Chumash Casino Wins Environmental Award
The Energy Smart Award honors commercial businesses, governmental agencies, residential customers, educational institutions and other energy users that practice energy efficiency, resource conservation and environmental stewardship.
The Chumash Casino Resort is a 285,000-square-foot facility, and is owned by the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.
“The majority of the measures we have implemented are done for two reasons,” explains Greg Lowe, Executive Director of Facilities at the Chumash Casino Resort. “On the environmental side they reduce our use of kilowatts, therms or water which reduces our overall carbon consumption foot print.”
“On the business side, these reductions have allowed us to decrease our cost for electricity, natural gas and water by 18% from 2006, despite an increase in cost and connected load. These efforts have truly been the perfect example of a win – win program.”
Among the green efforts in place at the property are the following:
- Solar collectors on the roof: These 720 heat transfer tubes are for hot water heating. So Cal Gas and Chumash Casino Resort collaborated on the Solar Collector Project with a $48,844 rebate. Calculated savings are 3810 therms annually.
- The use of Green Seal certified cleaners: These include Buckeye RAM, Tenacity, and Star Spray to eliminate harsh chemicals like butyl from the property and installed Smart Center Dispenser to control the amount of product dispensed.
- Kitchen ventilation controls: These save fan energy and conditioned air by using auto sensors to measure temperature, steam and smoke in hoods with variable frequency drives mounted on the roof-top.
- Variable frequency drives: Used on chillers, pool and hot tub pumps, condenser fans, air ventilation, and water feature main pumps. They allow operators to run pumps at lower speeds depending on the situation’s need instead of running at 100% of pumps’ ability.
- Grease monitors, waste filtration systems, and bacteria dispenser units in kitchen areas: These cut waste and environmental impact in half by eliminating six round trips of grease pumping trucks per year from Santa Barbara to Santa Ynez.
- LED lighting: All Casino gaming floor lighting and landscape lighting is LED for additional savings.
- A comprehensive waste management and recycling program: The program includes reuse of all pallets and packaging boxes, green purchasing, composting bio solids, and the use of 100% recycled paper. The system has allowed the property to divert 100% of the property’s waste to a sorting facility where more than 59% of the waste was recycled in 2011.
- Recycled non-potable water: Used for all toilets and irrigation property wide.
Southern California Gas Company presented the Energy Smart Award to the Chumash Casino Resort at a recent event in Buellton.
“It is truly an honor to receive this award from an industry expert who understands all the resource reductions programs we have implemented,” says Lowe.
