Apple Hostels of Philadelphia is a green hostel!

We are committed to being as earth-friendly as possible. Here are some of the improvements we’ve made to benefit both the environment and our guests…

Green Computing!

When you see our guests sitting in front of one of our four internet kiosk terminals, it seems as though they’re each typing away on their own individual computer. In fact, they’re all sharing just one computer. Thanks to innovative technology, each terminal uses a tiny “thin-client” instead of a whole computer, which saves 75% of hardware (which would eventually wind up as waste). And since it draws less than 5 Watts of electricity, we reduce each user’s energy footprint by up to 90% compared to normal internet kiosks. Also these terminals produce practically no heat and that reduces the need for energy-consuming air conditioning!

When our guests print off of these kiosks, they print onto recycled paper, fed from a laser-printer. Once used, the printer’s toner cartridges are returned to the manufacturer to be recycled.

Energy savings!

Most of our lamps work with energy saving light bulbs, either fluorescent or LEDs. These include the reading lamps that are by most beds.

We are also in the process of updating the thermostats for our heating and air conditioning system. This helps us to adjust the temperature remotely exactly as needed. We can now automatically turn the heating and cooling off in the dorm rooms during day time when all guests are outside exploring the city. This helps to save energy especially in the summer, as each degree above 72°C saves up to 3% of energy otherwise consumed by the air conditioner.

Water savings!

Our new washers don’t only look good they also save a lot of energy and water. They are referred to as “High Efficiency” washers and use about 40% less water and up to 60% less energy per load compared to traditional American washers. Also the amount of laundry detergent needed is significantly lower. And we use only 100% natural non-toxic/non polluting laundry detergent, that is better for our guests and the environment.

All of our showers are equipped with what’s known as “Low flow” shower heads. These shower heads save up to 40% in water consumption without any reduction in water pressure. So our guests are using less water without missing any comfort.

Recycling!

Apple Hostels of Philadelphia supports Philadelphia’s city wide effort for regularly recycling. We have four recycle containers in the hostel and encourage all our guests to use them.

Paper savings!

As mentioned above, we use recycled paper in our printers.

We also switched from handing out information flyers to each guest, to having a laminated information sheet on each bed, which lasts for an entire year. In the past 12 months alone, these 70 information sheets have saved us from printing and handing out over 5,000 sheets of printed paper, and using an entire toner cartridge.

Our brochures being distributed as of Summer 2010, will each have a QR-code that people can scan with their phones, which allows them to take all the information with them on their mobile, so that they can leave the brochure in the rack. We’re hoping that this will cut down on paper as well. For an example of a QR-code, click here for our Directions’ QR-code.