Historic Traveler's Hotel Earns "Carbon-Free" Certification

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Nov. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Carbon Lighthouse, a one-stop shop for organizations to profitably eliminate their carbon footprints, has certified the downtown Traveler's Building as carbon-free. The building is managed by BTV Management, which will enjoy substantial energy savings at no out-of-pocket expense as part of the deal.

"The Traveler's Building is a Sacramento landmark, and we're delighted to see this historic structure take an important step into the future," said Raphael Rosen, President of Carbon Lighthouse. "I'm proud of our talented engineers who developed a customized solution, and grateful to have a partner like BTV that understands both the financial and environmental opportunities we've realized here. If this building can be made carbon free profitably, millions of others can as well."

Carbon Lighthouse offers a service that makes being environmentally-friendly profitable. It identifies high value energy savings projects, pays for them, and shares the energy savings with clients.  At the Traveler's Building, Carbon Lighthouse engineers designed a building controls algorithm that, without impacting building performance, reduces energy use 96% of the year. It used the building's local existing contractor, Summit Airworks, to implement the project.

The Traveler's Building was built in 1914 as a hotel. It was converted to an office building in 1984, but still hosts wedding receptions in its lobby. BTV, based in Sacramento, was tapped to manage the building in early 2011, replacing a national firm.

"BTV is thrilled to have received the Carbon-Free accreditation at the Traveler's Building," said John Brennan, managing partner of BTV. "Our company is committed to providing tenants with operationally efficient facilities and we are proud to have partnered with Carbon Lighthouse on this project to provide economic benefits to both the tenants and owner. It is truly rewarding to have such a historic building keep pace with the latest green trends. Carbon Lighthouse understood our sustainability goals and utilized their extensive knowledge in the energy field to identify cost-effective solutions for us."

Carbon Lighthouse Credits Association (CLCA), a non-profit organization independently governed from Carbon Lighthouse, LLC, used some of the project's energy savings to purchase pollution permits and balance the building's residual carbon footprint. Every permit purchased by CLCA on behalf of the building creates a legally enforceable, binding commitment on power plants to emit one fewer ton of carbon dioxide. A carbon-free plaque was dedicated in the lobby.

SOURCE Carbon Lighthouse