When it comes to energy management for hotels, the most difficult thing is understanding it. It’s a complex issue that can stump operators or hoteliers at the very beginning, creating an obstacle to learning more and thus, reducing energy costs significantly. And with energy the third biggest cost for hotels (after labor and the cost of
goods) that savings can be substantial.
But operators who do implement an energy management system can see significant energy reductions—anywhere from 6 percent to 40 percent—and the costs associated with that.
The first hurdle for hotel operators is deciding whether energy is an operating expenditure or a capital expenditure, “so there seems to be a misunderstanding of who owns that,” said Kevin Ruhman, vice president, commercial/hospitality, Zennio, a building automation company, with U.S. headquarters in Miami.
Once that’s determined, there are a number of things a hotel can incorporate to manage its energy.
A Smart Thermostat
This is the simplest, cheapest and easiest to install option and can lead to savings of 6 percent in energy. This mini computer controls the room and the environment. It can be simply mounted on the wall and guests can use it to control the temperature in their room. However, because it’s a smart thermometer, it’s also connected to the hotel’s property management system, allowing management to turn it off if needed.
Smart thermostats can be wifi enabled and can connect to sensors, controls and hotel systems “that make them more powerful for guestroom management and thus energy management,” Ruhman said. These have been largely adopted in the full service and luxury sectors.
An Occupancy Sensor
Occupancy sensors are being increasingly embedded into hotel rooms. “The premise is that a room that is not occupied should not be heated and cooled and that’s table stakes,” said Ruhman. “If a hotel is 73 percent occupancy, with rooms unoccupied for days, why are we heating/cooling them? You can do so much with energy management to save energy.”
Once a guest checks in, staff can turn their room “on.” So the minute the customer unlocks their door, the lights turn on, the HVAC activates and in some hotels, the TV screen has a welcome message with the guest name. But if guests don’t remain in the room, it will all turn off again after a set amount of time, chosen by the hotel operator but often an hour.
The occupancy sensors can detect if guests have stayed in the room or not, once they’ve activated the door lock sensor, using PRI (photo infrared sensors). This determines whether someone is in the room, even if that person’s not moving.
These sensors are very sensitive, said Ruhman. If someone leaves the room, but their partner stays behind, the sensors recognize through body heat that there’s someone there. If all guests in a room leave, the hotel management system can operate the setback mode, turning back the thermostat by two degrees. This might not sound like much, but “it saves a lot of money,” Ruhman said. Then, when the guests return, some time later, once they activate the door lock, the settings should revert to how they originally set them.
AI Integration
With labor being the top expense of a hotel there’s a common perception among hotel operators that if they add technology, such as energy management systems, they’ll need more people to manage it. “That’s a problem in an industry that’s trying to reduce staff,” Ruhman said.
However, that’s not necessarily the case, he said. Because advancements in AI mean this can be operated without staff.
Previously, Ruhman said, “we would connect that energy management and the door lock and there was a console that could be managed by the staff. But it was reactive. The excitement with the advancements of AI is that all that could be connected.” But even more importantly, through machine learning the system is no longer reactive, it’s predictive.
“This doesn’t involve additional staff but it does involve additional results,” he said.
The AI solution, Ruhman said, “allows you to precisely assess your HVAC needs down to the room level.” The system understands the occupancy level of the entire building and each individual room, to understand how it should be managing its HVAC system.
These AI solutions are an add-on to all energy management systems on the market, he said, and though some systems are starting to add AI functions, none are as comprehensive as the standalone solutions from companies like Bodhi or SmartCon’s Aero solution.
For example, an AI system can understand what is the hottest time of day for a hotel and also how that time changes throughout the year. So it knows when to keep its cooling low and when to ramp it up, getting the hotel’s temperature where it needs to be just slightly before it needs to be there.
“So now instead of reacting to building and room data and status after the fact, with AI, the hotel is able to not only react and adjust in real-time, but now have additional intelligence and capabilities to predict occurrences and adjust accordingly to help reduce energy, maintenance costs and enhance the guest experience,” Ruhman said.
Rewarding Guests
Hotels are moving in the right direction with energy management and they’re encouraging guests to do the same. Zennio’s smart thermostat shows a green leaf when a guest has selected a temperature within the right range. “That shows the guest they’re being sustainable and that’s positive,” said Ruhman. “Who doesn’t want a kudos?”
Next up he expects guest folios to show how much energy customers have saved and for hotels to give credits—in the form of hotel points or a free drink at the bar or just simple recognition.
Small Changes, Big Savings
There are other things hotels can do to keep their energy costs down.
Smart blinds can be connected to the guestroom management system, so they can be automatically closed at the hottest time of the day. These are mostly incorporated in luxury properties but can increase the energy savings to 40 percent if managed correctly.
Adding sensors, door lock technology (which with the thermostat tend to show a 15 percent to 20 percent energy savings) and blind controls is expensive so the best time to incorporate these into guestrooms is during a new build or during a deep renovation, said Ruhman. The biggest opportunity, he said, is to build with energy management in mind “and your ROI is going to be even better.”
But taking charge of your energy management could also be a good time for a renovation, he said. “I’d ask are you heating and cooling rooms that are unoccupied? Are you heating hallways and ballrooms that aren’t being used?
“The answer is that every hotel is a candidate for energy management. And every hotel will see a positive return on investment for energy management systems within a reasonable time frame.”
Starting Early
Bardessono Hotel & Spa in Yountville was California’s first hotel built to achieve LEED Platinum certification in 2010.
The hotel was designed for sustainability, including the installation of a 200-kilowatt photovoltaic solar energy system to supply a significant portion of the hotel’s electrical needs, alongside an advanced geothermal heating and cooling system powered by 82 wells that are 300 feet deep, drilled beneath the property. “Together, these systems dramatically reduce dependence on conventional energy sources,” said Alain Negueloua, vice president and general manager.
Operationally, the property has significantly reduced its energy and water consumption through renewable energy systems, geothermal heating and cooling, water-conscious infrastructure and intelligent room automation (which controls the shades and the thermostat). “At the same time, many of these features enhance the guest experience by creating quieter, naturally lit, temperature-efficient spaces that feel deeply connected to the surrounding environment,” Negueloua said.
The Bardessono’s geothermal system plays a major role in reducing the property’s overall energy demand. The hotel uses the two geothermal wells in tandem with a specially developed ground-source heat pump system to heat and cool guestrooms as well as domestic water.
“Because the earth maintains a relatively stable underground temperature year-round, the system is able to heat and cool the property far more efficiently than traditional HVAC systems,” said Negueloua. “In fact, the primary electricity required for the geothermal system is simply to operate the pumps themselves.”
As with most hotels, the guestrooms generally account for the largest share of the hotel’s overall energy usage. But since communal spaces also contribute significantly, the hotel took a holistic approach. “Bardessono was designed as an integrated system where renewable energy, geothermal heating and cooling, water conservation, sustainable operations and thoughtful architecture all work together to reduce the hotel’s environmental footprint,” Negueloua said.
On top of that, guestrooms maximize natural light, each with 200 square feet of low-emissivity glass windows and automated exterior blinds that help regulate indoor temperatures naturally. Motion sensors in guestrooms automatically adjust lighting, temperature and shades when rooms are unoccupied, significantly minimizing unnecessary energy use.
This article was originally published in the August/September edition of Hotel Management magazine. Subscribe here.