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Hoteliers look at wood, corn and solar energy sources
Elmhirst Resort near Peterborough is heated using everything from corn cobs to wood pellets and peanut shells.
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By Mike Deibert
Contributing editor
RICE LAKE, ON—Electricity or gas? Which is more economical?
How about wood? Or corn?
Peter Elmhirst has adopted a very flexible approach to heating his property, Elmhirst Resort on Rice Lake near Peterborough.
Tucked away in an out-of-sight section of the 340-acre property is a vertical cylinder that is basically a large furnace—one that can burn a variety of fuels.
Normally Elmhirst uses wood pellets, but he will also toss in material such as corn cobs when he needs to.
He can use coal or peanut shells if he so desires, Elmhirst told a gathering of resort operators at the annual conference of Resorts of Ontario in March.
“You can burn anything in it,” he said. Thus, he is not tied to one fuel when prices rise.
In February, 1992, his electricity bill was $50,000 a year. This year he burned corn in January, because wood pellets were not available, and his heating cost was $87 a day for public areas. In February when he used wood pellets the cost went down to $73 a day.
The system is very economical, according to Elmhirst. “It has saved us thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars.”
The heat is moved around the property and regulated by a sophisticated system of three-phase pumps and computers.
But it also takes some hands-on labour as well. Elmhirst and his staff have to get out with a backhoe and tractor outfitted with an auger to transfer fuel into the burner from a silo where it is stored. And when corn was being burned he someone had to be up at 3 a.m. to knock out carbon impurities called clinkers.
Nick Morabito of North American Commodity Consultants advises clients on how to get the best electricity rates.
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Better electrical rates
For those who prefer to stay inside when the weather is cold and like to keep their hands clean, a number of experts at the conference had other ideas for cutting energy costs: getting better electrical rates, taking conservation measures and using solar heat.
Nick Morabito is a broker with North American Commodity Consultants, a company that does not sell electricity but advises its clients on how to get the best rates. It also works out deals between electricity suppliers and consumers.
He started out by warning his audience that retailers and other suppliers often mislead consumers, so they end up not knowing how much electricity will actually cost under a contract. He said that the typical fixed rate plan is expensive, even more so for hospitality businesses, and that a majority of companies overpay for energy, especially with long-term contracts.
He named a number of useful websites for obtaining information about gas and electricity rates, including ieso.ca, oeb.gov.on.ca, opg.com, smartmetersontario.ca and his own company’s site, nacconline.ca.
Off-peak energy use pays dividends
He also advised using electricity at night rather than during the day, as much as possible. Night-time rates are about a third of those during daylight hours.
For electricity purchases, he recommended “customized hedging.” This means purchasing most power at open market spot prices through a wholesaler, rather than through a fixed contract with a utility, and signing fixed-rate contracts for about 30 per cent of electrical use to avoid total exposure to the hikes in the open market rate.
There are also government rebate plans to look into, such as the OPG rebate, provincial benefit, and regulated price plan. It’s possible to find all these plans explained through online searches.
Conservation — or good old common sense
Besides finding the best price for electricity, there’s also the good old common sense approach of cutting down on unnecessary use.
Richard Wagner, an engineer and owner of Wagner Consulting Canada, suggested training staff to turn off lights, computers and other electrical devices when not in use. He also pointed out that timers and motion sensors can be used to turn off lights and turn down air conditioning after guests have left rooms.
He also spoke about decreasing air leakage, installing lower wattage lighting and using Energy Star rated appliances, especially refrigerators.
He promoted the idea of assembling an energy team at a resort, and training them in efficient energy use.
He also talked about having the correct “power factor,” a measure of the efficiency with which a device uses the power flowing into a property from the supplier. This can be done by having a professional come in to correct power factors, and also by buying equipment rated with a high power factor.
Wagner suggested doing an energy inventory of various electrical appliances, using monitors that can be supplied by someone such as a consultant. Then set energy reduction targets with staff.
He also noted that if a business switches to new, more efficient electrical devices, it can qualify for rebates through the Ontario Power Authority’s Electricity Retrofit Incentive or similar programs in other provinces.
Quality Inn Parry Sound uses C.C. Solar tubes to heat their hotel and restaurant.
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Solar for pool, space and water heating
Parker Ou, from C.C. Solar Inc., told conference delegates how they could economically use the sun to heat space and water in swimming pools, restaurants and other parts of their properties.
His company has a system it calls Solar Utility Model that comes with a guarantee that it will supply energy at least 10 per cent lower cost than retail.
He also added that a purchaser can get a government grant of $2,166 for a solar energy collector.
He added that solar heating can extend swimming pool use an extra month.
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