When we think of luxury, we usually think of splurging, not saving. However, this year, our Energy Savings for Business Program and Large Customer Services teams presented The Hotel at the University of Maryland and its management company Southern Management Corporation (SMC) with $210,400 for performing energy efficiency upgrades. SMC participated in the Pepco Energy Savings for Business Program by installing equipment that would help the guests of the 400,000-square-foot luxury hotel stay comfortable while conserving energy, including a 600-ton Daikin WME chiller and 26 variable frequency drives.
By installing this equipment, the hotel will benefit from an estimated average energy savings of 1,619,000 kWh per year. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), this is equivalent to removing the greenhouse gas emissions from an average passenger vehicle driving more than 2.7 million miles. Guests and employees have enjoyed the hotel’s consistently excellent air quality and temperature control and appreciate SMC’s efforts to provide this comfort in a sustainable way.
Christopher Thrift, SMC’s MEP Superintendent, indicates, “Working with the Pepco Energy Savings for Business Program was very easy. Its generous incentives helped us acquire top-notch, energy-efficient HVAC equipment. We’re proud of how much energy and money we’ve been able to save.”
Energy efficiency upgrades funded through the EmPOWER Maryland Energy Efficiency Act help Pepco, Delmarva Power, and Atlantic City Electric achieve their annual goal of reducing 2 percent of Maryland’s annual electric sales. From 2008 to 2015, the EmPOWER Maryland initiative resulted in six participating Maryland utilities achieving a total lifetime energy savings of over 51 million megawatt hours – equivalent to the electricity used by 850,000 residential customers over five years.
We thank The Hotel at the University of Maryland for their partnership, and we hope our customers also enjoy the luxurious accommodations the hotel has to offer.