water intensive. The best way to improve their efficiency is to own fewer of them. Hoteliers can also save by buying machines that aren't bigger in size or ice-making capacity than what they need.
Ice machines generate considerable heat. They're cooled by either a water or air chilling system. Air cooled machines use less energy and water. The most efficient units carry the Energy Star label or make the Consortium for Energy Efficiency's list of "Tier 1 Qualifying" ice makers.
The U.S. Federal Energy Management Program has shown that Energy Star air-cooled ice makers save about 15,000 kWh's and over $1200 in energy costs compared to the least efficient units over the machines' seven-year lifespan. The most efficient ice machines save even more.
Energy Star ice makers might qualify for energy efficiency incentives.
Hotels that run their ice machines only during off-peak hours reduce their demand charges. They can set timers to make ice before and after their peak electricity periods. An ACEEE study found that, "for a machine with 1,130 pounds of capacity...by using a simple time clock to shift ice production to off-peak periods, annual savings would amount to $1,194 or 38 percent of total electricity cost."
There are newer methods of ice machine maintenance that assure safe, energy efficient operation, such as self-cleaning ice makers and UV lights. One of our speakers will discuss UV lights for ice machines at Thursdays' meeting.
NEWS
BGT Website Update
The BGT website is now much easier to use. I reorganized the two most important pages so that readers can easily find the information they seek.
The Index of Presentations page links to 180 presentations made at BGT meetings from 2012 to 2018.
The Index of Articles page links to 200 articles that I wrote between 2012 and 2018.
Twenty-five percent of agricultural pesticide use is applied to conventional cotton. Formaldehyde is applied to cotton products to make them wrinkle and stain resistant. These toxic chemicals are still present in cotton products when they're purchased.
Two reliable certifications for organic cotton linen are
OEKO-TEX and the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS).
The author lists vendors who sell organic cotton linen to hotels. One of them even takes back used linen and processes it for reuse.
The premium for organic cotton products is about 25%.
Product Stewardship Institute, Inc., Funded by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 2
I highly recommend this 20-page guide. It's written for restaurants, but it can be applied broadly. Its Plastic Footprint Tool helps managers identify opportunities for waste reduction, substitution and cost reduction.
The case studies describe the changes that restaurants have made, and the impact on their bottom line.
