Eco-Friendly Cooling and Heating Systems for Hotels
One efficient and eco-friendly system for cooling and heating water in a hotel or in any structure would be solar collectors. These solar collectors absorb the rays of the sun and harness their combined energy in order to both heat and cool the water that would be needed by the hotel. At the University of Santa Clara’s student center, this technology is currently in use. The water is heated up to temperatures of 200°F for the needs of the students and faculty. Furthermore, the building’s consumption of natural gas is expected to decline by a whopping 70% because of this technology (Perritano, 2016). As for air cooling systems, there are many eco-friendly solutions today. One solution is hydronic cooling, which makes use of chilled water pipes instead of chilled air. The air outside the pipes (and in the room) are thus cooled because the heat is absorbed by the cold water. This same hydronic system can also be used in order to heat the air in cooler structures (Peritanno, 2016).
Hotels located in windy areas can also take advantage of the natural ventilation that is available to them. The wind may be maximized by positioning the ridge of the building perpendicular to the direction of the summer winds. Also, buildings must be located where the obstruction to the summer winds is minimal. Also, it is best to retain a narrow shape of buildings so that the wind can circulate throughout the interior of the structure. Finally, the exhaust outlets of rooms should be stacked above the inlet windows. This will allow cooler air to come in, and hot air from inside the room to rise and go out through the higher-placed outlet windows (Walker, 2014).
References
Perritano, J. 2016. Top 10 Green Heating and Cooling Technologies. Retrieved from: http://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/construction/green/10-green-heating-and-cooling-technologies.htm
Walker, A. 2014. Natural Ventilation. Retrieved from: https://www.wbdg.org/resources/naturalventilation.php
