Going "Green," or at least Chartreuse

Hotel Renard will focus on efficient: an efficient work-space with multiple laborers of various talents, efficient living-space with cohorts of shared and unique lifestyle needs, and an efficient machine that is malleable for whatever we all wish to do with it.

Because it is a live/work space, there's an area that I excel in that I've always wanted to dig deeper in tweaking: energy efficiency.  I'm only green in ways that make sense financially: when something environmentally-sound has hidden short-term and long-term costs, it likely is far less green than supporters would realize.  One area: recycling.  If you recycle only for environmental reasons, you have to dig much deeper to see the true costs.  How much do government recycling administrations spend on nice air-conditioned offices?  How much do the gas-burning trucks cost that come to pick up your recyclable goods?  In my experience, using city recycling centers is NOT environmentally sound in any way.  If Hotel Renard recycles, we'll do it by hand, reusing what we can, and taking our excess to private recycling centers that have proven their efficiency and environmental soundness through competitive means.

One area we will be moving forward in from the start is our HVAC system (heating, ventilation and air conditioning).  Hotel Renard uses forced heating through a gas furnace, and also has a single A/C unit outdoors.  In the spring, we'll be taking apart the A/C unit to make sure it is maintained properly.  During the still-cold early spring months, we'll be setting up a multi-zone HVAC system which will allow us to maximize comfort while minimizing the use of our HVAC system.

The multi-zone system starts with a control panel, or a brain.  Most homes and offices are single-zone: one thermostat that controls the entire heating/cooling system.  This is inefficient because it tries to heat or cool every room, with the thermostat in one room.  If that room hits the desired temperature, other rooms may be too cold or warm.  In a multi-zone system, every zone has its own thermostat.  Rooms that don't need to be warmed or cooled at certain times will be turned off.  Even better, different zones can be set to different temperatures based on the occupants' needs.

Hotel Renard will use a 6-zone control panel.  The zones will be:

1. Bedroom A
2. Bedroom B
3. Bedroom C (optional, downstairs)
4. Living Room/Kitchen/Gallery
5. Basement Workroom A
6. Basement Other

Each zone will have a smart-thermostat, similar to a digital one you may be familiar with.  These thermostats measure the current temperature in each zone, and send a signal to the control panel "brain."  If a zone moves out of 1 degree range of the desired temperature, the brain will know to either turn the heater on, or turn the A/C on.  Some control panels can even run the heater and air conditioner at the same time, providing the most accurate temperature control per-zone possible.  The most complicated systems can even run ceiling fans in both directions at variable speeds to move hot air down and up in the room.

If one zone needs heating or cooling but another zone doesn't, electric dampers in the ducts will selectively open or close, sending the heating or cooling only to rooms that need it.  If two zones need climate control, those zones will be "open" while the other zones will be closed.

An intelligent control panel will also allow for control remotely or from any available PC or web-enabled cell phone.  If you forget to turn off the heating/cooling in a zone, you can remotely notify the system to do so.  Because the intelligent control panel interacts with the intelligent thermostat, we'll also be able to monitor the temperatures over time -- seeing if one zone is over-heated or over-cooled.

Over the long run, we'll also integrate smart-metering.  Smart-meters piggyback onto gas, electric and water meters, providing intelligent data to the central HVAC system.  Using the web interface, residents will be able to monitor the actual meter readings real-time, looking at estimated costs for the month.  We'll know well in advance of the utility company's bill what the cost will be.  This allows us to adapt weeks early if our costs get out of control.

A smart-HVAC system can have a huge payback: a 20-40% reduction in HVAC utility costs.  In a large space (5000 square feet), those savings could be in the range of $100-$200 per month.  A smart-HVAC system can cost upwards of $400 per zone, so a 6-zone system will cost about $2400.  This should pay itself back in 12-24 months (probably closer to 12-months), meaning it is an environmental gain at almost no loss.  While not quite green, the viridity of Hotel Renard is close enough: we'll call it chartreuse, peacock or maybe kelly.