Three More Buildings in Boston Metro Area Achieve Energy Star Designation

Boston continues to be a national leader in energy efficiency for buildings, as two hotels and a residence hall in Cambridge and Boston have now achieved Energy Star designation.

Energy Star labels have been awarded to a 19th century Harvard Square hotel that has embraced 21st century energy conservation goals, a Harvard School of Public Health international residence hall, and a hotel in the heart of Boston’s historic Back Bay neighborhood. By gaining this EPA recognition, the buildings have demonstrated superior energy performance when compared to equivalent buildings.

“Across New England, energy savings are soaring for forward-looking organizations that are making smart energy decisions, benefiting both the environment and their bottom line,” said Robert W. Varney, regional administrator of EPA’s New England office. “Through innovation, good management and a commitment to leading the way with a new generation of environmentally-preferable building management practices, these three Energy Star buildings are making a real difference.”

America’s desire for environmentally friendly buildings is growing, and superior energy efficiency – identified by Energy Star – is a critical element of green building. Nationwide, EPA has awarded the prestigious Energy Star to more than 3,200 buildings for their energy efficiency. These buildings represent almost 575 million square feet, save an estimated $600 million annually in lower energy bills, and prevent almost 11 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions, equal to emissions from almost 900,000 vehicles.

In New England, business and municipalities take advantage of EPA’s Energy Star resources to reduce building energy waste. Recently, towns and cities started to sign up for the EPA New England’s Community Energy Challenge, which encourages cities and towns in the region to reduce energy use by 10 percent.

The three Boston-area buildings awarded Energy Star labels for demonstrating superior energy performance follow:

Irving House at Harvard, Cambridge, Mass.

The 19th century Harvard Square hotel recently earned recognition for embracing 21st century energy conservation goals. Built in the late 1800s, Irving House is located in the heart of Cambridge’s Harvard Square.

In 2005, the owners began an extensive renovation of the 45 room hotel, including far-reaching energy efficiency improvements for their lighting and laundry facilities. Efforts included replacing lighting fixtures in common areas and guest rooms with more energy efficient substitutes. They also replaced out-dated laundry facilities with more efficient stacking units, which use less soap and water, and spin better for shorter required drying time.

Since 2005, Irving House made changes to their heating system (hot water by gas) to improve air intake and all circulation. To keep energy efficiency a priority, owners continue to research ways to conserve heat, reduce heating costs and offer more control of room temperature to guests. EPA calculates that the Irving House used 49 percent less energy than similar buildings with average energy performance, and saved almost $28,000 in energy expenditures each year.

Less energy use also means less pollution. EPA estimates that the Energy Star labeled Irving House avoided almost 260,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually - the equivalent of burning 13,380 gallons of gasoline.

Shattuck International House Dormitory at Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Mass.

The Shattuck International House dormitory, part of the Harvard School of Public Health, is the first residence hall in Boston and one of the first dormitories in the country to earn an Energy Star Label.

Lighting, heating and ongoing outreach to residents constitute the cornerstone of Shattuck House’s efforts to improve energy efficiency. To decrease power usage in its computer lab, all computers have power management software enabled. Tenants shut down computers when they are finished using them, and the staff shuts down any computers left on. To reduce lighting energy use, building managers installed occupancy sensors in all basement common areas and replaced incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents throughout the building.

Each November, Shattuck House participates in the Harvard Campus Sustainability Pledge. If more than 50 percent of the tenants at Shattuck House pledge to conserve energy, Harvard will purchase renewable energy to offset 50 percent of Shattuck House’s electricity use – reducing greenhouse gas emissions by ten percent. Shattuck House earned renewable energy certificates for the past three years, and saw some reductions in energy bills during this competition, particularly the heating bill.

In order to provide ongoing education to its residents, Shattuck House periodically emails energy saving tips to all residents. Each month, the Harvard Green Campus Initiative sends out an email with a “Green Tip of the Month,” with some great tips on saving energy.

Energy efficient buildings create savings across the board. EPA calculates that the Shattuck House used 29 percent less energy than similar buildings with average energy performance, and saved over $38,000 in energy expenditures each year. Less energy use also means less pollution. EPA estimates that the Energy Star labeled Shattuck House avoided more than 350,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually - the equivalent of burning 18,231 gallons of gasoline.

Jurys Boston Hotel, Boston, Mass.

In the heart of Boston’s renowned Back Bay, Jurys Boston Hotel has been awarded an Energy Star building label for superior energy performance. Officially opened in 2004, the Jurys Boston Hotel features 225 guest rooms, three executive suites and over 3,200 sq. ft. of meeting space. As part of their energy management initiative, Jurys underwent a series of technological improvements that helped reduce its energy consumption and expenditures dramatically, especially due to upgrading lighting and laundry facilities which will pay for themselves within three years, significantly reducing the hotel’s environmental impact. Jurys achieved energy savings by doing lighting upgrades in both guestrooms and entryways, installing deduction meters for cooling and an ozone system for the laundry.

To communicate their successes internally, Jurys Boston Hotel has created an Energy Management Plan as well as an Energy Awareness Board within their Boston facility. Energy issues are reviewed at morning meetings and weekly leadership team meetings, and energy expenses are examined and critiqued by leadership at the end of each month.

EPA calculates that the Jurys Boston Hotel used 28 percent less energy than similar buildings with average energy performance, saving over $217,000 in energy expenditures. Because less energy used also means less pollution, EPA estimates that Jurys Boston Hotel avoided more than 2 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually - the equivalent of burning 109,712 gallons of gasoline.

More Information:

Energy Star for Buildings (energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=business.bus_index)

EPA’s New England Community Energy Challenge (epa.gov/region1/eco/energy/energy-challenge)