How Gaia Hotel is Helping the Environment

How Gaia Hotel is Helping the Environment Sumi Das: Hotels are known as energy hugs generating large amounts of water and electricity to serve their customers. But one hotel entrepreneur is trying to change that by going green. Weng Chang is the founder of the Gaia Resort in the bay areas Napa Valley, people leaves hotel owners can do more to help the environment without hurting the bottom line. Weng Chang: Every year we estimate we can say between 50,000 to 75,000 just by the energy and the water along. Sumi Das: Early on Chang decided to embrace sustainability, he did this by applying for a LEED certification, LEED which stands for Leadership and Energy and Environmental Design is an organization responsible for setting standards on echo friendly construction. Following the lead play book, Gaia built their 132 guess rooms using organic materials. Angela Shen: If you look around everything is made out of metro materials that even the wood and the rattan, all natural materials can be recycled in the future. Sumi Das: And their bathrooms are conserving more water than a typical hotel. The result from these editions a LEED stamp of approval and a $1 million incentive tax credit from the city. Gaia is also using clean energy to power operations, installing solar arrays on the roof tops. Yuan Sing Chang: These are thin film solar panels made of silicon; they provide about 36 kilowatts for a hotel. Sumi Das: A cool roof. Yuan Sing Chang: What it does is it reflexes sun’s rays so we don’t absorb heat therefore we can have a smaller HBAC units to cool the hotel. Sumi Das: And this magnifying tubes that collect the sun’s rays and filter the light into the hotel. Yuan Sing Chang: We have the scattered through out the hotel common areas and during peak hours we turn the lights off in about 10:00 to 4:00 and this solitude flight up our common areas. Sumi Das: In the end 12% of Gaia’s electricity is coming from renewable sources. Chang says being green is more costly up front but worth every penny. Weng Chang: You calculate the cost saving and the extra cost will develop but then anything more than that you listen to your heart rather than listen your hair. Once you see the big ocean you enable go by to look at the pond. Sumi Das: Wise advice for those looking for eco friendly trouble options. I’m Sumi Das reporting for BNET.