Phase 4: Green Lodging Performance Measures: Implementation and Monitoring”
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COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & COMPUTER SCIENCE Department of Civil Engineering 777 Glades Road, ENG 213 Boca Raton, FL 33431 tel: 561.297.0466, fax: 561.297.0493 www.civil.fau.edu Florida Atlantic University Department of Civil Engineering “Green Lodging Project Phase 4: Green Lodging Performance Measures: Implementation and Monitoring” Progress Report: Action Plan Implementation Update D.E. Meeroff, Ph.D. and P.D. Scarlatos, Dr.-Eng. Florida Atlantic University, Department of Civil Engineering 777 Glades Road 36/222, Boca Raton, FL 33431-0091 (561) 297-3099 ▪ (561) 297-0493 (FAX) Laboratories for Engineered Environmental Solutions September 30, 2008 “Green Lodging Project Phase 4: Green Lodging Performance Measures” Executive Summary Buildings account for 40% of all carbon emissions in the United States, and the hotel and lodging industry is among the most wasteful buildings in the commercial sector. Hotels generate as much waste in one week as 100 families generate in a year, and therefore hotels stand to gain the most from improving their environmental footprint. It is important to remember that a hotel is a for-profit business with the ultimate goal of maximizing profit margins. Many “green” initiatives have the quadruple benefit of not only increasing environmental stewardship and improving the health of guests and staff, but also decreasing expenses (from lowered utility and maintenance costs) and potentially increasing revenue (due to higher average daily room rates, revenue per available room, and occupancy levels). Buy-in from management for “green” initiatives tends to be maximized when they are in line with the hotel’s ultimate goal of profit maximization. It has been documented that the Florida Green Lodging Program practices are generally effective in reducing multi-media waste streams and thus resulting in a cleaner environment, financial benefit, and positive publicity to the participating hotel businesses. Green Lodging practices are applied with respect to (a) water conservation, (b) solid waste management and waste reduction, (c) energy efficiency, (d) clean air practices, and e) communications. This study is the fourth part of a multi-phase project. The first two phases focused on identifying and updating best management practices and pollution prevention technologies for the four key areas of the Florida Green Lodging Program (i.e. a-e above). The first phase focused on (a) water conservation and (b) solid waste management and waste reduction, while the second phase included: (c) energy efficiency and (d) clean air practices. After this information was made available, the third phase focused on targeted pilot projects for selected candidate facilities to implement and monitor to determine the maximum return on the investment in terms of reduced water and energy demands, pollution prevented, tons of waste diverted, and indoor environments protected. This fourth phase documents initial results of projects implemented to achieve the minimum requirements for the one palm designation to provide a clearer understanding of currently available practices and their environmental and economic benefits as well as future conservation initiatives needed to maximize the positive impacts of the Florida Green Lodging Program. It is intended that the best practices investigated here can facilitate implementation in other hotels entering this process in the future. The following report illustrates numerous policies and products a hotel can choose to generate greater sustainability as well as insight into the best methods to achieve a successful implementation of the FGLP. The study is being conducted using two boutique hotels in Miami Beach, FL. The first property, the Raleigh Hotel, is 4-Star rated hotel with 104 rooms and price points starting from $229 per night. The hotel is located in the historic art deco district on Collins Avenue with direct beach access. Surrounding its famous lagoon pool, the hotel boasts a luxurious sundeck with private cabanas, a restaurant, and tropical gardens. The second Florida Department of Environmental Protection ─ Green Lodging Performance Measures 12/10/2008 2 “Green Lodging Project Phase 4: Green Lodging Performance Measures” property, the Standard Hotel and Spa, has 105 rooms and suites with price points varying from $245 - $850 per night. Among the amenities of the property are a spa, yoga, integrated wellness center, large and small meeting rooms, several outdoor meditation areas, a saltwater infinity pool, a waterfall massage, a Turkish hamam, an aroma steam room, a clothing optional mud lounge, and the famous Lido Restaurant all overlooking Biscayne Bay. As part of phase 3, on May 12, 2008, a Green Lodging Assessment walkthrough was performed by Karen Moore (Green Lodging Coordinator, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Tallahassee, FL), Hugh A. Smith (Florida Green Lodging Program ReTAP, FDEP Southeast District, West Palm Beach, FL), Daniel Meeroff, Ph.D. (Florida Atlantic University Department of Civil Engineering), and Lanette Sobel (research associate). The Raleigh Hotel was assessed first at 11:00 AM, and the Standard Hotel and Spa was assessed later that same day starting at 4:30 PM. In summary, both hotels were found to have some of the minimum requirements for the one palm designation already existing on the property, but the assessment team also identified several opportunities for improvement as list in Table 1. Table 1. Summary of existing pollution prevention practices and opportunities for improvement at both participating hotels. Category Raleigh Raleigh Standard Standard Existing Opportunities Existing Opportunities Water • Linen reuse • Towel reuse • Linen/towel reuse • Showerhead Conservation • 1.6 gpf toilets • HVAC repair • 2.2 gpm aerators replacement • 2.2 gpm aerators • Showerhead • Drip irrigation • Zero flush urinals • Drip irrigation replacement • Xeriscaping • Pool cover • Xeriscaping • Pool cover • Sub-metering • Appliance • Sub-metering • Appliance replacement replacement (dishwasher, • Leak detection clothes washer) program • Exotic plant removal • Pre-rinse spray • Leak detection washer program Energy • Energy star • Appliance • Energy star • Appliance Efficiency appliances replacement appliances replacement • Sensor • HVAC replacement • Sensor • Programmable lighting/dimmers • Programmable lighting/dimmers thermostats • CFLs (back of thermostats • CFLs (back of • High efficiency house) • High efficiency house) lighting • Double-paned lighting • Window tinting windows • Window tinting • Weatherstripping Waste • Limited cardboard • Hazardous waste • Limited recycling • Hazardous waste Reduction recycling recycling (back of house) recycling • Reusable • Eco-purchasing • Lease to buy • Eco-purchasing dinnerware (30% post- options (30% post- consumer recycled consumer recycled content) content) • Refillable containers Clean Air • Eco-friendly • MERV8 filters • Eco-friendly • MERV8 filters Practices cleaners • Hazardous waste cleaners • Hazardous waste storage storage • HVAC preventative • HVAC preventative maintenance and maintenance and coil cleaning coil cleaning • Microfiber cloths • Microfiber cloths • ETS Control • ETS Control Communications • Linen reuse • Additional signage • Linen/towel reuse • Additional signage placards • Employee placards • Employee • Newsletter training/rewards training/rewards program program Florida Department of Environmental Protection ─ Green Lodging Performance Measures 12/10/2008 3 “Green Lodging Project Phase 4: Green Lodging Performance Measures” In terms of water conservation, an assessment was conducted in Fall 2008. For the Raleigh hotel, the water consumption as measured from the whole building meter was plotted against the monthly occupancy rate to determine the amount of water consumed per occupied room. Taking the average water usage value from October 2006 to July 2008, the amount of gallons consumed per occupied room was 433 ± 69 gpd, which corresponded to an annual usage of 11.8 MG at an annual cost of $86,400. After implementing a towel/linen reuse training program, leak detection/identification, pre-rinse spray washers in the kitchen, irrigation system audit, and ultra low flow faucet aerators, the usage actually climbed to 518 ± 117 gpd, which corresponded to an annual usage of 13.6 MG at an estimated annual cost of $117,100 (computed from the data obtained from August 2008 to October 2008. The decrease in efficiency of 85 gpd per occupied room, at an estimated 1.8 million additional gallons per year and an additional $30,700 per year was attributed to the installation of a new roof mounted chiller and rehabilitation of the associated plumbing network. Prior to beginning the study, the Raleigh elected to replace the chiller unit because the corrosion was significant, the meter completely failed, the unit was hemorrhaging water, and the existing unit was constructed of cast iron instead of more salt-tolerant stainless steel. Unfortunately, the new HVAC system installation was wrought with problems and caused several delays and ancillary outages and breakdowns throughout the property. In other words, as of mid-November 2008, the system did not return to equilibrium since the installation began in late August – early September. It will likely take a few more months to start seeing the effects appear in the utility bills. Furthermore, the line flushing and leak detection/repair process has not been completed. It is likely that the existing meter may need to be replaced as a result of this large