Built in 2002 in Long Xuyen city (An Giang), with a modern architectural style and enthusiastic service, Dong Xuyen hotel has been certified by Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and Tourism Department of the city to meet the 3 star international standard. The hotel is not only a trusted address of the majority of tourists coming to Long Xuyen city but also a "green building" of the hick area due to being the leader in energy efficiency and conservation.

To meet customer needs and keep pace with the development of tourism and services, Dong Xuyen hotel has been constantly upgrading, improving and renovating facilities, and enhancing service style. Along with that development, the demand for electricity of the hotel is also increasing. Monthly average power consumption of the hotel is about 75 thousand kWh of electricity.

Mr Le Thanh Dung, technical staff of the hotel, said: "In order to minimize energy costs while raising the quality of customer service, the hotel’s managers and employees have continuously studied and approached new technologies to improve elctrical systems, enchance energy management and minimize power consumption".

Since early 2006, responding to the power saving movement of the city, Dong Xuyen Hotel has made renovations to reduce power consumption. The hotel has made some replacements of major equipment such as power installing 8W energy saving compact bulbs in the hall, lobby, restaurant, guest rooms; installing T8-36W energy saving fluorescent lights in offices. In addition, the board of directors has also decided to  set the temperature of water heaters at 55oC. Old air conditioners which are frequently damaged have been radually replaced by new two-stage air conditioners which are more efficient.

Also in 2006, the hotel established the energy control department including related units which had the responsibility to monitor and manage energy consumption and reduce wasteful use. With the efforts of all staff, every year, the hotel has saved 10% of total energy consumption, equivalent to about VND 144 million.

Specialized in restaurant and hotel business, the air conditioning system always accounts for the majority of energy consumption of the building. This is the system which the board has prioritized to renovate to achieve cost-effectiveness. Currently, the old and low efficiency air conditioning system has been entirely replaced by new two-stage air conditioners with the capacity of 1HP - 5HP to ensure heat conditions for all necessary areas in the hotel .

In areas such as restaurant, lobby, the hotel has installed ventilating fans in the entrance to reduce cold air leakage to save power. For meeting rooms, hall, lobby and guest rooms, the quantity and operation time of air conditioners have been appropriately regulated in order to reduce power consumption while ensuring the comfortableness for customers.

Through remote controllers, the temperature is set at 25oC. Initial statistics have shown that the improvement of the air conditioning system has helped the hotel save 1.63% of total energy consumption, equivalent to saving over VND 24 million per year.

Besides the air conditioning system, the lighting system also accounts for a large amount of electricity consumption of the building. Since early 2006, all 1.2 m T10-40W fluorescent lamps of the hotel have been replaced by T8-36W bulbs, 40W light bulbs have been replaced by energy saving compact light bulbs with the capacity of only 8W. To increase lighting efficiency while improving the aesthetics, all the lights are equipped with reflectors.

 “Besides the positive improvement, we have also focused on taking advantage of natural light. The hotel has always taken full advantage of natural light and limited the use of artificial light in lobby area, hallways and meeting rooms as reasonably as possible. Especially in the daytime, all the lights in lobby area and stairs are not turned on, but the illumination is still ensured. On the other hand, in each area and each room, switches are reasonably installed to help customers proactively turn on and off the lights according to their needs”, Mr Le Thanh Dung added.

Thanks to appropriate use of energy saving equipment and good utilization of natural light, the building has saved 3.08% of the total power consumption annually, equivalent to saving VND 45.6 million.

Not only that, the materials of the building also contribute to energy efficiency. Surfaces are covered by bricks and glasses, covering walls are painted white and green trees are located everywhere from the balcony, terrace, in the alleys or around the building. The exterior of the building is quite elaborately decorated with insulation stones and paint to increase the solar radiation resistance.

Assessing the architecture and advantages of Dong Xuyen hotel, representatives of Ho Chi Minh city Energy Efficiency Center said “The shape and direction of the building are very appropriate for ventilation and natural lighting. The building has a very favorable position and harmonious design, creating an outstanding feature for the city and a good impression for visitors.

By Minh Duc