Pioneering in investing in energy efficient equipment

Nguyen Van Chinh, the chief engineer of Sheraton Hotel Hanoi, said that energy efficiency of a building relies greatly on many factors such as construction design, the surrounding environment, equipment, management and application of energy efficiency solutions. Many energy efficiency solutions have been applied successfully at Sheraton, such as economical lamps, BAS and Dimmer systems, solar energy, wind energy, central air-conditioning systems, steam boilers and water saving. The hotel has installed frequency inverters that work with four primary chiller water pumps, four cooling water pumps, two chiller fans, two kitchen ventilators, three hot-water pumps, three AHU motors and six thermal pumps.

Chinh said that frequency inverters can automatically increase the capacity of four 50W pumps from 20-80 liters to 28-40 liters a second. Frequency inverters have satisfied the need for power at the hotel and saved 55-59 percent of power, or about 361,720kW worth VND614 million annually. Because primary chiller water pumps are complicated, they are not as available as secondary chiller water pumps. Sheraton Hotel Hanoi is the first building in Vietnam that has applied frequency inverters to the primary chiller water pump system since 2006.

In addition, Sheraton has installed four 22kW cooling water pumps that pump 20-76 liters per second. As a result, power consumption has reduced from 22kW before to 11-14kW now. This is the best way to save power in winter, autumn and spring and to best run the air-conditioning system. The hotel has also installed four improved thermal pumps that can save 120 liters of oil daily and generate 63kW of cool air per hour. They keep the ironing area cool without an air-conditioning system. Thermal pumps have lowered the temperature in the area from 34-35oC before to 26-27oC now. To expand the success, the hotel has continued to invest in the thermal pump system and stopped steam boilers. Sheraton is also the first hotel in Vietnam to use thermal pumps to save power.

In addition, by installing frequency inverters for ventilators and AHU Sheraton has saved VND221 million worth of power annually. The 330 frequency inverters working for the air-conditioning system have also saved about VND70 million annually.

To ensure sufficient and economical light at lobbies and in rooms, the Sheraton Hotel has replaced all 2,200 bulbs with compact lamps and fluorescent lamps. The substitution has saved 50 percent of power worth more than VND30 million annually.

Applying ISO 14.001

Sheraton is not only a luxury hotel with perfect services but also an ideal venue for international conventions/workshops. With efforts to apply an environmentally friendly policy for years now, Sheraton has been nominated for a Green Building prize to be awarded by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism in the short run. Sheraton also took part in the contest “2010 ASEAN Energy Efficient Building” to be held in Vietnam in the near future.

Sheraton has led in installing economical electric appliances and applying the ISO 14.001 international environmental management system. For this to happen, the hotel has drawn-up a strategy with specific missions such as managing waste water at Level B, applying strict environment protection regulations to waste oil and waste printing ink, keeping the environment (including the yards, the walls and the carpets) clean, and using non-polluting equipment like mini bars. The hotel has planted more trees to create a green, clean and beautiful environment. Applying ISO 14.001 is a sound step that has not only generated high business efficiency but also made the hotel a green building in the heart of the capital city.

By Song Thuong