Potential waste, water, and energy savings were identified for hotel properties in Minnesota. Average resource use footprints and benchmarks were generated after analysis of utility bill data.

1. Solid Waste
Water Electricity
Natural Gas
Lighting,
41%
Guestroom
HVAC,
22%1
Indoor
Pool HVAC,
13%2
Common
HVAC,
10%3
Other,
14%4
Average Electricity Use Footprint
General
Water
Heating,
42%1
Indoor
Pool Water
Heating,
17%
Indoor
Pool HVAC,
13%2
Laundry,
11%3
Common
HVAC &
Other,
17%4
Average Natural Gas Use Footprint
General,
74%2
Irrigation,
26%1
Average Water Use Footprint
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
I R F AA O Y N B T C Z L X A J E Q H K D G U P S V M W
Economy Extended Stay Midscale Upscale
Annual Natural Gas Use Benchmarks, by Market Segment
[therms/(year * % occupancy * # rooms)]
-­‐
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
I R F O B T N Y AA A J L Z E X C Q D H U G K W S M V P
Economy Extended Stay Midscale Upscale
Annual Electric Use Benchmarks, by Market Segment
[kWh/(year * % occupancy * # rooms)]
-­‐
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
I R F O Y AA T B N U L E A C J D Q H Z X G K P V W S M
Economy Extended Stay Midscale Upscale
Annual Water Use Benchmarks, by Market Segment
[gallons/(year * % occupancy * # rooms)]
Introduction
Provided 32 site visits and 1 intern to hotel properties in Minnesota.
Identified opportunities for waste and water reduction and energy
efficiency.
Analyzed 27 average resource
use footprints and benchmarks.
Obtained additional original data through collection of nameplate
information, surveys completed by hotel managers, and by visual
inspection during site visits and internship.
Focused primarily on low-­‐cost opportunities for resource
conservation.
Explored a handful of larger capital investment projects that, if
implemented, would bring more significant resource and cost savings.
Results
Potential Savings Identified:
268,800 pounds solid waste
9.8 million gallons water
7.2 million kWh electric energy
702,100 therms natural gas energy
Representing a combined cost savings to our clients of $1 million
Savings Implemented to Date:
10,000 pounds solid waste
539,200 kWh electric energy
215,000 therms natural gas energy
Representing a combined cost savings to our clients of $132,700
Scope
Properties ranged from 40 to 400 guestrooms; average 98.
27 properties provided two years of historical utility consumption
data used to generate the water and energy use footprints and
benchmarks.
1 waste sort was conducted to estimate solid waste makeup.
The annual resource benchmarks are normalized by dividing the
resource total by the number of rooms and average occupancy rate
to allow meaningful comparisons of relative resource efficiency
across the properties analyzed.
Electricity Conservation Opportunities Average per Property
Recommendation
Annual Energy
Savings (kWh)
Annual Cost
Savings
Implem.
Cost
Payback
Period
Replace incandescent lighting with
CFLs or LEDs
38,000 $2,700 $1,500 7 mo.
Install occupancy-­‐sensor power
management on vending machines
4,900 $430 $560 16 mo.
Use pool covers to reduce indoor pool
cooling and dehumidification
86,000 $6,900 $16,300 16 mo.5
Install occupancy-­‐sensor power
management on guestroom HVAC
112,000 $9,000 $28,900 39 mo.
5Payback period reflects natural gas savings in addition to electric savings.
Water Conservation Opportunities Average per Property
Recommendation
Annual Water
Savings (gal)
Annual Cost
Savings
Implementation
Cost
Payback
Period
Install low-­‐flow faucet aerators
(reduction of 0.5 GPM)
38,500 $59 $46 9 mo.
Install low-­‐flow shower heads
(reduction of 0.5 GPM)
109,400 $220 $770 42 mo.
Install low-­‐flow toilets 254,800 $510 varies N/A
Natural Gas Conservation Opportunities Average per Property
Recommendation
Annual Energy
Savings (therms)
Annual Cost
Savings
Implementation
Cost
Payback
Period
Reduce laundry dryer run
time by 5 minutes
5,200 $4,200 $0 Immed.
Use pool covers to reduce
indoor pool heating load
7,000 $5,600 $16,300 16 mo.5
5Payback period reflects electricity savings in addition to natural gas savings.
Waste, Water, and Energy Benchmarking and
Conservation Opportunities for
Minnesota Hotels
1All properties used in-­‐guestroom packaged terminal air conditioners
(PTACs) with electric resistance heating.
2Amount of electricity used by dehumidification and space cooling in
indoor pool areas.
3Space cooling and ventilation in all other areas other than
guestrooms and pool area.
4Includes all other uses of electricity, for example, plug loads for
guestroom amenities, business center computers, exercise
equipment, laundry systems, etc.
1Irrigation sub-­‐meter data not available at all properties.
2Due to lack of additional sub-­‐meter data or methods to estimate
than for irrigation.
1Includes water heating for guestrooms and laundry washing
machines.
2Space heating, ventilation, and air makeup in indoor pool areas.
3Natural gas used in laundry drying machines.
4Includes space heating, ventilation, and air makeup in hotel common
areas and all other unidentified uses of natural gas.
Solid Waste Conservation Opportunities Average per Property
Recommendation
Annual Solid
Waste Savings
(lbs)
Annual Cost
Savings
Implementation
Cost
Payback
Period
Replace disposable amenity
bottles with bulk dispensers
3,900 $3,200 $2,500 9 mo.
Additional Opportunities Observed:
Start an in-­‐house or externally managed organics collection program to reduce the
amount of food waste.
Start in-­‐room recycling collection program to reduce the amount of recyclable
materials going to waste. Estimated to divert an average of 34,000 lbs. annually from
landfills, per property.
44%
10%
9%
1% 1%
1%
0%
2%
1%
0%
31%
Waste Sort Results1
Organics Glass Office Paper Newspaper
Magazines Cardboard Mixed Paper Plastic
Steel Aluminum True Trash
1Waste sort conducted at one hotel property only; unlike energy and
water use footprints these results are not meant to represent averages.
Historical Solid Waste Data Unavailable,
Solid Waste Benchmarks Not Generated