Lochinvar Water Heating System is a Valued Amenity

Case Studies

by Lochinvar Marketing Department | 08/15/2011

The Rosen Inn at Pointe Orlando is a newly renovated hotel located in the heart of Orlando. The property features six high-rise buildings with a total of 1,020 guest rooms, as well as three pools, a restaurant, bar, coffee shop, deli and mini-market. Previously known and operated as the Quality Inn Plaza, the hotel was rebranded in 2010 as a Rosen Inn, which is the newest line of properties from Rosen Hotels and Resorts. With this rebranding came a multi-million dollar renovation and extensive property upgrades, ultimately earning the hotel a Three Diamond rating from AAA.

No Room at the Inn for Inefficiency
Among the many major renovations was the replacement of the hotel’s water heating system. The original equipment installed at the time of the building’s construction was still in place upon the Rosen Inn rebranding, and it was neither effective nor efficient in meeting the expansive property’s hot water needs. This original system was comprised of two tank type power burner water heaters, each with an input of two million Btu/hr and a 900-gallon storage capacity. When the new management team evaluated this system, they discovered that one of the units was completely offline so the system was operating with a single functioning unit at less than 75% efficiency. This assessment confirmed that the equipment needed to be replaced with a more advanced, energy-efficient system.

Upgrade to a Suite New System
The Rosen Hotels and Resorts team scheduled a meeting with Lochinvar’s Central Florida sales rep, Josh Sewell, to discuss their options for the boiler room renovation and engineer a system that would best meet the hot water needs of the guest rooms, kitchen and main lobby. After learning that the ARMOR Commercial Water Heater line had recently been expanded to include larger models, it was decided that the ideal system would be comprised of four 800,000 Btu/hr ARMOR units (AWN801PM), two 800-gallon Lock-Temp Custom Bare Storage Tanks (TVG800) and one SHIELD Commercial Water Heater (SNA400-125).

Both the ARMOR and SHIELD are known for their unique designs that protect against the harmful effects of lime scale buildup. ARMOR heats the water and then deposits it in a separate, unfired storage tank, while SHIELD features a heat transfer system located outside of the tank. In addition to serving the needs of the new Rosen Inn hotel, this system was considered a trial for future replacements at other Rosen properties.

An Installation worth Replication
Rosen Hotels and Resorts’ own plumbing/mechanical manager, Mike Stiefeld, handled the installation in-house. After removing the two existing units, he installed the four ARMOR units, two storage tanks and the SHIELD. The new system now uses six-inch stainless steel water piping and direct-vent air intake and exhaust. The use of sealed combustion equipment has also significantly lowered the temperature of the boiler room caused by the standby losses of the existing equipment.

“I was really impressed with how easy it was to install the Lochinvar system,” said Stiefeld. “The SMART SYSTEM control on the ARMOR made the system setup and configuration incredibly simple, and we immediately saw a remarkable difference in the effectiveness and efficiency of the system.”

Since the installation of the new Lochinvar water heating system, the Rosen Inn management team has seen an average savings of nearly 30% on their monthly gas bills. Based on the success of this initial installation, Rosen Hotels and Resorts installed an identical setup at one of their other properties, the Rosen Plaza Hotel.

In addition, they’re planning a future replacement at the Rosen Centre Hotel, which will include eight 800,000 Btu/hr ARMOR models (AWN801PM) and six 700,000 Btu/hr units (AWN701PM).