How hotels can reduce their energy bills

Whether a building is a hotel or another type of structure, there’s a process to go through to figure out the best ways to save on energy costs, said Chris Roman, a certified energy manager with Conservant Systems. While it is the same process for most buildings, he said the outcomes tend to be completely different because hotels are customer-service focused. 

Energy audits are the first step in reducing operational costs. “The types of energy audits that everyone should be looking to obtain are [American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers] Level 1 and Level 2 energy audits,” Roman said. “There are necessary auditing costs from completing these energy audits and most of those costs will most likely be recouped in the energy savings measures derived.”

However, depending on the local utility company, there may be no need to pay for energy audits. Many offer programs through which the audit is either completely covered or at least partially covered.

According to Roman, the audit will lay the groundwork for reviewing energy consumption. To start, hotel management would need to categorize and index everything that is consuming energy. Then hoteliers would need to get all of the mechanical plans, schedules and drawings of the properties. “The trick here is to take the time to find the differences between the plans and the auditing,” he said. “The drawings are when the building is first completed and that is often different than what the building is operating at now.” 

The next step is to load balance—it’s comparing the base energy consumption in the auditing process to what the actual utility bills are. Do they match up? “All the ducks need to be in a row here,” Roman said.

Then the hotel management and engineers need to determine the best way to save money on energy costs. “They need to be in 100 percent agreement,” Roman said. “If the engineer changes X to Y and then the management gets complaints from guests, it [might not] be worth the potential savings.”

Roman suggests that if the auditing process revealed 20 measures to implement, the entire staff should sit down in a group meeting to go over the measures. This can be a contentious process but it is helpful to get all of the points of view of everyone in the hotel, he said. Then the hotel moves forward with the processes that everyone agrees on, even if it is just 15 of the original 20 items. 

Then move into implementation mode—spread out the measures to group like projects together, such as lighting or heating, ventilation and air conditioning items. Approximately 12 months after the project was commissioned, Roman said hoteliers should realize their savings. 

Bill Fizer, president of Lodging Technology, said hoteliers should really take advantage of the low-hanging fruit that doesn’t really cost the hotel much or even any money. “For example, have housekeeping leave the drapery open in the winter to help heat the room and close in the summer to keep it cool,” he said. “Preventive maintenance procedures should be followed as well to keep things working their best and most efficient.” 

The No. 1 thing hoteliers can do to save on energy cost is to ensure they maintain all their mechanical systems on the property, said Chris Magee, Friedrich product manager. “Regular coil cleaning and fan maintenance will keep mechanical systems running smoothly and at proper amperage,” he said. 

One of the easiest ways to save on energy costs is technology enablement, said John Srouji, chief sales and operating officer at Telkonet. Connected systems help hotels and guests in a sustainable way. The more sensors and devices that participate in an ecosystem translate to savings, Srouji said. “Implementing an energy management solution curtails energy consumption, especially when the guest isn’t in the room, but also allows the room to quickly recover to guest comfort." 

What is costing you the most on property? 

There is a clear energy-consuming item in the hotel environment, the experts agree. “There is a not-so-silent gas guzzler in your guestrooms,” said Rami Belson, founder and CEO of Energex. “The typical guestroom annual HVAC bill is around $300 with a rough output about of 300 pounds of [carbon dioxide],” he said. “While it might not sound like much, when you consider that nearly two thirds of this energy is wasted on the heating and cooling of empty and unsold rooms, it starts to weigh on your bottom line quickly.”

Other contributing factors to this waste are the HVAC equipment wear and tear, which manifests itself in higher repair bills and a build-up of guestroom noise over time. 

This coming winter likely will exacerbate energy costs even further especially in older, less efficient properties. The good news, however, is the newer technology can help existing properties with simple retrofit tools as well as under-construction projects, Belson said.

Lighting is another energy vampire in the hotel environment, Srouji said. “Many older hotels need to implement energy-efficient lighting,” he said. “There are rebates available to help get current on the best technology solutions, including even solar supplementation for properties.” 

Roman said there are some clear guidelines hoteliers can follow to help them decide which energy-saving measures to implement. Lighting measures typically have a two- to five-year payback window and HVAC measures have a four- to nine-year payback.