A remodeled office building in New Haven, Conn., is now Hotel Marcel—the country’s first all-electric hotel and the first U.S. Passive House-certified hotel, and on track to be the country’s first net zero hotel by the end of 2025.

“A model for sustainability within the hospitality industry, Hotel Marcel is committed to doing what it can to tackle the global climate crisis,” the hotelier states on its website. “As a 100% electric hotel that operates fossil-fuel free, Hotel Marcel has created a new standard for environmentally friendly hotel operations.”

The iconic building was constructed in 1968 by Marcel Breuer as the corporate office research and production facility for the Armstrong Rubber Co., using “brutalist” architecture and Bauhaus design. Twenty years later, Pirelli Tires, Rome, Ga., bought the building, and then in 2003 sold it to IKEA. In 2019, Becker + Becker, Westport, Conn., purchased the building to redevelop it into an environmentally friendly hotel, opening in 2022 as a niche Hilton hotel.

Certified as LEED Platinum by the U.S. Green Building Council in January 2023, the all-electric Hotel Marcel uses heat pumps for heating and cooling, as well as for producing hot water; an energy-recovery ventilation system to provide filtered fresh air; induction cooking with electric appliances in its restaurant; and electric washing machines and dryers in its laundry facilities.

Smart lighting and control of shades is accomplished through its power over ethernet DC low-voltage system, which reduces lighting energy by more than 30%.

Hotel Marcel operates through on-site generation, storage and management of renewable energies. More than 1,000 solar panels on the hotel’s rooftop and parking lot canopies produce more than 575,000 kilowatt-hours annually, and the hotelier plans to add additional solar canopies in nearby locations.

The property has an on-site microgrid, as well as on-site lithium-ion batteries that provide 1.5 megawatt-hours of electricity storage. A grid-forming inverter located in each of the battery rooms allows for off-the-grid operation and emergency power. All told, the building is completely powered by the microgrid, solar and batteries.

Moreover, the hotel’s elevators, manufactured by Kone Inc. actually generate power for the rest of the building when braking. The hotelier also converted a Dodge Ram ProMaster 2500 airport shuttle to electric and provides on-site electric vehicle charging stations for guests.

Hotel Marcel also boasts of sustainable operations, including providing recyclable plastic for amenities, composting food waste from its restaurant and using environmentally friendly cleaning products.

The hotelier donates a portion of all room charges to the New Haven Climate Movement, a youth-led grassroots organization that “promotes climate justice, green jobs and healthy communities.”

Header image source: Wikimedia Commons