News for the Hospitality Executive |
By Dr. Diana Driscoll, We’re learning to Go Green Gradually®.
By
reducing our energy consumption, reducing our water usage, and perhaps
creating
some of our own energy through geothermal or solar thermal products,
we’ve seen
the immediate improvements in our profits. Then, suddenly, we’re hit
with
“Indoor Environmental Quality” – also known as “IEQ”. I am pleased to
see that
this often overlooked environmental concern is now garnering the
attention it
deserves. How did we forget this? Have we been taking a CATNAP* (defined at the end of the article)? Basically, we’ve been primarily focused (and
for good
reason) on improving our energy consumption. It is now time to take a
close
look at this previously orphaned topic, relatively ignored under the
plethora
of energy specification attainment. How can IEQ help our bottom line, we ask (we
are, after all,
successful business people, not only involved in the green movement for
the
sake of philanthropy). Can our air quality and acoustics make a
difference in
our business? Is it worth the trouble, for example, to use “green”
cleaners,
knowing that staff training and breaking old habits will be a must? As an eye doctor and LEED AP, B,D + C, I am
in the unique
position of digging through both the medical jargon and “LEED-speak”.
As such,
I performed a basic review of the studies to date, and am eager to
share what I
have learned with you. We all want to know if improved environmental
quality
and indoor air quality (“IAQ”) is truly healthier – does it increase productivity, decrease sick days,
and reduce turn-over in our hotels? Of course, we want to know if this
extra
effort is profitable, especially for a retrofit. Shall we take a look? First, it is important to know that IEQ
involves many facets
of indoor comfort. The WBDG (a program of the National Institute of
Building
Sciences) includes “indoor air quality (IAQ), and focuses on airborne
contamination, as well as other health, safety, and comfort issues such
as
aesthetics, potable water surveillance, ergonomics, acoustics,
lighting, and
electromagnetic frequency levels.” This may seem complicated at first,
but
let’s break it down into the elements that may have the greatest
immediate impact. Increased Air
Quality: Can we increase our guests’ and staffs’
health and
productivity by increasing the air quality in our hotels? Most of us have heard of “Sick Building
Syndrome” (SBS) –
when building occupants experience acute health and comfort effects
that appear
to be linked to time spent in a building, but no specific illness or
cause can
be identified. We’ve also heard of “Building Related Illness” (BRI) –
used when
symptoms of a diagnosable illness are identified and can be attributed
directly
to airborne building contaminants (as described in Asthma and Allergy
Foundation of America). But do these conditions pertain to our hotels? Cited Causes of SBS
include:
Examining the effects of poor IAQ and
allergies and asthma,
William J. Fiske, P.E. and Member of ASHRAE states, “The
scientific literature reports
statistically significant links between prevalence of allergy and
asthma
symptoms and a variety of changeable building characteristics or
practices,
including indoor allergen concentrations, moisture and mold problems,
pets and
tobacco smoking. The reported links between these risk factors and
symptoms
were quite strong.” How strong are these links? In many studies,
mold or
moisture problems in residences were associated with 100% increases in
lower
respiratory symptoms indicative of asthma. This is just one reason why
you will
want to be vigilant at your hotel for moisture problems. One picture of
mold at
your hotel on TripAdvisor can be a blow to your hotel’s reputation –
one that
is difficult from which to recover. Daylighting,
Biophelia and Lighting Controls: When we “daylight” our hotels, we are
bringing a bit of the
outdoors, indoors. This relates to “biophilia” – literally, a love of
nature.
The term “biophilia” was coined by Harvard biologist Edward O. Wilson,
Ph.D,
when he argued that humans have an innate affinity for nature, loosely
tied in
with evolution. As explained by Judith Heerwagen, Ph.D, “People will fight to
keep biophilic features” as she describes the competition in commercial
buildings for offices with views to the outdoors. In workstations
without
views, you’ll often find biophilia in the form of potted plants, images
of
nature, and nature-focused screen savers.” One strong belief is that people are
happiest and most
productive with good “daylighting.” Provide them with windows and the
ability
to control the level of their task lighting and our intuition tells us
this may
contribute to the satisfaction of their work environment. After all,
when an
executive receives that coveted promotion, what often comes with it?
The corner
office – with views of the outdoors. When you walk into your hotel
room, throw
down your bags, what is the first thing you usually do? Do you head to
the
window to check out the view, and if there is a terrace, squeal in
delight
(well, perhaps only I squeal)? Humans tend to gravitate toward this
touch with
nature. But what does science tell us? In a landmark study published in 1984 by
Roger Ulrich, Ph.D.,
patients recovered from gall bladder surgery more quickly (2.5 days
sooner, on
average) and required less pain medication if they had a view of trees
outside
their window, verses the view of a brick wall. Views of nature appear
to reduce
our pain levels, likely through stress reduction, distraction, and the
elevation of serotonin. Sunlight exposure increases the body’s stores
of
serotonin – a neurotransmitter that inhibits pain pathways in the
central
nervous system (think “feel good, happy juice”.) We also see increased school performance in
LEED-certified
schools. The average school today is 42 years old, built during the
time when
some believed that windows would be distracting to students. Proper
daylighting
(without glare), however, has shown to actually increase students’
attention
and performance. The Heschong Mahone Group, Inc. in its most recent
study of
daylighting in schools, found statistically significant evidence that
access to
views through windows in classrooms improves student performance by 5 – 10%. Add an improvement in
acoustics,
and tests scores improve an average of 18%. According to the Green School Initiative, “The study by the
Heschong Mahone Group, covering more than 2,000 classrooms in three
school
districts, indicated that students with the most classroom daylight
progressed
20% faster in one year on math tests and 26% faster on reading tests
than those
students who learned in environments that received the least amount of
natural
light.” Can we extrapolate these shocking findings
to our hotel
staff? Obviously, many more studies are being conducted, but initial
estimates
indicate that the increase in productivity resulting from improvements
in
ventilation will likely be offset by the increase in energy costs
needed to
achieve these changes. Daylighting and lighting control, however,
identifies a 13.2%
increase in productivity, a 25% reduction in absenteeism and 69%
lighting
energy savings following a lighting retrofit (PP&L / Romm and
Browning
1994). There is a potential for maintenance savings of $0.47/sq. ft.
per year
as well (Knissel 1999). These are significant sources of decreased
operating
costs for hoteliers. And potential profits? The CBPD (Center for
Building
Performance and Diagnostics) team has identified nine studies linking
effectively designed daylighting and daylight control with 8.6 – 60%
reductions
in annual lighting energy consumption. Emerging studies on the
effectiveness of
missed-mode HVAC, which balances natural ventilation and mechanical air
conditioning, are demonstrating 39.6 – 75% reductions in annual HVAC
energy
consumptions Thermal Comfort: We are sensitive to the needs of our hotel
guests for
individual thermal comfort in their rooms. The same awareness needs to
carry
over to the thermal comfort of our staff. This involves both general
thermal
comfort (temperature, humidity levels and air velocity) and local
comfort
(which varies with clothing and activity level). Fisk (2002) reported
that
temperature differences may impact the speed or accuracy of workers in
tasks
such as keyboarding and reading speed by 2% to 20%. For thermal comfort standards, including
humidity control,
please refer to ASHRAE Standard 55 – 1992, Addenda 1995 (at
ASHRAE.org). By
following such guidelines, you’ll see fewer staff members either so
cold that
they can not use a keyboard, or so warm that they can’t think clearly.
Interestingly, we usually find both types of people in the same room.
Take a
look at these general guidelines and see if you can’t minimize the
back-of-the-house fighting over the thermostat. The Center for Building Performance and
Diagnostics (CBPD),
after identifying eight case studies and including the cost of
individual
temperature and comfort controls, found that the individual
productivity gains
for 3.5 – 36.6% yield life cycle benefits with ROI’s of 23 – 205%. Acoustic Privacy
and Comfort: Developing a hotel to include good acoustics
is no stranger
to hotel developers, and must be considered in all areas of the hotel –
from
the front desk (can your staff hear while on the telephone?) to the
restaurant
and bar (and surrounding areas), the guest rooms, laundry, pool,
conference
rooms, and areas adjacent to the elevators. The same care and attention should be given
to the
back-of-the-house. Areas near the laundry room, the engineering room,
kitchen,
etc. should be properly insulated for sound abatement. Your acoustical
engineer
is invaluable for these evaluations. Poor acoustics can lead to unhappy staff
members. Life Cycle Cost
Analysis:
It is my belief that the days of developing
buildings to
code are over. Or, as beautifully put by Barry Katz, “Building to code
basically means not breaking the law by the narrowest margin possible.
My
favorite description of this is known as the CATNAP*
principle – “Commonly Accepted Techniques Narrowly Avoiding Prosecution.”
Let’s rise above, shall we? ©Ridgeline Hospitality, LLC 2011
|
Contact:
Dr. Diana Driscoll, LEED AP, B, D + C |
Also See: | Lowering Hotel Operating Costs – There is a Gold Mine Surrounding You / Diana Driscoll / September 2010 |
Hoteliers - Lending Headaches? Changes in SBA Lending Deserve Your Attention / Diana Driscoll / August 2010 |