Energy Efficiency and GHG Reduction Projects
Finally, Control Technologies that Work
In 2006, Maumee Bay State Park began using a state-of-the-art computerized energy management system called Automated Logic. Through this system, chief engineer, Jamie Mazarri, remotely monitors cabins for energy usage, detects if there is a malfunction in any mechanical equipment, sets temperatures prior to guest arrival, and prevents pipes from freezing in winter, all with the touch of his finger from a computer at his desk. This saves money while improving guest experience.
At many other Xanterra locations, energy management controls, occupancy sensors, programmable thermostats and Energy Misers™ are reducing energy usage by up to 30 percent in targeted areas. At the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, for example, Xanterra installed 325 occupancy-sensing, digitally programmable thermostats. At Hueston Woods Resort and Conference Center in Ohio, Xanterra installed Smart Stats controls to better manage heating and cooling in guest cottages. At other Ohio locations and at Yellowstone, Energy Miser controls shut down vending machines when not in use, saving up to 25 percent in refrigeration costs per machine.
Saving Energy One Lamp at a Time
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One small light bulb can make a tremendous difference, especially if each of the more than 50,000 of them installed in your operations uses 70 percent less electricity than a standard
bulb. Retrofitting old incandescent bulbs with super-efficient compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) continues to be one of Xanterra’s biggest energy-saving initiatives. Additionally, the
lamps generate 50 percent less heat than standard lamps, reducing air conditioning loads.
These retrofits alone save approximately 4,420,000 kWh per year, not to mention approximately $400,000 in labor, lamp replacement, and energy costs. This keeps 3,900 tons of CO2, 12 tons of sulfur dioxide and six tons of nitrogen oxide out of the air annually. |
Corporate Greenies Get Light Rail Subsidy
Employees at the corporate office in Denver are reducing their greenhouse gas emissions by using light rail thanks to a full subsidy by the company. The Eco Pass allows all corporate office employees to use light rail, the bus system, and emergency taxis at any location in the Denver metro area, helping Xanterra employees reduce smog and ozone pollution.
Reducing Emissions From Kitchen Equipment with Variable Speed Hood Controls
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Literally every kitchen in this country has large hood fans that exhaust grill smoke out of the building. Those fans operate up to 18 hours a day, 365 days a year, consuming inordinate amounts of energy, pumping conditioned air outside the building, unnecessarily wasting natural resources and emitting greenhouse gases. To address this, Xanterra at Mount Rushmore has implemented the latest in kitchen technologies, a variable speed hood control system. This new hood control system senses heat and particulate matter (smoke), automatically modulating the fan motors up or down depending upon usage. If a grill is shut down during a slow period, the hood reacts accordingly and lowers its speed. The resulting energy savings have been astounding. Data analysis has shown the hoods save approximately $19,000 per year, enough to pay for themselves in just over one year. This includes savings from electricity that runs the motors as well as heating and cooling savings by not sending conditioned air outside. Greenhouse gas emissions savings are estimated at 180 tons per year from this unit alone.
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Question : Where Would You Test the Newest Most Efficient Air Conditioner on the Market?
Answer : The hottest place in the country — Death Valley
Death Valley has always been a proving ground for new technologies, even environmental technologies, because when a product survives the 120 °F heat, high winds, and dust storms found only in Death Valley, you know it will work any place! Through a partnership with Southern California Edison, Xanterra tested a five-ton SEER 15 (seasonal energy efficiency
ratio) roof-mounted air conditioner. This unit has the highest efficiency rating of any unit on the market. |
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The unit passed the test and Xanterra has utilized it to cool corporate offices,
saving around 500 kWh of electricity per summer month and reducing greenhouse gas pollution by 2,300 pounds per year.
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| Ohio Park Operations See the Light on Greenhouse Gas Emissions |
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Xanterra’s Ohio State Park operations continue to make significant strides in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by using energy more efficiently.
In late 2006, a comprehensive lighting retrofit was conducted at all Ohio state parks, replacing more than 11,500 energy-wasting, heat-generating incandescent lamps with super-efficient, cooler, compact fluorescent lamps. These lamps are saving more than $84,000 per year in energy, labor, and lamp replacement costs. Greenhouse gas emission reductions for this retrofit alone total 700 tons of CO2 per year.
Other measures implemented at various Ohio locations over the last two years include:
- Boiler retrofits at three locations
- Conversion of T-12 to T8 fluorescent lamps at several locations
- Automated Logic® building automation systems at Maumee Bay and Salt Fork
- Vending Misers® and lighting occupancy sensors in many places
- Solar films on large glass areas in dining room and lobby windows
- Motion-detector thermostats on HVAC systems in cabins at Hueston Woods
- Ice makers and aging, inefficient equipment replaced at Salt Fork
- Kitchen energy conservation awareness program rolled out to Ohio chefs
- Testing of a new “liquid pool cover” to help minimize evaporation at some parks; pool water temperatures lowered to 82 degrees
- Weather stripping on all doors and improved equipment maintenance on all mechanical systems
- Old inefficient central boiler and central chiller replaced with 12.8 SEER Amana DigiSmarte at Heat Pump PTAC units
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