Vernon hotel installs solar panels to help reduce carbon emissions

The Quality Inn and Suites recently installed 34 solar panels that will offset six per cent of all energy the hotel uses.

“This basically is going to offset our entire front desk, breakfast area, all of our computers that we run, plus our interior and exterior lighting,” said the hotel’s business management manager Vinil Sood.

“It is really going to impact our day-to-day operations.”

The panels cost $45,000 and the hotel worked with Energy Economics to help cut costs. They’re also planning to apply for a 30 per cent tax credit from the federal government.

“Part of our sustainability initiatives was to reduce our carbon emissions, and we found solar panels as a great way to do so,” said Sood.

The Quality Inn and Suites is one of the first hotels in the Thompson Okanagan to be eco-certified from the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association. They were also given a three-key certification by Green Key BC.

The hotel will also be participating in a 10-month program with the Building Owners and Managers Association of British Columbia (BOMA) to further offset carbon emissions. BOMA is a not-for-profit association that helps people in the commercial building industry.