tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35994711037402320122012-02-16T18:55:09.862-08:00The story of North America's Greenest hotel. By 'green' we mean low-carbon. We're achieving a minimum 75% cut in carbon emissions, and we're doing it with proven technologies. The cost? Nothing - we leverage just 5% of the buildings value, and pay less in interest than we save in energy.Tom Randhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16405835526967870826noreply@blogger.comBlogger21100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3599471103740232012.post-71842743263583550132010-10-20T14:12:00.000-07:002010-10-20T14:18:51.764-07:00Sorry folks, way too busy to get this thing updated!<br /><br />Hotel opens soon, its' site is http://www.theplanettraveler.com/<br /><br />Meantime, join the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=369813940123">facebook group Kick the Fossil Fuel Habit!</a><br /><br />And enjoy <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92MtzfepgXQ">this video</a>!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3599471103740232012-7184274326358355013?l=planettravelerhotel.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Tom Randhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16405835526967870826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3599471103740232012.post-32072892476094446002009-12-01T06:35:00.001-08:002009-12-01T14:05:17.870-08:00<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Policy Recommendation:</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> Force or backstop commercial banks to lend at low interest rates for these retrofits. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Better: Mandate the retrofits.</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OzLZJnM6CgE/SxUr8iwhZsI/AAAAAAAAADY/MOazHG3Ivbs/s1600/DC1_6257.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Udz0lHGNzxc"></a></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OzLZJnM6CgE/SxUr8iwhZsI/AAAAAAAAADY/MOazHG3Ivbs/s1600/DC1_6257.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(85, 26, 139);">My TED Talk:</span></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OzLZJnM6CgE/SxUr8iwhZsI/AAAAAAAAADY/MOazHG3Ivbs/s1600/DC1_6257.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(85, 26, 139);"><br /></span></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre; font-family:Arial;font-size:10px;"><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Udz0lHGNzxc&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Udz0lHGNzxc&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OzLZJnM6CgE/SxUr8iwhZsI/AAAAAAAAADY/MOazHG3Ivbs/s1600/DC1_6257.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"></a></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OzLZJnM6CgE/SxUr8iwhZsI/AAAAAAAAADY/MOazHG3Ivbs/s1600/DC1_6257.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;">View an 80 minute MaRS Green vs. Greenwash video </a><a href="http://blog.marsdd.com/2009/07/14/the-75-5-plan-lessons-from-building-north-americas-greenest-hotel/">here</a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OzLZJnM6CgE/SxUr8iwhZsI/AAAAAAAAADY/MOazHG3Ivbs/s1600/DC1_6257.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"> ( there is also a lengthy blog and ppt presentation ).</a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Here's what the building looks like as of Dec. 1:</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OzLZJnM6CgE/SxWS-QP8aVI/AAAAAAAAAD4/ckluymGHpkc/s1600/DSCI0128.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OzLZJnM6CgE/SxWS-QP8aVI/AAAAAAAAAD4/ckluymGHpkc/s320/DSCI0128.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410392125566904658" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OzLZJnM6CgE/SxUr8iwhZsI/AAAAAAAAADY/MOazHG3Ivbs/s1600/DC1_6257.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;">Here are some pictures of the project, and the 5 key technologies (geothermal, solar thermal, solar PV, drain water heat recapture, efficient lighting) required to bring carbon emissions down by three-quarters:</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Geothermal heating and cooling is the workhorse of the hotel. For more info on geothermal h/c (or geo-exchange) go <a href="http://www.cleanenergydevelopments.com/">here</a>. I was so convinced that geo is the holy grail of heating and cooling, I invested in the geo provider, Clean Energy Developments. That company was recently sold to a publicly traded company, Alter NRG (nrg.to).</div><div><br /></div><div>Geo works by pushing and pulling heat from the ground, instead of using a furnace and air conditioner. This building has no ground, so we used a City-owned lane-way running beside the building. The City co-operated extensively, and is looking into opening up public lane-ways throughout the City of Toronto for geo - a world first!</div></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><img style="text-decoration: underline;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px; " src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OzLZJnM6CgE/SxUr8iwhZsI/AAAAAAAAADY/MOazHG3Ivbs/s320/DC1_6257.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410278846477985474" />Narrow lane-way; drilling down 400 ft through pipes, sewers and gas mains ...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OzLZJnM6CgE/SxUr8hBCR-I/AAAAAAAAADQ/Ebc5YSqnysY/s1600/DC1_6253.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OzLZJnM6CgE/SxUr8hBCR-I/AAAAAAAAADQ/Ebc5YSqnysY/s320/DC1_6253.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410278846010378210" /></a><div>It's a messy business ...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OzLZJnM6CgE/SxUr8IPEEtI/AAAAAAAAADI/Byul7uS5OjU/s1600/DC1_6225.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OzLZJnM6CgE/SxUr8IPEEtI/AAAAAAAAADI/Byul7uS5OjU/s320/DC1_6225.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410278839358329554" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OzLZJnM6CgE/SxUrsBKJYoI/AAAAAAAAADA/qXa_UB6p3xE/s1600/DC1_6223.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OzLZJnM6CgE/SxUrsBKJYoI/AAAAAAAAADA/qXa_UB6p3xE/s320/DC1_6223.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410278562580750978" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OzLZJnM6CgE/SxUrr0DHFlI/AAAAAAAAAC4/6JmXIOm5jZI/s1600/DC1_6206.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OzLZJnM6CgE/SxUrr0DHFlI/AAAAAAAAAC4/6JmXIOm5jZI/s320/DC1_6206.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410278559061579346" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OzLZJnM6CgE/SxUrrqMfYsI/AAAAAAAAACw/iAL4Ow25-b8/s1600/DC1_6193.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OzLZJnM6CgE/SxUrrqMfYsI/AAAAAAAAACw/iAL4Ow25-b8/s320/DC1_6193.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410278556416565954" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OzLZJnM6CgE/SxUrrVnx6MI/AAAAAAAAACo/LxJD2kFP2vM/s1600/DC1_6188.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OzLZJnM6CgE/SxUrrVnx6MI/AAAAAAAAACo/LxJD2kFP2vM/s320/DC1_6188.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410278550893881538" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OzLZJnM6CgE/SxUrrBBlKcI/AAAAAAAAACg/Yv8GAMhmxlY/s1600/DC1_6040.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OzLZJnM6CgE/SxUrrBBlKcI/AAAAAAAAACg/Yv8GAMhmxlY/s320/DC1_6040.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410278545364953538" /></a>The view looking down from the roof.</div><div><br /></div><div>Another key technology is the Powerpipe, which captures heat from draining wastewater.  It's simple technology: a copper drainpipe, wrapped in copper tubing that supplies the cold water.</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-size:23px;"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OzLZJnM6CgE/SxUt_71HtyI/AAAAAAAAADg/DPeLWQgWP0U/s320/DSCI0081.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410281103771023138" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span><div>As the hot water goes down the drain, heat is transferred to the incoming water. Simple, and cheap! Each power-pipe is hooked up to 6 showers.</div><div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OzLZJnM6CgE/SxUuAO_uwqI/AAAAAAAAADo/xaYf5ChOFsc/s1600/DSCI0080.jpg"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OzLZJnM6CgE/SxUuAO_uwqI/AAAAAAAAADo/xaYf5ChOFsc/s320/DSCI0080.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410281108915798690" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div><div>LED and CF lighting means we use a fraction of what would normally be required to light the place up. Here's an exterior test LED light:</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OzLZJnM6CgE/SxUunbYDUdI/AAAAAAAAADw/usllzOXMg_Y/s1600/DSCI0110.jpg"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OzLZJnM6CgE/SxUunbYDUdI/AAAAAAAAADw/usllzOXMg_Y/s320/DSCI0110.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410281782253933010" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>There's more coming, just haven't had time to get all the photos/info up yet. Stay tuned ....</div><div>Tom</div></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3599471103740232012-3207289247609444600?l=planettravelerhotel.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Tom Randhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16405835526967870826noreply@blogger.com1