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#26 |
Use geothermal heat, a vast energy source found right under our feet. |
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# An environmentally advanced corporation・Hoshino Resort |
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Hoshino Resort is a rapidly advancing resort development company with resort hotel operations mainly in the Hoshino area of Nagano Prefecture and in other areas such as Tomamu in Hokkaido Prefecture, Altz Bandai in Fukushima Prefecture, and Kobuchizawa of Yamanashi Prefecture, but it has recently notably expanded its business to the reconstruction and operation of a Japanese ryokan, Shiroganeya. Hoshino Resort is receiving great attention for its efforts to overthrow the notion that resort developments are a detriment to nature and to develop a resort that coexists with the natural habitat of the area. Viewing ecological measures as the "competitive edge in resort development", the Hoshino Resort as adopted "zero emission", "EIMY" and "ecotourism" as the three main pillars of environmental management. They have targeted to achieve zero emission, or zero waste production by 2006 by implementing thorough waste separation (total of 28 different categories) and creating compost from organic waste. EIMY, stands for Energy In My Yard. The major theme of this report, EIMY means "energy from your own yard". The goal here is to achieve complete self-sufficiency of energy. Lastly, ecotourism aims to have tourists become savvy about and enjoy the nature in the region, as well as to encouraging preservation. For example, Picchio in the Hoshino area was first established as a division of one of the Hoshino hotels, but since then it has evolved into a separate ecotourism company within the Hoshino group that gains profits from ecological tours. It also focuses on nature conservation and they are making an ongoing effort to create a virtuous cycle where the more tourists, the greater the preservation to the natural environment. In recognition of their work, Hoshino Resort received the Ministry of the Environment Grand Prix Award at the 6th Green Purchasing Award in 2003. In 2004, they started a nutritional education program lead by the chef of Hotel Bleston Court, a part of the Hoshino Resort. Not only are they involved in environmental issues, but they also serve their CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) duties, an example of which is conducting a seminar to educate nutritional values to children, with a guest speaker, Dr. Jacques Puisais, a nutritional advocate. |
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# EIMY (Energy In My Yard) |
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The usage of geothermal heat discussed herein, stems from EIMY (Energy In My Yard). The idea is to self-produce the energy that we consume. This concept has actually existed since the establishment of Hoshino Resort in 1904. Back then, electricity was only beginning to be commonly available in the metropolises, but there was not enough to reach the outlying areas; and in these areas, independent power generators were commonly used. Three micro-hydropower generators were installed along the river that ran through the premises of the original Hoshinoya Ryokan, currently "Hoshinoya Karuizawa", and 225kW were generated from the river current. These generators are still being used today. Independent power generators, especially the most convenient hydropower generators were common in those times, but it is very rare to see one that is currently still in use. The maintenance of the hydropower generators was often neglected or discontinued after the introduction of wired electricity provided by electric companies. Although facilities at Hoshinoya Karuizawa that use geothermal heat also uses electricity to operate, a portion of that electricity is supplied by this hydropower generator. |
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This hydropower plant was completed in 1931. Second from the left is the third-generation operator, Mr. Kasuke Hoshino. He engineered and constructed the power plant almost single-handedly. |
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# Exhaust fumes are unwanted in resorts |
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"The concept of a 100% natural energy facility was brought about within the design of 'Hoshinoya Karuizawa'. It was unacceptable to build a resort in the splendid landscape that would continuously emit fumes which would destroy the surrounding natural habitat. This was the basic proposal I had made and as a result it's been applied 100%, in every aspect, from the very beginning. Honestly, there was tremendous pressure. There are hardly any previous examples to follow within Japan and even on a worldwide level nothing of such a large scale exists. Then I set my eye on the use of geothermal heat, as the core energy source for this resort. Geothermal heat is often confused with subterranean heat, but while the latter refers to temperatures over 200 degrees, geothermal heat makes use of the temperature difference of about 10 degrees. Therefore, it requires much less digging and drilling. The summers are cool in Karuizawa and air conditioners are generally unnecessary, but on the other hand, heaters are often used. There is a high demand for heat, and by using the geothermal heat pump, comparatively high temperatures can be generated. We just have to think about generating heating and not about cooling," says Takashi Matsuzawa, Energy Director of the resort and designer/overall developer of the geothermal heat system at Hoshinoya. |
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Takashi Matsuzawa, the central figure behind the proposal and promotion of geothermal heat use. |
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A natural hot spring continuously flows into the large public baths, but hot water in the individual rooms come from a hot water supply which is also heated by geothermal heat. |
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Underneath Hoshinoya are three geothermal wells (for drawing the underground heat) that run circa 400 meters deep. The temperature from these well is about 25 degrees. So how do you change such mild a temperature into heat? It may seem a bit mysterious, but this mystery is directly related to the mystery of the heat pump. The technology of the heat pump is what realizes this, but the heat pump itself is not anything unusual. The "eco-cute" that we recently often see on TV commercials in Japan is an example. Moreover, the same technology is more commonly applied to air conditioners and refrigerators. Simply, the majority of the cooling and heating mechanism uses this heat pump technology. Notice that while the inside of a refrigerator is cool, the backside is often warm. Similarly, an air conditioner that cools the room blows hot air outside. This is the key idea behind the heat pump. |
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# The Heat Pump: A heat exchange system |
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Imagine a pipe that is in the shape of a loop. Half the pipe lies outside the building and the other half is inside. This pipe contains a substance referred to as a refrigerant (cooling agent). We refer to it as a substance, because it liquefies and vaporizes within the pipe. Let's say that the substance inside the pipe at 5 degrees Celsius. By exposing this substance to the outside air which is 30 degrees, the substance will warm up to 10 degrees. Of course, the temperature of the refrigerant will not change just by passing through a short pipe. In order to increase the surface area of the pipe, it coils around like a radiator. The substance has only been heated an extra 5 degrees, but this is enough for the heat pump to work. The substance which is now 10 degrees goes through an electric compressor where it is compressed and heated up to 80 degrees. This is all based on the basic property of physics, that when a substance is compressed it rises in temperature and when it expands its temperature becomes lower. The 80-degree substance then travels through portion of the pipes located inside the building where it heats water of about 10 degrees up to 60 degrees. Then the refrigerant which has now cooled to about 50 degrees goes through an expansion valve where it loses pressure and the temperature drops to 5 degrees and exits the inside of the building. The repetition of this cycle makes it possible for an outdoor temperature of 30 degrees to heat water from 10 degrees up to 60 degrees. This is plenty warm to fill a hot bath. And this is a brief explanation of how a heat pump works to heat the water supply. Because it operates mostly on natural energy or outside air temperature, the heat pump requires only 1/3 - 1/4 the electric power that is normally required to heat water solely by electricity. Therefore, it contributes to prevent global warming. |
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The mechanism of the heat pump
Source: "An explanation of the heat pump diagram" (Chief Editor: Shunroku Tanaka, Author: Takashi Yatabe, Ohmsha Ltd.) |
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# Heat pump system that runs on geothermal heat |
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With an air conditioner, for example, it heats the room with the use of outside air of 0 degrees. For this, the heat pump compressor must work at maximum output. This is why heating on the air conditioners is expensive to run. If the outside air temperature is higher, the load on the air conditioner heat pump would be much less. And perhaps it is appropriate to picture that the radiator is underground for the geothermal heat pump. In other words, water is warmed by underground heat while it circulates through underground pipes. In this way, the technology of the geothermal heat pump efficiently delivers heat exchange. At "Hoshinoya Karuizawa" underground heat is collected by circulating water in the subterranean heat wells that are 400 meters deep. The fact that nothing aside from heat is extracted during this process is an important environmental fact to remember. Electric power is required to operate the heat pump and a portion of it is generated by the hydropower generator. Consequently, at Hoshinoya the heated floors and some other faciliites operate without using any type of fossil fuel. Before they opened, self-generated energy output was estimated at 15% hydropower and 60% geothermal energy, generating 75% of their total energy consumption, and their records as of last December show that the output has been at 73% percent. So it is almost exactly the calculated performance. |
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"We also use heat from the hot spring. We let our hot spring to flow continuously, so hot water of about 40 degrees just goes to waste. Therefore, we decided to extract the heat from the water and purify it before returning it to the environment. In this way, 1/3 of our geothermal heat is drained from excess hot spring water. But that doesn't mean that a geothermal heat system can't be created without a natural hot spring. It can be found underground anywhere in Japan. But you probably won't find any other facility that has applied natural energy on such a large scale as we do. Not in Japan and probably not anywhere else in the world. It's tremendously large. I think our facility is five to ten times bigger than the largest facility around. But this technology has a long history and has been in use overseas for over 20 years. Interestingly, it is in use at President Bush's residence in Texas and at the State House in Oklahoma." (Mr. Matsuzawa) |
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| Subterranean heat wells. The wells run 400 meters deep to collect heat. |
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Setting the tubing pipe in the geothermal heat exchange well. |
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A type of geothermal heat pump device. |
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The drillers of the subterranean heat well. These photographs of the three 400-meter wells they dug have been taken in a Project X (name of the TV program) way... |
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# Efficient use of the heat produced by coolers |
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An air conditioning unit is installed in every room at Hoshinoya Karuizawa but its main function is not to cool the room, but to dehumidify it (summers in Karuizawa are very foggy; there is more fog here than in Kushiro in Hokkaido Prefecture, which is famous for its fog). It probably is rarely used as a cooler. Karuizawa has long been a summer retreat and the climate has little need for air conditioners except for a few hot days in mid-summer. But you don't want to feel the air from an air conditioner at a summer retreat. So at Hoshinoya, they installed air vents near the ceiling called "koshiyane" (referred to as "fuuro" at Hoshinoya), according to Nagano's traditional architectural style and it circulates the air from outside. However, coolers are still necessary in the hotel restaurant and in the front desk area. The heat emitted from the air conditioning units is also put to use at Hoshinoya. |
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"The hot and cool air emitted by the outdoor air conditioning motors may be used as energy with good use of the heat pumps that transfer heat energy. At 'Hoshinoya Karuizawa' we can supply hot water while air conditioning units cool rooms. This process works both ways; water can also be cooled with the supplied water. The heat pump functions most efficiently when cooling energy and heating energy demand are equally balanced. This achieves the energy and cost conservation. The problem is that cooling and heating are usually demanded at different hours throughout the day. For example, rooms need air conditioning during the day, but hot water supplies are needed later in the afternoon. So a heat storage system was created to solve this problem. By providing for an ice thermal storage tank and a water tank, ice is made during the night to be used for cooling the next day, and at the same time, hot water for the next day is produced and collected in the water tank." |
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In theory, even in our homes hot water can be made when rooms are cooled in the summer by utilizing the warm exhaust emitted from home air conditioning motors outdoors, yet in reality heat storage systems have not yet been made for practical use and so the hot exhaust is released into the atmosphere. |
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An outline of the energy system at "Hoshinoya Karuizawa" |
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# Wrapped in the Earth's warmth |
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The concept for "Hoshinoya Karuizawa" is the other Japan. It represents what Japan may have been like, if it had modernized without being solely committed to Europeanization, but by applying ways unique to Japan. It is a "what if" country. Valley settlements were formed along the river that runs through the premises and each of the villas are guest rooms. The villa architecture is modern, blended with Japanese design elements and the relaxing interior of the rooms are a unique balance of "wa" (the Japanese style) and modern design. There are no televisions in the rooms, but each comes with a complete audio unit. Room service is available 24 hours a day for guests to enjoy the snowy landscape while listening to their music of choice in the comfort of their warm villas. And there is nothing more heart-warming than to think that the warmth you feel is a gift from mother Earth. |
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"Many of our guests may not know that Hoshino Resort actively promotes environmentalism. But it would be nice to have a guest find out by chance, that the comfort they have experienced in their room was supplied by natural energy sources, and for them to become a fan of Hoshinoya Karuizawa or other Hoshino Resorts for that reason." (Mr. Matsuzawa) |
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Hisato Kato
Born in Tokyo, 1957. Graduated from the Department of French Literature, College of Arts, Rikkyo University. President of Basho House Limited. Through writing about activities with respect to environment, energy, global warming measures, recycling and "the way to work", he proposes 21st Century lifestyles. His hobby is Ukulele. Among his written works is "Catalogue of people friend items for Q.O.L. - universal design item 59+ α" (Sanshusha Co., Ltd.) |
Report: Hisato Kato
Photographs: Kazuo Hiroji |
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