Lodging & Hospitality

Sustainability—The New Competitive Edge

There is visible momentum for clean energy solutions in lodging. Green labels, increased consumer demand for sustainability initiatives, and the recognition that renewable energy initiatives can also reduce costs, are influencing hotels and other lodging properties to pursue aggressive energy and emission reduction programs. The Florida Green Lodging Program for example – a voluntary, non-regulatory effort by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection – has been adopted by 650 lodging properties. Twenty-six states have some form of Green Lodging program. Recognizing the success of these programs, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will be rolling out a Green Hospitality program nationwide.

Reduce your Lodging Property’s Carbon Emissions

EarthLinked® Water Heating is particularly well suited to hotels that seek to reduce their carbon emissions with a reliable solution. The U.S. EPA has verified 75% electrical savings with EarthLinked compared to electric resistance water heating. For a typical hotel, this system can thus save up to 30% of total energy consumption. Also verified by the U.S. EPA, a single 6-ton capacity EarthLinked Water Heating unit can save up to 42,600 lbs of CO2 and 90 lbs of NOx emissions per year (the equivalent of displacing 3,630 gallons of gasoline or 74 barrels of oil yearly). When recovering heat from PV panels, a single 6-ton EarthLinked heat pump can save even more CO2 emissions. The system also contributes to LEED green-building certification and can earn carbon credits for the system owner.

Slash Costs

Of the array of water-heating systems available to lodging institutions, EarthLinked Water Heating is the most cost-effective. It is less expensive to operate than electric, fuel oil, propane, solar thermal systems (with electric or fossil energy back-up) and even natural gas (using 5-year average prices of natural gas). Most of the heat that it delivers is free renewable energy stored in the shallow earth, or captured through solar photovoltaic panels. Leasing is available to defray the upfront cost and pay for the installation using monthly savings. Without leasing, that cost is rapidly recovered through monthly cost savings. As a result, EarthLinked Water Heating systems pay for themselves within 3 to 5 years on average, and sometimes faster when displacing costly energy sources such as propane, fuel oil or electricity.

Boost Reliability—Anytime, Anywhere

A single 6-ton system pre-heats 2,500-3,000 gallons per day to 110° F, enough for an 80-unit hotel, and multiple systems can work together to serve larger needs. With its small footprint, EarthLinked Water Heating is particularly well suited to retrofit installations; and because it carries most of the water heating load, its addition increases reliability since it supplements rather than replaces the existing system (that remains available for supplemental heat or backup).