Arbol de Fuego is made of 16 rooms surrounding small gardens of tropical vegetation, at the heart of a quiet neighborhood of Salvador’s capital. Arbol de fuego is also above all a very good example of respect for the environement in Salvador (See the report on sustainable tourism of the departement of tourism of El Salvador – in Spanish).

Procedure of eco-certification

Arbol de Fuego have always been eco-friendly, but didn’t always had all the knowledge necessary to implement all the possible actions in this field. In 2008, the hotel sees its energy consumption keeping on increasing, and it becomes critical for the business. Costs are so high that the hotel economic sustainability is jeopardized.

Luckily, in 2009 Arbol de Fuego receives support from the U.S. agency for International Development USAID (See Report on the study “Rapid diagnostic of eco-efficiency in the hotel sector” published by USAID – in English), through the Salvador Small Hotels Association HOPES. This report is very interesting as it presents 20 concrete recommendations to save energy within an hotel.

This first approach is followed by a second audit by BUN-CA to determine what are the opportunities in conservation of energy (OCEs) (See Energy study of BUN-CA – in Spanish). The energy study is posted in the rooms for information. It reviews all the savings made by the implementation of the various recommendations. BUN-CA is an NGO based in Costa Rica who offers a specific program in order to improve energy management in small hotels (PEEST IV).

The results of these two programs were very successful. Following the USAID advices, after 9 months electricity consumption had reduced by 38%, and the bill by 60% ! Carolina explains that the difficult part is finding serious providers offering good value solutions. Nevertheless the hotel isn’t planning on stopping there, and is now entering a second phase with a new project (which just won the 1st prize for innovation from El Salvador department of economy, with a nice financial support of 30 000 US$):

• Replacing air conditioning systems by more energy-efficient systems (using Inverter technology). With Inverter technology, Japanese-made, the compressor is of variable speed (VEV) : It automatically compensates temperature variations by regulating itself.
• Insulating walls and roofs with Durapax and change some air-leaking windows.
• Putting in place a vegetal roof made of climbing plants. It is not easy in Salvador due to strong rains, the hotel would therefore be a pioneer in this field.

In order to develop this project, Arbol de Fuego used the technical expertise of students of the Salvadorian university Don Bosco. Carolina explains that the first objective was to minimize the hotel energy consumption. Nowadays the hotel consumes as much electricity as a 6-persons Salvadorian family ! And when the minimum level of consumption will be reached, the hotel will then start an electricity-production phase (By investing in solar panels for example).

Discover a PowerPoint presentation of the present and future sustainable practices implemented by Eco-Hotel Arbol de Fuego (click here).

For an account of Florie’s experience, follow the link below:
Arbol de Fuego, towards energical self-sufficiency

Welcome to Latin America,

We look forward to welcoming you !

5 good practices:

Name		Tags	Category
	Solar dryer for laundry	cloth, dry, linen, solaire, washing	Energy
	Solar panels	solar energy	Energy
	LED Lighting	éclairage, LED, light, lighting, lumière	Energy
	Biogarden and Biofilters	biofilters, garden, gardening, nature, organic	Construction and Lay out, Waste Management, Water Management
	Soap dispensers	bath, bathroom, wash	Construction and Lay out, Waste Management