Carnival
At a Glance
Industry
Hospitality
Project Types
Commercial Energy Efficiency, Clean and Renewable Energy
Year
2011
Location
Miami, FL
Summary
Courtenay Stephens recommended LED lighting, programmable thermostats, efficient hand dryers and a renewable energy generation strategy.
Goals
Courtenay Stephens spent her summer as an EDF Climate Corps fellow evaluating energy efficiency and renewable energy projects for Carnival Corporation’s Grand Turk Cruise Center (GTCC). While Carnival Corporation has already invested in energy efficiency projects, the high cost of electricity in the Turks & Caicos Islands offers the potential for additional savings through investing in newer technology.
Solutions
While GTCC already uses CFLs for much of its lighting, Stephens realized that LEDs could offer significant savings through lower energy consumption and longer lifetimes. Additionally, Stephens recommended that GTCC replace halogen bulbs with LED lamps that produce more light, last up to 25 times as long and use approximately one-third of the amount of energy.
Additional energy efficiency opportunities identified by Stephens include replacing analog thermostats with programmable thermostats and upgrading inefficient hand dryers to more efficient models. These projects could provide increased comfort and convenience for the GTCC staff and cruise passengers who visit the cruise port.
Stephens also recommended a renewable energy generation strategy.
Potential Impact
Stevens’ thermostat and hand dryer recommendations could reduce energy costs by as much as 30 percent and 45 percent for cooling office spaces and drying hands, respectively. Her renewable energy generation strategy, if implemented, could result in significant energy cost savings over 20 years by generating 547,000 kWh of clean energy annually.