Hotels take hospitality seriously! A good hotel’s first priority is to take care of their guest and make them comfortable. Griswold Controls has been helping hotels with guest comfort for decades.
Hydronic HVAC Systems
Since 1960 Griswold Controls has made automatic flow limiting (automatic balancing) valves for the hydronic HVAC industry with valves installed in thousands of hotels worldwide. An automatic flow limiting valve
maintains a constant flow despite pressure changes in the system, so the heating or cooling coil in each zone has the flow it needs at all times.
In comparison, when a system is unbalanced you have some equipment in the building that has excessive flows due to high pressure differentials and some equipment that has inadequate flows due to lower pressure differentials. High flows can lead to excessive heating/cooling, high velocity noise and erosion, wasted pump energy, and dehumidication problems. Low flows can lead to inadequate heating/cooling and short circuiting of equipment. Typically, an unbalanced system has the higher flows near the pumps and the lower flows are in the index circuit, the equipment farthest from the pump. These low flow and high flow issues are a disaster for a hotel manager and can lead to excessive guest complaints which can impact occupancy. The natural reaction to complaints about inadequate heating or cooling is to increase pump speed which leads to increases in pump energy and wastes money.
Domestic Hot Water Recirc System
Cold showers and lack of hot water are also a hotel manager’s nightmare! Unbalanced systems also happen in domestic hot water recirc and lead to loud complaints from guests and impact occupancy rates.
The same flow issues that exist in an unbalanced HVAC system also exist in an unbalanced domestic hot water recirc. system but now you have the added issue of users having inadequate hot water for their shower or 
faucet and that can lead to much more angry complaints! So, balancing a domestic hot water recirc. system is as important as balancing a HVAC system. Often these systems are balanced with ball valves or manual balance valves, both requiring balancing labor and, in the end, neither maintains balance when the system has pressure changes. Unlike HVAC systems, these are open systems and as people open and close faucets and run washers it causes even more pressure changes than a HVAC system experiences which can cause even more flow changes. Another factor with an open system is water will take the path of least resistance so if a faucet is open close to the pump in an unbalanced system the faucet farthest from the pump will have less hot water available to it.
The same flow limiting cartridge used in our HVAC valves can be installed in a lead-free valve and used to control the flow in domestic hot water systems. The burden of balancing is shifted from the contractor to the valve itself as it maintains flow, regardless of pressure changes, through the life of the valve.
Recently a building manager was interviewed about the impact in their system of removing Griswold Controls automatic flow limiting cartridges for cleaning and they said they had complaints about inadequate hot water from the day the parts were removed for cleaning. Once they were replaced the complaints stopped. So, adding automatic valves can guarantee the hot water is distributed to each unit and remains balanced regardless of pressure changes in the system. Typical domestic hot water recirc systems use flow limiting valves set at 0.55 gpm since 0.55 gpm is adequate for a faucet or shower but the flow can be different for larger zones. And since the valve is pre-set for the flow no human balancing is required. This is less flow than is typically specified for a manual system since they have to pump more flow to make sure that there is enough hot water at every location when system is unbalanced due to pressure changes. Designing for less flow means smaller pumps which saves initial install costs.
Whether you install Griswold Controls Balancing Valves on your HVAC system or on your domestic hot water recirc system or on both systems, you can rest easy, knowing we are controlling the flow rate at all times!
Do you have a question on this Application Tip or any of the Griswold Controls products? Fill out the form below and someone from Griswold Controls will get back to you shortly.
Questions about this application? Contact info@GriswoldControls.com, call 949.559.6000 or fill out the contact form on this page.
Read about Griswold Controls’ work in Hospitality below:
400 Central Residency
Peppermill Resort Tower
Aurum Golden Apartments
Winthrop Center
Bentall Skyrise
Monteleone Hotel Update, New Orleans
Hotel Monteleone – New Orleans
Griswold Controls helps preserve a historic French Quarter landmark through a phased HVAC retrofit using Automizer® coil piping packages.
Project Overview
The Challenge
Located in the heart of the French Quarter, the 15-story Beaux-Arts landmark Hotel Monteleone required a major HVAC retrofit while remaining fully operational. The property includes over 600 guest rooms and had to maintain comfort, aesthetics, and revenue during renovation.
- Minimal Guest Disruption Rooms could only be taken offline in small groups. The hotel had to remain fully operational during renovation.
- Historic Preservation Tight mechanical spaces required a compact, small-footprint solution.
- System Compatibility The four-pipe fan coil configuration required a unified, single-source solution.
- Phased Execution The retrofit needed to be efficient across multiple renovation phases.
The Solution
Working closely with Wink Engineering and the hotel’s facilities team, Griswold Controls recommended installing Automizer® combination control valve coil piping packages on the four-pipe fan coils.
Key Advantages
- Single Source for Coil Components Eliminates coordination issues and ensures system compatibility.
- Multi-Function Valve Combines actuated temperature control and flow limiting in one compact package.
- Small Footprint Ideal for historic buildings with tight mechanical space.
- Equal Percent Control Mirrors coil heat transfer curves for superior temperature regulation.
- Pre-Assembled & Ready to Install Reduces labor, installation time, and jobsite handling.
I told Gary to get the Griswold Control valves on order and let my purchasing department know how much the bill would be.
— A.J. Mattern, Chief Facilities Engineer, Hotel MonteleoneBecause the Automizer features automatic flow control, the retrofit could be accomplished a few rooms at a time without affecting the rest of the hotel's circuits — making it the ideal product for hotel renovation. In a manual balance application, the entire system would have had to be rebalanced every time a room was taken offline. By installing the Automizer, the hotel minimized room downtime, substantially reducing the potential for lost revenue.
The Results
Phase 1 (2002): The Monteleone Hotel renovated guest rooms with 288 Automizer CPP2A packages on horizontal units, plus a number of 3-way Unimizer® actuated control valves on vertical units.
Phase 2 (2004): The hotel ordered an additional 112 Automizer coil piping packages. The re-order decision was automatic — a direct result of satisfaction with Phase 1 performance.
Because the Automizer features automatic flow control, rooms could be renovated individually without requiring a system-wide rebalance — protecting guest comfort and preventing revenue loss.
The success at the Monteleone Hotel demonstrates how a technically superior product can simplify phased renovation in occupied, operating buildings — protecting revenue while delivering measurable long-term performance gains.
It's nice when you are selling a quality product like Griswold Controls. You put your time and effort into getting that first order, and then getting the next order just takes a few minutes on the phone.
— Gary Lewis, Schully Strawn & AssociatesThey work great! I'm very satisfied and look forward to buying Griswold Controls for every new FCU in the hotel as we continue to renovate additional rooms.
— A.J. Mattern, Chief Facilities Engineer, Hotel MonteleoneAutomizer® Combination Control Valves
Automizer® Next Generation valves combine an actuated 2-way control valve with a stainless steel automatic flow limiting cartridge and manual isolation ball valve — all within one compact body.
- Globe Valve Performance Ball valve pricing with equal-percent control.
- Patented Optimizer® Inserts 30–50% greater rotation response.
- Automatic Flow Limiting Eliminates overflow and underflow.
- Field Repairable Stem Resistant to chemical treatments and temperature swings.
Coil Piping Packages & Hose Kits
Griswold Controls offers over 900 standard pre-plumbed coil piping packages that simplify engineering design and speed installation.
- Pre-Assembled & Shrink-Wrapped Ships ready to install.
- 48-Hour Shipping Standard packages up to 2″.
- Automatic or Manual Flow Options Works for any balancing application.
- Single Source Supply Eliminates compatibility concerns.
Have a question about this or another Griswold Controls Case Study?
Fill out the form below and someone from Griswold Controls will get back to you shortly.
Las Vegas’ Wynn Hotel & Casino
Wynn Las Vegas Resort – Las Vegas
Utilization of Griswold Controls coil piping packages to save a significant amount of install time for the new Wynn Las Vegas Resort.
Project Overview
The most recent – and stunning – addition to the southern Nevada skyline is the new Wynn Las Vegas Resort. Built at a cost of $2.7 billion dollars and opened in April 2005, the 50-story bronze tower contains 2,700 luxury hotel rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows, 22 restaurants, the 2,000 seat “Aqua Theater-in-the-Round,” and the “Promenade” with luxury boutique shopping. Built on the site of the former Desert Inn, it also includes an 18-hole golf course. Whereas most high-end hotels have car rental desks, Wynn Las Vegas houses a Ferrari-Maserati car dealership inside the resort. The front entrance and three-acre Lake of Dreams are shielded from the street by a 140-foot tall mountain with 60-foot tall pine trees.
Steve Wynn, who had previously built the Mirage (1989), Treasure Island (1993) and Bellagio (1998) hotels, conceived and developed Wynn Las Vegas. Several years ago he sold those three properties to MGM Grand in order to develop Wynn Las Vegas. This resort-casino clearly establishes a new threshold for local, high-end properties. JBA Consulting Engineers, Las Vegas, is the mechanical engineering firm responsible for the project. Bid and mechanical construction activity was divided into seven distinct areas, and the specification allowed for either automatic or manual flow controls. Southland Industries, Las Vegas, handled area one and the central plant, and Hansen Mechanical of Las Vegas was awarded responsibility for areas two through seven, which covered the tower.
Engineered Equipment & Systems Co., the Griswold rep for southern Nevada, successfully convinced Southland Industries and Hansen Mechanical to utilize Griswold coil piping packages. Unimizers® were installed on a majority of the fan coils, VAV boxes, heating coils and heat pumps in the hotel rooms, showrooms, the Aqua Theater and the villas.
According to Matt Miceli, the Engineered Equipment & Systems Co. sales engineer responsible for the project, the Unimizer packages significantly reduced Hansen’s ATC coordination costs. Matt said, “Hansen has been a Griswold Controls customer for some time. They especially like Griswold’s coil hookup packages and the way we shrink-wrap them. No other vendor provides this packaging concept. This project also offered them the opportunity to add the Unimizer® to the packages, which greatly simplified the coordination with the ATC contractor. The project time frame was extremely aggressive and the Unimizer® packages saved the contractor a significant amount of install time.” James Gomel, Hansen Mechanical project manager, stated, “The Griswold coil-piping packages allow for installation consistency to the systems along with a valuable savings in labor cost. In addition, incorporating the Unimizer® with the package allows for a complete installation of the coil-piping package, thus eliminating the need for additional labor required to install the controller in the field."
In total, over 2,000 Griswold Controls piping packages are installed on the project along with over 20 air handler packages in area one. In addition to the flow controls and coil piping packages, Engineered Equipment & Systems Co. sold in excess of $100,000 worth of Griswold Filtration separators and separator package filtration systems for the numerous cooling towers on the project.
Have a question about this or another Griswold Controls Case Study?
Fill out the form below and someone from Griswold Controls will get back to you shortly.
W Hotel & Victory Park, Dallas
W Hotel & Victory Park – Dallas
Griswold Controls helps to re-shape the downtown Dallas skyline, providing space saver packages to maximize floor space in the hotel.
Project Overview
Located in the heart of Dallas, just north of the downtown business district in a formerly unusable inner city site, Victory Park is one of the country’s most significant master planned urban developments. The project began with the construction of the American Airlines Center Arena in late 2000, home of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team and the Dallas Stars hockey team. A acre urban center, when complete Victory Park will offer retail establishments, dining, modern office space, residential units, entertainment venues, and a cutting-edge hotel. Part of the development will include Victory Plaza, an area reminiscent of Times Square in New York City.
In 2005, immediately across the street from the American Airlines Center, McCarthy General Contractors broke ground on what is now the W Hotel. The W Hotel, owned by Starwood Properties, is a 33 story luxury condo–hotel offering unique and exciting interiors, classic W amenities including terry/pique robes, an infinity edge swimming pool on the 16th floor, and top–notch restaurants and lounges. W Benton Wofford of James Johnston & Associates, the Consulting Engineer, designed the building to include hotel facilities up to the 15th floor, and luxury condo units from the 16th to 30th floors. Ross Perot Jr. has his own private penthouse suite complete with his own personal heliport on the roof.
Griswold Controls IRIS automatic packages with hoses were purchased for the terminal units; vertical stack heat pumps in the hotel rooms; and to maximize floor space, horizontal heat pumps for the condo units. Griswold Controls space saver packages were selected on the vertical stack units because space limitations required that the packages fit inside the heat pump cabinets.
Matt Summerville of Brandt Engineering, project manager for the mechanical contractor and long-time Griswold Controls customer, was pleased to provide Griswold Controls with project details. As a matter of fact, Brandt employee Mike Clark, the piping superintendent, told Griswold Controls that he had no problems whatsoever with any of the 382 Griswold Controls packages on the W Hotel and would not only use Griswold Controls products again, but would highly recommend them.
The W Hotel opened in June, 2006.
Have a question about this or another Griswold Controls Case Study?
Fill out the form below and someone from Griswold Controls will get back to you shortly.
Hotel Intercontinental, Chicago, Illinois
Hotel InterContinental Case Study
Improving room comfort with Griswold Controls' Automizer® combination control valves and Coil Piping Packages
Project Overview
The Hotel Inter-Continental was built in 1929 as the Medinah Athletic Club. The contemporary North Tower was added later.
Cramped Spaces Prompt Ingenuity
During the renovation, more than 500 fan coils were replaced in North Tower guest rooms. Units were installed above the ceiling in the entry vestibule of the rooms, leaving only 12" of vertical space for the manual balancing system. Tobin Stanley of Bovis Lend Lease contacted Griswold Controls to provide pre-assembled coil piping packages with Automizer® combination control valves, saving space and labor during installation.
"This gave the client the opportunity to purchase prefab equipment and just put (it) in. This also meant that installers would spend minimal time on the site, so only two floors would have to be closed at a time."
— Bill Toth, Griswold Controls Sales RepresentativeCoil Piping Packages Provide Numerous Benefits
The balancing cartridge in the Automizer is factory preset to automatically limit the flow for each room or zone, eliminating the need for startup balancing and any subsequent rebalancing. The automatic balancing packages saved the hotel approximately $35,000 in start-up labor alone.
For this project, the standard coil package included the flow limiting cartridge of the Automizer combined with a low-torque, equal-percentage actuated ball valve and factory mounted Siemens actuators. The entire piping package takes up roughly one-fourth the space of a typical manual piping configuration.
Trouble-Free Balancing, Increased Comfort
With the renovation complete and the North Tower in full operation, Kees Guijt, regional director of engineering, reports there has been a significant drop in guest complaints regarding room comfort.
Automizer® & Coil Piping Packages
Automizer® combination control valves
Automizer® Next Generation valves feature Griswold Controls' field repairable stem design and allow for field servicing without removal. These all-in-one valves combine an actuated temperature control valve with an automatic flow limiting cartridge, making them ideal for schools, office buildings, VAV boxes, fan coil units, heat pumps, and terminal boxes.
Coil Piping Packages & Hose Kits
Griswold Controls offers over 900 standard packages, pre-assembled for easy installation and timely delivery. Options like hoses and extension kits are also available.
- Wide selection of pre-assembled, easy-to-order configurations
- Easy ordering: order by specific part numbers
- Timely delivery of standard packages
- Variety of options: downsized automatic temperature control, extra ports, inclusion of Automizer or Unimizer valves
Have a question about this or another Griswold Controls Case Study?
Fill out the form below and someone from Griswold Controls will get back to you shortly.