Hotels

To say that the owners of the Capital Plaza Hotel in Kentucky were energy conservation skeptics would be an understatement. “If it worked, everyone would be doing it” was a familiar sentiment. Today, however, they are true believers. With the help of Aeroseal, the 10 - story hotel and convention center, in the heart of the state’s capitol, has just been Energy Star certified. Owners estimate that duct sealing and other “low hanging” energy saving measures have reduced operating costs by $110,000 a year.

Two overlapping towers; one 20 stories tall, filled with offices and hotel amenities. The second, 65 floors of deluxe apartments and an ultra - luxury hotel. 950,000 ft 2 in all, The Buildings by Daman is a shining star architectural achievement that lies at the heart of the Dubai International Financial Center, in the United Arab Emirates. The beauty of the building’s intertwining towers is matched only by the complexity of the massive duct system servicing the interconnected structure.

A consultant brought in to evaluate the situation found that exhaust levels differed substantially from floor to floor. Top floors received the full 40 CFM of exhaust they were designed to pull, while bottom floors received only 5 CFM or less. The consultant’s recommended solution: start by cleaning and sealing each of the ten 23 - story ventilation shafts running down the length of the building.

The renovation plan included adding new ductwork that would connect to thousands of feet of existing ductwork located in a sub-basement space just below the convention room floor. Unfortunately the old ductwork was rife with leaks, and engineers knew that it would not accommodate the added pressure created by the new VAV system. They also knew that replacing the ductwork or sealing it using traditional methods would add months to the project schedule and tens of thousands of dollars to the budget.