Pacific Palms Resort Sees Major Savings with Efficiency Upgrades
Resort Also Gained an Additional $500,000 in One-Time Rebates from Local Electric and Gas Utilities
Owners at Pacific Palms Resort in City of Industry, California, expect recently completed infrastructure upgrades to generate first-year savings of more than $540,000 in energy and operational costs, including nearly $343,000 in energy costs and on top of that, nearly $203,000 additional in operational savings. Owners anticipate similar savings in subsequent years. The resort also gained an additional $500,000 in one-time rebates from local electric and gas utilities.
“While we’re pleased that the improvements will generate significant energy savings, it’s even better that they provide a reliably comfortable environment, optimizing guest comfort,” said John Semcken, senior vice president of Majestic Realty Co., and a co-owner and senior development partner in the redevelopment and renovation of the Pacific Palms Resort.
“These upgrades also align with our commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability, reflecting our interest in supporting the City of Industry community.”
In recognition of the resort’s commitment to energy and operational efficiency and sustainability, Trane, a brand of Ingersoll Rand, presented Pacific Palms Resort owners with the Energy Efficiency Leader Award, which recognizes the resort as a national leader in reducing its environmental impact.
Many of the resort’s HVAC systems were original to the facility, including those serving the resort’s 35-year-old convention center (located in the main building). The antiquated HVAC systems and pneumatic controls had become extremely inefficient, resulting in high energy usage and comfort issues throughout the building.
The project team sought to implement upgrades for the convention center and the resort as a whole to reduce energy and operational costs. The team also wanted to take advantage of rebates from local utility companies and to better align with the resort’s energy sustainability program and the requirements of groups holding events at the resort.
Prior to undertaking upgrades, the project team conducted a complete audit of the resort, undertaking an in-depth analysis of more than 200 data points to identify, validate, and prioritize energy conservation measures. Based on the results of the audit, owners at Pacific Palms Resort decided to move forward with upgrades on systems, controls, energy management, lighting, and services.
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Resort owners funded the improvements with a performance contract, which allowed them to use future energy and operational savings to help finance the infrastructure improvements upfront. Performance contracting is a funding option that provides measurable results to support strategic business objectives.
Specific upgrades included adding a 500-ton centrifugal chiller equipped with a variable speed drive to lower energy use and help ensure a comfortable environment for guests. The resort’s old steam boilers and leaking heat exchangers were also removed and replaced with four new modular, hot water boilers to increase efficiency.
A thermal energy storage system shifts demand out of peak periods of the day. A screw chiller operates at night, when energy is less expensive, to charge 16 thermal energy storage tanks installed outside the central plant. The tanks discharge during the day to provide cooling in parallel with the centrifugal chiller, helping to keep chiller use to a minimum.
An energy management system provides facility managers with a dashboard to review key data points, facilitate analysis, and help Pacific Palms Resort develop energy strategies to control costs. Working with the energy management system, an intelligent services program monitors the systems to achieve targeted energy savings.
A building automation system (BAS) ensures all equipment is optimized for maximum savings. Building operators use the BAS to access their system remotely to monitor and manage systems. A wireless communication system helps ensure that communication is maintained and eliminates communication wires between the system controller, unit controllers, and zone sensors. Pacific Palms Resort owners also committed to a five-year service agreement to help ensure that systems continue to run optimally.
For more information, visit www.trane.com.
Publication date: 3/9/2015
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