PERC awards Ruby’s Inn with Energy for Everyone Hero Award

From left: Brannon Morse, Kiva Energy; Karl Munford, Ruby’s Inn; Ron Harris, Ruby’s Inn; Lance Syrett, Ruby’s Inn; Jim Bunsey, PERC; Jeff Stewart, Blue Star Gas; Michael Prayoonvech, Rinnai; and Steve Rutherford, Blue Star Gas. (Photo courtesy of the Propane Education & Research Council)

The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) awarded its Energy for Everyone Hero Award to Ruby’s Inn, located in southern Utah, in Bryce Canyon National Park.

Ruby’s Inn has served visitors since 1916 and now sees an average of 4,000 guests per night. The historic inn relies on propane as a clean-energy solution.

“Being located next to a national park, we always think about our carbon footprint,” says Lance Syrett, general manager at Ruby’s Inn. “We are confident about using propane. It’s efficient, it’s always available and it’s a clean energy source for us to use.”

The resort’s hot water system needed to maintain service for 19 buildings, 700 hotel rooms, three restaurants, three swimming pools and a laundry facility handling 19 tons of laundry per day.

Unable to keep up with the hot water demands of its facilities, the resort replaced its older model open-flame boilers. A few years back, customer dissatisfaction with cold showers led to a financial loss of about $60,000 a year in guest discounts and refunds.

The new system includes several high-efficient, 199,000-Btu storage tank water heaters and 175 propane-powered tankless water heaters from Rinnai.

“It’s important to Ruby’s Inn to use an energy source that is cost-effective, reliable and efficient,” Syrett says. “Propane fulfills those needs, and it helps keep the beautiful environment clean. It just makes sense.”

With the new propane-powered facilities, Ruby’s Inn has eliminated 5,200 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, PERC says. This is equal to greenhouse gas emissions from:

• 1,410 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles driven for one year.
• 771,822,585 smartphones charged.
• 795 homes’ energy use for one year.

“The hospitality industry knows how important reliable water heating units are for a successful operation,” says Jim Bunsey, director of commercial business development at PERC. “Water heating represents 7 percent of all energy use in commercial buildings. Six building types – lodging, health care, retail, education, food service and office – represent 85 percent of all commercial building water heating energy consumption.”

Bunsey was a speaker at this year’s LP Gas Growth Summit, addressing attendees about the growing list of power generation solutions that propane retailers can offer to their customers.

Earlier this year, PERC presented the North Penn School District with an Energy for Everyone Hero Award.