(TKO) Telkonet Smart Energy Systems are saving "Big" $$$$ for the Hotel and Motel Industry by saving on curbing wasted energy usage...
13 Green Hotel Projects Proven To Save Money
by Brandon Conard & Jay Sandler
Luxury resorts and small motels alike benefit financially from being energy efficient: cutting energy usage is good for the planet, it helps the economy, and it puts money in the hotel’s pockets. However, while energy efficiency opportunities abound, they are frequently not taken. Why? In working with hotels, sustainability analysts at BlueMap Inc. found many managers simply did not understand how fast the cost of wasting energy adds up to real money. To help clarify this, BlueMap compiled the list below of simple steps any hotel can do to save energy – but more importantly they figured out how much each one can save you.
1) Smart Energy System
The Telkonet Smart Energy System uses integrated sensors and smart thermostats to shut down room heating and cooling when it is not needed. The Smart Energy System uses infrared sensors in the room to detect motion and body heat in a room, which then wirelessly tells the through-the-wall climate control unit to adjust the room’s temperature accordingly. By using the Smart Energy System, in parts of the country with significant heating or cooling needs, hotels can save as much as $100 per room.
2) Vending Miser Product
VendingMachines run the display case light and refrigerator motor day and night, regardless of time or occupancy. VendingMiser cuts back on this energy waste. VendingMiser uses a motion detector to sense when no one has been around the machine for a while, and then it shuts off the display light and turns off the refrigerator motor. To make sure the drinks in the machine do not get warm, VendingMiser turns the motor back on every two hours for a bit, but this way the motor is not running full blast all through the night. VendingMiser can save $150 a year per machine, and many utilities give rebates for buying it that are large enough to offset over half the purchase price.
3) Commercial Coffee Maker
Almost every hotel offers free coffee to guests in the lobby areas. These coffee pots are usually kept hot even when they are not actually in use, which is a problem since commercial coffee makers consume a great deal of energy (about 2,500 watts). If the coffee maker is turned off for four hours per day when not in use, it can save the hotel owner approximately $275 per year.
4) Televisions
The average 19-inch CRT television is rated at 250 to 300 watts. This may be the most conspicuous waste of energy at a hotel, as many guests leave the set on when they are not in the room. Turning the T.V. off for two hours per day when not in use could save hotels approximately $50 per year.
5) Room Lighting
While the drive to switch to CFL light bulbs or the new, brighter LED lights is spreading to hotels, most room provide four table or wall-mounted incandescent lamps. Typically, these are 100-watt incandescent bulbs. When they are left on for four hours per day, the energy cost is $50 per year, per room.
6) Bathroom exhaust fan
Some guest bathroom exhaust fans are controlled by the light switch. Therefore, when the bathroom light is left on, the fan runs continuously. This is a very small motor; therefore, if the fan were left on eight hours per day, it would cost about $25 per year to operate, not including the large cost of replacing exhausted air with outside air.
7) Bathroom light
It is difficult to generalize the lighting load of guest bathroom lighting since there is a variety of fixtures, but a 200-watt light equivalent can be assumed. Guests frequently leave bathroom lights on as night lights. Assuming this happens on a regular basis, or about eight hours per day, it will cost an additional $50 per room per year to operate this light.
8) Pool lights
Small indoor swimming pools are usually provided with two 500-watt incandescent underwater lights. Unfortunately, many managers leave these lights on for decorative purposes when the pool room is closed. Turning these lights off for eight hours every night will save approximately $250 per year.
9) Pool room exhaust fan
It is not unusual to find a one-horsepower exhaust fan operating continuously on the outside wall of an indoor pool. This fan can easily be turned off for at least eight hours per day, saving $200 per year.
10) Jacuzzi
Many new limited service hotels have a small indoor pool and whirlpool. It is not unusual to find a whirlpool with an aerator that operates continuously. This aerator is typically a one and one-half horsepower pump and can easily be kept off for at least four to eight hours per day. If the aerator runs continuously, it will cost an additional $200 to $300 per year to operate.
11) Housekeeping/storeroom lights
Storerooms generally have one or two 100-watt incandescent lights that are frequently left on continuously. When these lights burn all hours, it will cost the hotel $60 to $120 per year per room in wasted energy.
12) Stairwell lighting
The most popular design for limited service hotels incorporates numerous exterior windows that almost always provide adequate light in stairwells during daytime hours. If, despite the natural light, lights are turned on continuously in stairwells, it will cost $200 to $300 per year per stairwell depending on the number of floors in the hotel. (Hotels without natural light must leave stairwell lights on 24-hours per day for safety reasons.)
13) Parking lot lights
Savings obtained in reducing parking lot lighting depends directly on the total number of lights and wattage in a parking lot. Assuming the presence of ten 400-watt high-pressure sodium lamps, operating these lights just one hour too long in the morning and in the evening will cost the hotel owner an additional $250 per year.
Conclusion
While it can be difficult to assess how much energy is wasted each year in a hotel, hotel managers now have technology to help limit the waste: timers, occupancy sensors, as well as energy management systems. Although hotel guests’ habits vary and local energy costs may diverge from the national average ($0.08/kWh – used in the aforementioned figures), it is not unusual to find yearly cost savings from $10,000 to $30,000 or more per property. With the assistance of an experienced sustainability consultant, hotel owners can cut costs even more substantially, contribute to the greening of their communities, and leverage their efforts with a green marketing campaign.
If your hotel would like help calculating which of these measures, or other clean tech products, can help them save money, please contact BlueMap Inc.
Brandon Conard and Jay Sandler are Sustainability Analysts at BlueMap Inc., a research firm focused on the quantification of sustainability decisions and clean tech investments for our clients. BlueMap Inc. specializes in creating profitable and innovative environmental impact reduction strategies for our clients. BlueMap's advantage is its focus on quantitative analysis to prove which strategies concurrently lower overall costs as well as environmental impact.
