Company: Yanmar Energy Systems of Germany and Japan; Keen Technical Solutions LLC of Traverse City, Michigan; and A.O. Smith of Milwaukee

Customer: Grand Traverse Resort and Spa, Traverse City, Michigan

Installation: Yanmar Micro Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system

Completion: August 2016

Objective: Over the last several years, the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa has been replacing outmoded electrical and mechanical equipment with new, more energy-efficient equipment that saves money and decreases carbon footprint. The Yanmar Micro CHP unit has an engine that runs on natural gas to generate electricity with useful heat (hot water) as a by-product of cooling the engine. It is a technology that has been in use in a variety of commercial and industrial applications for some time, but this is the first installation in a resort/hotel setting in the U.S. as part of a marketing test project.

Work Completed: The unit installed at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa generates 30 kilowatts (kW) of power and 60 kW of heat with hot water production of up to 5,000 gallons per day. It is rated at 320,000 Btuh. Clean hot water from the unit feeds to the resort’s commissary, bakery, tower kitchen, and tower kitchen dishwasher. The unit went into operation in August 2016 and received a certificate of approval for commercial emission standards from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) before it was put into operation.

Publication date: 4/24/2017

Want more HVAC industry news and information? Join The NEWS on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn today!