’s Palladium theater at The Rim shopping center, they pass small white rectangles affixed to the walls — unaware that the innocuous fixtures are key to their having an enjoyable experience and the company’s bottom line.
Santikos executives said they hired Davidson, N.C.-based Trane to reduce the theater chain’s energy use, save money and address customers’ complaints about temperature. Santikos said the systems have yielded energy savings of 30 percent, though it declined to disclose a dollar amount of those savings or how much it spent on the improvements. The electricity saved annually amounts to 3.8 million kilowatt-hours, which is about how much energy 340 households use per year, the company said.
Besides continuously responding to changes, Trane’s system predicts major fluctuations and directs equipment to turn on earlier or later accordingly, Brignac said. Santikos employees can control the temperature in each theater remotely, and they receive an alert if either deviates too far from set thresholds.
The COVID-19 pandemic ravaged theater chains as months-long mandated closures, an absence of major movies to show, and customers’ concerns about the spread of the virus tanked ticket sales. Hundreds of screens shuttered.