HILLSBORO, ORE. – Caroma was chosen by Goodman Realty Group to furnish high-efficiency toilets for the historic Hotel Andaluz in Albuquerque, N.M. The hotel, with 107 guest rooms, opened Oct. 1, 2009, after a $30 million renovation. One goal for the hotel is United States Green Building Council LEED Gold certification, potentially the first for a hotel listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Caroma was chosen by Goodman Realty Group to help maximize water savings in the guest rooms and because of toilet design. The hotel has been retrofitted with Sydney Smart 270 and Caravelle 270 toilets. The Sydney Smart is a dual flush toilet, using 1.28-gpf for solid waste and 0.8-gal. for liquid and paper waste, averaging only 0.90-gal. based on a 1:4 full/half flush. The Caravelle HETs have a 1.6-gal. full flush and a 0.8-gal. half flush, averaging just 0.96-gpf.
According to Darin Sand, LEED AP for Goodman Realty Group, one of the main reasons Caroma toilets were chosen was because of the adjustable rough-in.
“This hotel was originally opened in 1939, and during that time, rough-ins were usually 10”," said Sand. "However, when we were remodeling the bathrooms, we discovered that the rough-ins were 10”, 11”, 12” or somewhere in-between. With the offset connector supplied with the Caroma toilets we chose, we could easily handle any of these variations. We expect to save at least 45% of indoor water usage by using Caroma toilets. At a minimum, we’d expect more than 100,000-gal. of water saved each year assuming just 50% occupancy and four flushes per room per day. Additionally, using these toilets is a key component in helping us receive three points towards LEED certification.”
Other sustainable features of the hotel include an integrated building energy management system, a solar heated hot water system, rainwater capture tanks, and interior finishes, incorporating natural, recycled, and low volatile organic compound products.