HEI Hotels & Resorts, which owns and operates 32 properties under brand names such as Embassy Suites, Hilton, Marriott, Sheraton and the Westin, is committed to reducing its energy use by 10 percent, reports Hartford Business. The hotel chain's energy-efficiency efforts have yielded energy savings of $3.4 million in 2009.
HEI Hotels & Resorts has invested more than $6.5 million in energy management programs at its hotels and resorts in the U.S. since 2005, which include energy audits, lighting retrofits, improved motion detection systems and new software technologies that help monitor and analyze energy use.
As an example cited in the article, HEI uses high-tech sensors from PureChoice to monitor heating and cooling throughout the company's hotels as well as to screen for indoor air quality and detect gases such as carbon monoxide, formaldehyde and other pollutants.
HEI's energy efficiency efforts saved the company more than 23.8 million kWh and more than 23,500 tons of CO2 between 2005 and 2008, and reduced its heating, cooling and lighting consumption company-wide by 8 percent in 2009 compared to 2008.
Bob Holesko, HEI’s vice president of facilities and a certified energy manager told the newspaper that the payback on the capital investment was achieved in 2.8 years.
Thanks to its energy-efficient efforts, HEI recently received a 2010 Energy Star Partner of the Year for outstanding energy management and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
The EPA's Energy Star Leaders prevented the emissions of more than 220,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide and saved more than $48 million across their commercial building portfolios in 2009.
The hotel chain has set additional benchmarks for further energy and waste reductions. HEI plans to reduce energy consumption company-wide by 5 percent in 2010 and to focus on trash and recycling programs this year.
