Albuquerque Hotel Turns To Solar To Heat Water

GOLDEN, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The new Andaluz, formerly the La Posada de Albuquerque Hotel, will reopen late this year in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico with a 73-panel solar thermal system from Novan Solar Inc. of Golden, Colorado, that will provide domestic hot water for the hotel.

The Novan system is part of the hotel's redevelopment by Albuquerque developer Gary Goodman, representing one of the first historic remodels in the U.S. to conform to the energy efficiency and sustainability standards of the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. Goodman’s firm, Historic Hotels, will have been spent over $30 million, including the $4 million purchase price, on the hotel's renovations.

The name Andaluz is derived from the Spanish region of Andalucía, which inspired the original design of the 1939 hotel, built by Conrad Hilton and designed by architect Anton F. Korn. The new 107-room boutique hotel features many energy-saving features and innovative “green” building materials.

The 4,000 gallon solar water heating system from Novan will generate nearly 10,000 therms (100 million BTUs) of energy yearly. More than 64 metric tons of carbon dioxide (green house gases) will be offset by the system each year. This is the equivalent to 150 barrels of oil, or 7,264 gallons of gasoline, or carbon sequestered by 1,282 tree seedlings grown for 10 years.

“Novan is proud to have been part of the environmental design of the Andaluz redevelopment,” Novan founder and president, Jacob Futro, stated. “Solar energy production helps the LEED certification for energy-saving and other environmental design criteria.”

Novan also designed and built a 144-panel solar water heating system for the North Boulder Recreation Center in Boulder, Colorado, a 70-panel system for the new Erie, Colorado Recreation Center and a 63-panel system for the new Aquaplex Recreation Center in Flagstaff, Arizona. In addition, Novan was recently chosen to provide a 64-panel system for the Durango, Colorado Recreation Center, and a 68-panel system for the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs. Novan has other solar projects planned for Colorado, Arizona and Utah.

Novan Solar Inc. is the largest solar thermal company in Colorado and the Southwest. Novan specializes in turnkey solutions for large-scale commercial and industrial water heating needs in addition to supplying systems for residences.