“My hotel’s heat pump paid for itself in just over two months! Located in the Johannesburg inner-city suburb of the same name and just up the hill from the Ellis Park stadium, the Troyeville hotel remains something of a legend with a loyal following across Johannesburg. Opened in 1939 as a male boarding house, the two-storey Troyeville Hotel (generally just called “the Troyeville”) has eight rooms which are occupied by long-term guests plus three recently renovated upmarket rooms, including a suite. The hotel also has a small fully-equipped conference room and a bar – a very popular hangout in Johannesburg. The restaurants and specifically its Portuguese food are a firm favourite with Johannesburgers. Co-owner (and well-known restaurateur) Laurence Jones recalls that he convinced a group of friends to buy the hotel with him 11 years ago because – when he heard it was on the market – he was particularly concerned about missing out on his favourite Portuguese lunch. More than a decade later most of the kitchen staff are still at the Troyeville but nowadays they’re working harder than ever – preparing up to 150 meals a day. Trimming the water heating bill As is the case in any hard-working kitchen, hot water is essential to the Troyeville’s everyday operations. It’s used for the accommodation and for washing plates and equipment and preparing food. But, of course, hot water costs money which, with energy prices rising all the time, is only becoming more expensive. And so, a year ago, Jones decided to investigate alternative energy sources to supply the kitchen with hot water. “Up to a year ago we had a gas boiler which was supplied by piped natural gas,” says Jones. “It was pretty old and kept breaking down. Plus I wanted to know if we could save money using alternative technology. I decided to make some enquiries and the upshot was that we installed a heat pump which has been working fantastically ever since.” According to Jones the hotel’s gas …
Growthpoint leads the way in energy efficiency
In 2013 Growthpoint Properties undertook a massive improvement in the energy efficiency of its buildings, retrofitting 195 properties with a combined footprint of close to 1 million square metres. By any measure the retrofit was a major undertaking. The company however only installed LED lighting selectively because, according to its Head of Sustainability & Utilities, Werner van Antwerpen, he and his colleagues judged that the LED technology available at the time was not mature enough. Instead, Growthpoint predominantly favoured T-5 electronic ballast lighting, which gave the company reasonable energy cost savings. Now, in 2015, Growthpoint has just retrofitted the basement parking lot at its Sandton head office with LED lighting. It is a measure of how fast energy efficiency solutions are developing that, in under two years, Growthpoint – one of South Africa’s leaders in sustainable property – has become such an enthusiastic adopter of LED technology. Van Antwerpen explains that the basement retrofit at Growthpoint’s The Place property on Sandton Drive entailed changing all 2 x 58W open channel light fittings to 41W LED lights and installing innovative motion detection technology. Using radio frequency (RF) technology in the communication between lights, the system switches lights on and off as required, delivering lighting where and when needed. The basement lighting used to operate 24/7, but now lights are on for an average of just 5.7 hours out of 24 - and lighting levels are better than they used to be. In the middle of the night and over weekends when the building is typically deserted, the lights automatically switch off. But a Growthpoint staffer or tenant who works late to meet an urgent deadline doesn’t have to walk through a dark basement to his or her car – the lights come on as soon as they step into the basement lift lobby. For security reasons, some lights are permanently on. The net result of the LED basement retrofit is a …
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Infoware Studios calling on graduates to be part of their exciting software development internship programme…
Johannesburg: On the 1st and 2nd of August, at their Midrand offices, Infoware Studios will conduct face-to-face interviews and technical assessments on graduates interested in taking up their 6-month internship programme in software development, Digital Geekaship. The internship programme starts on the 14th of September 2015. Driven by the passion to close the skills gap in the software development industry in South Africa, Infoware Studios CEO, Tania van Wyk de Vries had this to say, “we have realised over the years, that most companies hire developers soon after they graduate with the hope that they will bring to the table innovative ideas to better their products, only to realise that as confident as the graduates might be, they lack the training and experience to cope with the skills required by the corporate world. The employer feels robbed of their income and time because their employee doesn’t live up to their expectation. On the other hand, the employee feels they can’t do the job, feel unsupported and might end up leaving the industry all together.” “This is a sad reality that we would like to see changed. We have to close the skills gap urgently if we are to economically compete with the global world. We have to empower local talent to have the confidence to create solutions for African challenges, increase employment and ensure today’s youth contribute to the economic growth of this country,” van Wyk de Vries reiterated. Infoware Studios has tried and tested their internship programme, Digital Geekaship over the last 2 years, and they have seen it work in empowering graduates with both the technical and softer skills needed to thrive and contribute meaningfully in the modern work environment. Undergraduates and graduates can apply to be a part of Digital Geekaship on www.digitalgeekaship.co.za/apply by: i. Filling in the online application form and uploading their CV; ii. Booking a date and time for a face – to – face interview; and …
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Faircity Hotel Group achieves a 169.567MWh reduction in electricity consumption across four Gauteng hotels …
The Quatermain in Sandton, Falstaff in Sandton, Mapungubwe in Johannesburg and Roodevallei near Pretoria. The Faircity Hotel Group, a vibrant and innovative hospitality company with properties in the three and four star categories, worked with an Energy Services Company (ESCo) to conduct a lighting energy usage assessment at the four hotels. Lukas van der Westhuizen, Managing Director of Faircity Hotels says the move to optimise the efficiency of lighting technologies was prompted by the need to reduce energy costs, lower operating costs and advance towards reducing the group’s carbon footprint. Some 7 353 energy intensive lamps were removed in the four hotels in less than a month: • In public areas – - 50W halogen downlights were replaced with 7W LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes); - 35W halogen downlights with 5W LEDs; - 60W incandescent bulbs with 7W LEDs; and - 100W incandescent bulbs with 10W LEDs. • In rooms and staff areas – - 50W halogen downlights were replaced with 7W LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes); - 35W halogen downlights with 5W LEDs; - 60W incandescent bulbs with 7W LEDs; and - 100W incandescent bulbs with 10W LEDs. LEDs were chosen for their energy efficiency but also because they produce a colour temperature comparable to incandescent bulbs and give off a similar warm yellow glow. Colour temperature plays a crucial role in how people perceive colour and experience thermal comfort, two important considerations in the context of the ‘home-from-home’ expectations of hotel guests, Lukas says. • Aside from using approximately 85% less energy than incandescent lamps, LEDs last up to five times longer than CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lamps), which last about 6 times longer than incandescent bulbs. • Moreover, LEDs have a quick start up time, produce their full light capacity as soon as they are switched on and turn off immediately without any fading as the bulb cools down. The four hotels also replaced energy …