Summary
The Palms at Waikiki AOAO, a boutique resort centered around friendly and efficient service in the busy tourist and cultural center of Waikiki, partnered with Ameresco to resolve operational inefficiencies from previous projects and improve the building’s overall efficiency. Through replacing the property’s cold air system with a new water-cooled chiller and generating new project ideas, Ameresco continues to work towards Aqua Palms’ goal of reducing energy consumption and electricity usage.
“We are always looking for innovative ways to make sure our building operates at the utmost efficiency.”
– Rick Fields, Chief Engineer
Palms at Waikiki AOAO
17%
Annual Utility Cost Reduction
$50,000+
Rebate Incentive
~$75,000
Annual Utility Savings
310,808 kWh
Annual Energy Savings
Customer Benefits
This partnership and successful implementation has provided numerous benefits to the resort building, its occupants, and the overall sustainability initiatives in the state of Hawaii. Benefits include:
- Redundant cooling systems to ensure no system down time and consistent comfort for guests
- Estimated annual utility savings of around $75,000
- Received an energy rebate of over $50,000
- 45% Reduction in central plant energy consumption
- Contributing towards Hawaii’s 2045 carbon neutrality goal
Solution
Ameresco assessed the resort’s existing operations and equipment to make holistic recommendations for improvements. Due to various phases of upgrades being incomplete, the Ameresco team worked to resolve issues related to unsuitable solutions being applied and related to equipment that had not operated in years. Ameresco designed and installed a new cooling system, connecting it to the existing cooling tower.
- New water-cooled chiller with dual compressor connects the previously abandoned cooling tower
- Chilled water and condensing water infrastructure were added
- New chiller handles the entire cooling load of the building
- Existing equipment was left in place to provide redundancy during repairs and maintenance
