Sea Crest Beach Hotel

Sun, sand, surf, and saving energy — that’s what Cape Cod’s Sea Crest Beach Hotel has to offer.

Scout Construction and Development bought the 50-year-old resort in 2010, and spent $15 million on renovations designed to maximize energy efficiency. The energy overhaul is saving 330,000 kilowatt hours of electricity — and $80,000 in energy bills — each year.

“Our guests come to enjoy the beauty of Cape Cod, and they appreciate being able to stay at a resort that does its part to protect our natural resources,” said John Daley of Scout Construction and Development “So greening the Sea Crest Beach Hotel not only saves us money, it helps us market our resort. We believe in being good stewards of our piece of the Cape.”

Before tackling the hotel’s energy retrofit, Scout Construction and Development wanted to get a sense of the big picture: what was possible, what it would cost, and what the payback might be. So it worked with Zero Energy Design and Cape Light Compact to model a variety of options, and to find out what incentives were available to help get the job done. The comprehensive planning effort considered 263 guest rooms, 18,000 square feet of function space, a restaurant and lounge, two saltwater swimming pools, and a fitness center, and helped Scout decide what projects to tackle first.

Old heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems were removed and replaced with high-efficiency rooftop models. The salty sea air can do a number on machinery, so an anti-corrosion coating was added to keep the HVAC system running smoothly and prevent premature equipment failure.

A lighting designer helped plan the replacement of old, energy-hogging lighting with efficient new fixtures — compact fluorescents, LEDs, and T8 fluorescents — carefully selected to contribute to the resort’s ambiance. Occupancy sensors turn off the lights when no one’s around. There’s no point in lighting indoor spaces while everyone’s sunning out on the beach.

New insulation and new windows button up the guest rooms while faucet aerators, low flow showerheads, and pre-rinse spray valves save on water — and on the natural gas used to heat it.

The Sea Crest Beach Hotel offers hospitality at one of America’s great seaside destinations — and a way to enjoy Cape Cod’s natural beauty while living a little more lightly on the Earth.