First US EnerPHit hotel is a beauty Hotel Marcel is a stunning example of reuse

Source: Hotel Marcel New Haven

What did you do on your family winter break? I took mine to a PHI-certified EnerPHit hotel, the first of its kind in the US. 

I really enjoyed our stay. I snuck into the all-electric kitchen (yeah, I was kicked out pretty quick) and it looked pretty standard except for the welcome absence of giant gas burners spewing particulate pollution. Sadly the manager didn’t have time to show me the mechanical spaces. The hotel sits on a really busy motorway, the I-95 which leads to New York City. But thanks to the triple glazed windows and airtight envelope, it’s very quiet inside.

Hotel Marcel is also LEED certified. It’s a genuinely impressive achievement. © 2024 Sustainable Engineering Ltd.

This is an awesome example of recycling architecture. This “brutalist concrete masterpiece” is  in Connecticut and was designed by modernist architect Marcel Breuer in 1968. It served as headquarters for several tyre companies until it was vacated in 2000, on track to be knocked over to make way for a shopping mall. Instead, it was bought by architect developer Bruce Redman Becker and a whole new life has been created—notwithstanding the complexity added by two historic building designations. Now its nine storeys contain 165 rooms, a conference centre and fancy restaurant (the farm-to-table food was incredible).

I secretly like brutalist buildings, even though I do the right thing and point out all the issues with thermal bridging to my son. Finally, here’s one I can brag about liking.

Jason Quinn at certified EnerPHit Hotel Marcel © 2024 Sustainable Engineering Ltd

This story about Hotel Marcel has some interesting extra details and is worth a quick read. The operational cost savings achieved here are significant and the developer thinks the industry will adopt energy efficiency standards because they make financial sense. It also makes sense from a marketing point of view: Hotel Marcel is owned by Hilton, which has a stated aim of advancing responsible travel and tourism. 

Sustainability credentials according to developers Becker and Becker:

• LEED Platinum certified and Passive House EnerPHit certified 
• 60% more energy efficient than Code requirements
• Solar power generated from rooftop and parking canopy arrays to provide most electricity for lighting, heating and cooling; and electric car charging stations. 
• Recycled and local construction materials
• High-performance envelope with industry-leading thermal insulation technology
• Energy recovery system
• High-efficiency VRF air-source heat pumps. 
• Slated to be the first Passive House certified h,otel in the United States. 
• All lighting to be low-voltage power-over-ethernet (POE) LED technology. 
• Energy Use Intensity rating is projected to be 34 kBtu/ft^2 which is 80% less energy that median EUI for US hotels.