May 12, 2016
 
Boston Green Tourism
 
...advancing the green hotel movement
 
Dear Boston Green Tourism Members,

The presentations from the April 28 meeting at Mandarin Oriental Boston    
credit_ kiwicollection.com
are linked and summarized below. See the other sections, too.

Our next meeting will be Thursday May 26 at The Lenox Hotel.

Dan
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Boston Green Tourism Meeting

April 28, 2016

LocationMandarin Oriental Boston
HostsEd Dustin, Alain Negueloua 

PresentEd Dustin, Brooke Lizotte, Connie Carman, Samantha Sorrin, Jackson Pierce, Rachel Downey, Alex Alexandrovich, Dmitriy Solovyov, Dinesh Wadwhani, Bob Shatten, Eve Sturtevant, Robert Guillemen, Stephen Lafaille, Anthony, Carloni, Andrew Coffin, Ray Burger, Raymond Ferretti, Ken Haworth, Eric Szulak, Dan Ruben. 


PRESENTATIONS
Siemens Demand Flow: A unique and proven energy and operational cost saving application for water-cooled, central chilled water systems
Andrew Coffin, Building Automation Energy Specialist, Siemens Infrastructure and Cities, Building Technologies Division
Introduction by Edward Dustin, Engineering Director, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group

Mandarin Oriental Boston is installing Siemens' chilled water optimization application, which will cut energy use by 340,000 kWh's and save $49,000 per year. The system will control and sequence the hotel's chilled water plant, optimizing temperature set points and controlling pumps and fans speeds.
 
Chilled water optimization improves cooling capacity, extends equipment life and reduces maintenance. The Siemens Demand Flow system qualifies for Mass Save incentives.

Ray Burger, Founder and President, Pineapple Hospitality Inc.
Ken Haworth, CEO, Aquamenities
Raymond Ferretti, Senior Director of Marketing and Brand Development, Marietta Hospitality
 
Many luxury hotels have installed amenity fixtures recently. The Lenox Hotel, Onyx Hotel and Revere Hotel are local examples.
 
The latest fixtures are elegant and convenient for both guests and Housekeeping staff. They dispense popular amenity brands like Aveda, Beekman, Paul Mitchell and Paya.
 
Amenity fixtures cut costs by 30% to 70% per occupied room versus individually-packaged products of the same quality. They also eliminate the need to manage and dispose of countless amenity bottles. The impact of amenity fixtures is pictured in this Aquamenities video


Eric Szulak, Lead Sales Representative, Commercial Sales, National Grid

Mr. Szulak discussed the 2016 Mass Save incentives for projects that reduce natural gas use. He also described recent hotel projects funded by National Grid.


 
NEWS

Sheraton Boston's Jeff Hanulec Wins 2016 Greenovate Boston Award 
 
Sheraton Boston's Director of Engineering, Jeff Haunlec received the 2016 Greenovate Boston for the category,"Buildings and Energy." 
 
Mr. Haunlec has led the green transformation of Jurys Boston, Westin Waltham, Westin Copley Place and now Sheraton Boston. 

The hotels have achieved many awards: the Energy Star label, MLA Good Earthkeeping, EPA Environmental Merit, A Better City's Largest Energy Reduction, Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnership's Northeast Business Leader for Energy Efficiency, Mass Recycle's Hospitality Industry Recycling Award, TripAdvisor GreenLeaders certification and Green Key Global's eco-rating.

Mr. Hanulec is an extraordinary contributor to BGT and the larger hotel community. He often tests new green technology and practices at his hotels and reports his conclusions; he advocates for companies with valuable green products and services; and he shares his hotels' successes and strategies. Congratulations Jeff!




IDEAS
 
Automated System Optimization Tools: Slash Energy Use, No Capital Expense 

Energy Management & Information Systems (EMIS) optimize HVAC systems. The U.S. Department of Energy document, A Primer on Organizational Use of Energy Management and Information Systems, describes the three common kinds of EMIS's:
  • Building Automation Systems (BAS) control building operations and indoor climate.
  • Building Analytics and Reporting Systems track and analyze energy use.
  • Equipment-Specific Fault Detection and Diagnostic Systems identify equipment problems.
Some products fit one of these categories and others cover more than one.
 
Automated System Optimization (ASO) technology, for example, provides benefits associated with each category. It works by automatically adjusting BAS control settings to cut HVAC energy use, reduce demand charges and maintain comfort. 

I'll illustrate ASO technology by describing one of the one of the field's leaders, BuildingIQ. The company has impressive partners (Schneider Electric, Siemens, Johnson Controls, etc.) and collaborators (U.S. Department of Energy, Argonne National Laboratory, Berkeley Lab, etc.). 

Its product qualifies for Mass Save incentives--which are determined on a case-by-case (custom) basis. 
 
BuildingIQ's platform learns a building's energy use patterns; reads points on its BAS and meters; and knows incremental weather forecasts. It uses this data to predict heating and cooling loads and the property's anticipated peak demand periods--and controls the HVAC system accordingly.
 
The company provides its customers with a real-time dashboard display and management reports. It sends alerts when necessary. BuildingIQ detects high-level faults, but its product is not a comprehensive fault detection system.
 
Customers have no capital costs--they pay a monthly fee instead. Mass Save incentives, if approved, would reduce this fee.
 
BuildingIQ uses the International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol to calculate its impact on each building. It reports that its customers reduce HVAC energy bills by 10% to 25%--several times the monthly fee. Its first U.S. hotel customer, M Resort & Casino (390 rooms), cut HVAC energy use by 12% and peak load by 13%. Other case studies are here.
 
A BuildingIQ representative will speak at our June 30 meeting.

 
 
ARTICLES
 
City of Boston Press Release, April 28


Marriott New Center, March 17

Ritz-Carlton's coffee comes from beans harvested by Rainforest Alliance Certified farms. The Rainforest Alliance conserves biodiversity and ensures sustainable livelihoods throughout the world.


 
2016 MEETINGS

The following meeting will be 2:30 to 4:00.
 
May 26
The Lenox Hotel
June 30
The Langham, Boston
September 8
Boston Park Plaza Hotel
October 13

December 1 
Seaport Hotel

See you May 26!
Boston Green Tourism
Phone |Email | Website

Boston Green Tourism | 175 Auburn Street | Newton | MA | 02466