Why upgrade? HVAC and Ptac maintenance Ensuring your hotel guests are comfortable is crucial, but doing so with outdated equipment is a surefire way to suffer under ever-rising utilities costs. “The HVAC on your property deserves the lion’s share of investment,” said Jonathan Byrnes, vertical market manager for hospitality at LG Electronics USA. “The No. 1 consumer of power in your building will be your HVAC, and it is your infrastructure. When the air conditioning is bad in a room, a guest might stay the night and not come back for a second time, but if there is no air conditioning at all they will leave and never come back.” Randy Dawes, corporate director of facilities at Select Hotels, worked to counter rising utilities costs. “We’ve definitely been more diligent in replacing the [climate controls] in our HVAC systems in order to be more efficient,” he said. Many modern HVAC climate system controls have built-in occupancy and humidity detectors that automatically shift their energy output in order to maximize the comfort being distributed alongside energy output. “The energy efficiency afforded by these new controls is difficult to compare to older models, and the units themselves are getting smaller,” Dawes said. “Large, modern, commercial HVACs can automatically throttle down power output as a room becomes comfortable, which saves a large amount of money on unnecessary power costs that you avoid with proper controls.” Normally, replacing an entire HVAC system carries grandiose expenses, and hoteliers often replace individual parts as they become obsolete. “The key to proper maintenance is inspecting your machines continuously,” Dawes said. “It is part of our due diligence, and the other part is making sure your machines are on a standardized maintenance cycle.” “Right now in the hotel industry there is a lot of emphasis on turning over properties to independent franchisors,” Byrnes said. “If you are selling a property you want to make sure your appliances are updated, or you will never get your asking price. Aside from that, inefficient AC makes guests angry and raises costs.” ■➔ 30 percent Select Hotels recently had to replace roughly 30 percent of its HVAC systems due to changes in mandates for CFC production. HYATT PLACE PTAC options for limited-service hotels For smaller hotels that can't afford the large machinery of an HVAC, PTAC upgrades are an option. Most hoteliers upgrade their PTAC equipment on an as-needed basis, but how often these pieces of equipment are cycled out depends on hotel size and location. According to Kevin Wiggs, regional manager of Champion Hotels, 10 PTACs might be recycled per year in a hotel operating 70 rooms. Randy Dawes, corporate director of facilities at Select Hotels, said PTACs are on a five- or seven-year cycle based on the hotel’s location. “PTACs have shorter lives in the South, and the rule is generally that any state above Kentucky will try to stretch out a PTAC for seven years.” Dawes recommends hotels purchase machines that use transcendental wheel technology over fan blades. “A PTAC is a negative sound and visual impact on a room,” he said. “With transcendental wheels you can lower noise.” Dawes also pointed out changes in EPA regulations, mandating better PTAC efficiency. The time is now for HVAC replacement Due to HVAC costs, hoteliers must consider the right time to make the investment. Jonathan Byrnes, vertical market manager for hospitality at LG Electronics USA, said the time is now. “There are state and local rebates available for upgrading to modern HVAC technology, and it is a good time to upgrade,” he said. “Any time is good to update your controls, especially if you are operating a building [constructed] in the late '80s or early '90s. You might have a good boiler that can last 20 to 30 years, but there is just no way it is being efficient after all that time.” Byrnes suggests upgrading whatever technology is not working to its best potential. “It’s a tightrope to walk,” he said. “We understand there is only so much money, but from a cost standpoint, it is more critical for a property to control its costs than its aesthetics.” For some, upgrading is not simply an option but a rule. New mandates regarding the reduction of CFCs in the atmosphere and the prohibition of using certain refrigerants forced many hoteliers to replace entire HVAC units. “We’ve had to replace roughly 30 percent of our HVAC units over two years, but it is something we saw coming,” said Randy Dawes, corporate director of facilities at Select Hotels. Dawes said unless your machines don’t comply with current mandates or require extreme maintenance, leave them alone. “There is an ROI for upgrading as far as utilities costs, but there isn’t anything out there that is so much better than units produced in the last two to three years,” he said. “If you purchased a new unit that recently, hold off.”