A Cape Cod resort has reduced its water and energy use after installing $600,000 in green-technology upgrades including hybrid water heaters that consume less gas, high-efficiency boilers and low-flow toilets and shower heads.
PM Engineer reports that the Cove at Yarmouth Resort has seen significant savings after initiating a series of retrofits. The vacation condos regularly see occupancy levels above 95 percent during the summer months and with the high volumes of guests, its management wanted to save on water and energy use while upgrading the complex.
The biggest pay-off comes from 19 new efficient Eternal hybrid water heaters that the resort says has led to a 17 percent savings in natural gas. Another way the switch saved money was in the size of the heaters — the previous, heavier model had to be lifted out and dropped in by crane, which led to an added expense. The new model, however, is only as big as a suitcase, PM Engineer reports.
The resort’s 27-year-old boilers that were bundled together and ran all the time were replaced with nine Well-McLain ultra-high-efficiency models that run at variable speed, are in a series together and fire only when needed. LED lights and variable speed air regulators in bathrooms also helped lower energy usage.
The resort received $31,000 in rebates from Mass Save, a Massachusetts-based energy auditing organization that also provides rebates, and Cape Light Compact.
In the US and elsewhere, boutique hotels are leading the sustainability charge in the hospitality industry, according to a July story in The Guardian. There has been a significant trend toward zero-carbon hotels in the last 10 years and there is “no doubt” that smaller hotels are the repositories of sustainability best practice, says Willy Legrand, a teacher of hotel management at the International University of Applied Sciences.
Image Credit: Cove at Yarmouth