It's not easy being green - that is, unless you're talking about the Grand Villa Casino.
The Burnaby casino was having a problem; it was struggling to keep its customers cool during the hot summer months.
The HVAC system used to regulate the casino's indoor temperature could only offer a comfortable indoor temperature when it was below 28 degrees outside. Once the temperature rose above that level into the 30s, the system became overloaded, and customers and staff had to struggle with indoor temperatures rising as high as 28 degrees.
Something had to happen, but with the cost of a new cooling tower running $425,000, a creative and out-of-the-box solution was desperately needed.
The team at Gateway Casinos and Entertainment got their heads together and came up with not only a viable solution, but a green one at that.
The Grand Villa Casino was fitted with a new cooling tower and heat exchangers. What the tower did was capture all the heat rejected by the casino and redirect it to the hot water supply. As well, it reduced the strain on boilers and water heaters - which gives them a longer lifespan and lowers total energy consumption.
According to information provided by Gateway Casinos and Entertainment, the tower offers an annual energy savings of nearly $90,000 per year.
Most importantly, for going so green, the casino was able to take advantage of B.C. rebate incentives from B.C. Hydro and FortisBC. The tower has reduced the casino's annual energy costs by $120,000.
The Grand Villa Casino is now in the process of installing a second cooling tower. The reason? The first system was overworked.
"The first tower had been worked to the max," said Michelle Lin, energy specialist for Gateway.
Installing a second tower will keep patrons and staff comfortable during the warm months of the summer.
For Lin, the big story behind the cooling towers is the fact that energy management - thanks to the first cooling tower - allowed the casino to afford the second cooling system, which will be completed within the next few weeks.
The legacy of this energy saving practice has been contagious. According to the Grand Villa Casino website, it became the world's first casino to buy and use renewable natural gas.
Further, the casino has improved its electrical usage by installing electricity-efficient lights.
But the casino did not stop there. Organic food waste is now placed in kitchen bins and then taken to a processing plant making biofuel and compost. The kitchen is also fitted with energy-efficient equipment.
What started as a creative solution to an overheating problem has become a tour de force for the team behind the Grand Villa Casino. For them, the greener the better.
