NATIONAL REPORT— State-of-the art equipment is keeping hotels cool in areas that experience high temperatures. It’s also helping management control energy costs. The Adam’s Mark Hotel in Dallas has put into place an assortment of new equipment to maintain a comfortable environment and save on energy costs. According to Robert Frederick, director of building services for the 1,844-room hotel, the new equipment will pay for itself in a short period of time. Window film installed in all guestrooms and most public spaces two years ago has already almost paid for itself. The 222,000 square feet of film cost $260,000 and is saving about $130,000 a year on energy costs, according to Frederick. The film tints the windows and rejects 78% of the heat hitting the glass and 87% of the glare, he noted. Four of the eight chillers in the central plant at the Adam’s Mark are also new. The chillers, which cost nearly $250,000 each, will pay for themselves in five years, Frederick estimated. The hotel has a total of eight 1,000-ton centrifugal chillers, he added. The chillers which were not replaced are about 40 years old and primarily serve to give extra capacity when needed. The chillers cool water to 42 degrees Fahrenheit; the water is then piped throughout the hotel to keep rooms comfortable. “To put it in perspective, if the system could make ice, it would produce 1,000 tons a day,” Frederick said. The hotel’s hot water is produced by five 650-horsepower boilers. Guests control the temperature in their rooms via the thermostat, with Frederick’s staff of seven managers and 60 line employees constantly monitoring the system to make sure it is functioning properly. “The activity is watched hourly,” Frederick said. “And log sheets are used and reviewed on a regular basis,” he added. Fluorescent lighting is now being installed in many areas at the Adam’s Mark. “We’re replacing many of the light fixtures, taking out 60-watt bulbs and installing 11-watt fluorescent lighting,” Frederick said. “We’re also putting in motion sensors in the back of the house to turn lights off in corridors and storage areas that are not occupied.” The Venetian Conserves Energy The Venetian in Las Vegas has an automatic setback feature to turn off lights in its offices after 8 p.m., according to Kim Grange, director of facilities. In addition, at midnight, the temperature in unoccupied ballrooms and meeting rooms is set up to 90 degrees via a sensor while lights are dimmed to 10% illumination. “We do our energy conservation outside the room,” Grange said. “In the guestroom, the customer has control because they are paying for it.” The $2-billion, 3,036-room Venetian only opened last year, “and all our equipment is state of the art,” Grange said. “The boilers, chillers and pumps have energy efficient motors and variable drives so that is how we conserve while keeping six million square feet of space comfortable.” The Venetian’s central plant furnishes the property with chilled water, steam and hot water via chillers and boilers. There are seven 2,500-ton primary chillers which move 21,000 gallons of water each minute. “The system could handle [air conditioning for]3,500 homes,” Grange explained. The five 800-horsepower boilers produce 26,800 pounds of steam per hour, he added. Grange noted that The Venetian owns a substation so it can buy its own power at a cheaper rate. “And we have a power management system to manage all power coming into the building,” he said.