Electricity + Control October 2015

ENERGY + ENVIROFICIENCY

ROUND UP

'Park Inn by Radisson CapeTown Foreshore Hotel' achieves Green leaf Standard The Park Inn by Radisson Cape Town Foreshore Hotel through its partnership with Green Leaf Sustainability Services and theirThink Planet and Living Responsible Business initiatives has achieved the coveted Green Leaf Eco Standard Core Certification. Driven for sustainable change and environmental impact, the leadership at Park Inn by Radisson Cape Town Foreshore embarked on the sustainability journey with the Green Leaf project to ensure that a lasting legacy remains in the region and that locals will be proud of the impact made by the group.The standard was accomplished through various initiatives such as: receive Responsible Business training to ensure full compliance and participation. The Green Leaf Eco Standard is a global standard for measuring, managing and verifying sustainable business performance in an impartial manner. The Standard is designed to meet and exceed compliance with South African and international Codes of Good Practice and integrated reporting and is a blueprint for achieving a sustainable, profitable future that is ‘impact-neutral’ and draws on the philosophy and 50-year track record in environmental leadership of its co-founder, theWilderness Foundation. Enquiries:Visit www.greenleafecostandard.net

• Introducing low flow water showerheads in the guest rooms • A lighting retrofit which included swopping out thousands of high energy consuming Halogen Down lights with the signifi- cantly more efficient LED versions • The building uses heat pumps to heat water which are up to ten times more efficient than boilers • Key card systems are used in all rooms which switch off all lights and air conditioners when the room is unoccupied • Responsible purchasing practices such as buying over 80% of its products from local suppliers were introduced • Waste recycling project which reduces the amount of waste entering landfill Park Inn Foreshore recognises the importance of getting the staff involved in reducing its impact on the environment by actively pro- moting sustainable business practices through theirThink Planet and Responsible Business programs as well as ensuring all employees Master Power Technologies (MPT) has taken its first step into the world of sustainable energy production with a R475 000 solar panel installation at its head office in Randburg. MPT has been research- ing the efficacy of solar power for some time. “Having done our homework, we decided that implementing a solar solution at our own office would be the best way to demonstrate to clients that we were capable of recommending and installing solar solutions for them,” says Master Power chief executive officer, Menno Parsons. The solution Master Power designed was installed on top of the

Saving R9 000 per month with solar energy installation

car ports in the parking lot. Each of the two parking bays has 80 x 250 watt PV panels coupled to a 20 kW inverter, totalling 40 kW potential power in ideal solar conditions.The solar panels occupy a total area of 600 m^2 and are perfectly suited for a rooftop installation. The total cost of the system including all the necessary cabling and mounting equipment was R475 000. Therefore, producing an average of 150 kWh per day, the system has an expected payback period of four years and four months in terms of savings from reduced electricity costs. Clarifying the savings MPT will achieve,

Parsons says that an average of 150 kWh per day translates into an average saving of R9 000 per month with current electricity tariffs. With Eskom asking for another 25% increase in its fees, the payback period will actually be far less. “In addition, we haven’t even included the cost benefits of having our own green power supply that does not depend on diesel or petrol and allows employees to remain productive during periods of load shedding.” The solar PV system is a once-off cost with a main- tenance life of 25 years, which in the long run will provide significant savings. Not only is it economi- cally beneficial, but it is an environmentally friendly means of obtaining an alternative energy source. The solar project took approximately two months to install. As this was a first for the MPT team, de- pending on the site, future installations should be conducted in a shorter period. Enquiries: Rory Reid.Tel. 011 792 7230 or email rory@kva.co.za

Electricity+Control October ‘15

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