Hotels foster energy efficiency

By Van Nam - The Saigon Times Daily HCMC – Vietnam’s unpredictable power supply interruptions are a big stress to the service sector, so many hotels are looking towards energy savings to ensure fewer interruptions and be responsible for a cleaner Vietnam. Some outstanding hotels and buildings such as Caravelle, New World and Unilever Building are pioneering energy saving in HCMC. The twenty-six-storey Caravelle Hotel in Lam Son Square in the city downtown has started numerous programs to reduce power consumption in recent years. Caravelle has cut its power costs for air-conditioning, water pumps, air ventilators, hot water systems and lighting. It has replaced all the 50W halogen lights by 11W compact lights. Choosing natural light instead of electric light; turning off unused lights, and dropping a few degrees off the temperature of its hot water are some of the ways Caravelle is conserving power. Thanks to this logical power management, the hotel is one of the most energy efficient buildings in HCMC able to save up to 759,633 kilowatt hours of electricity usage each year, reducing annual power costs by a remarkable VND1.5 billion. This equates to an environmental saving of 16,000 liters of diesel oil each year to fuel the power stations and 370,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide discharged into the environment. Caravelle hotel energy division always monitors the power usage everyday so they can devise the best strategies. The New World Hotel on Le Lai Street in District 1 was recently given a building award for energy efficiency for upgrading its electrical systems and refrigeration. As energy savings are good for both community and the hotel, New World is spending VND5.5 billion for a five-year program to install 6,000 energy efficient light bulbs and to cooperate with Trane Company to renovate the whole refrigeration system. An official of the New World says the program helps cut power costs by US$16,000 a month a saving of 120 tons of carbon dioxide. Another case is Unilever Building in District 7, which is installing a Building Management System (BMS) to control its lighting system, security and air-conditioning. A timer has been installed to automatically turn off the lights in rooms five minutes after people leave and to adjust the luminosity. According to energy experts, energy efficiency measures are becoming more common at hotels in Vietnam particularly ones that are foreign owned. Terms such as ‘green building’, ‘green work’ or ‘energy efficiency building’ are becoming part of the vocabulary here as awareness grows of the link between profits and sustainability. The environmental experts say although construction of a ‘green building’ will cost an initial 30% more, the application of modern energy efficiency solutions will save the investor at least 30% in power bills for the rest of the building’s life. A commitment to energy efficiency and a clean environment for the children of Tuesday needs a determined investment on Monday.