Matthew Margetts, Director at Smarter Technologies explores how hospitality can leverage smart energy monitoring to be more sustainable
Smart energy monitoring in hotels provide simple, scalable tools to save money and shape sustainable practices. The key lies within consumption data.
According to the Carbon Trust, annual energy costs for the hospitality sector are in excess of £1.3 billion per year, with carbon emissions amounting to over 8 million tonnes per year. According to the same report, the bulk of consumption in typical hotels is used for heating, followed by lighting – both key factors in guest satisfaction.
The rising cost of energy and market uncertainty makes energy an important consideration for every hotelier. However, the tendency is for the focus to be on cost, rather than consumption. Cutting consumption has the potential to unlock revenue without increasing occupancy.
Manual processes of collecting data, unravelling what it means, and the guesswork in taking meaningful action are some key points of hesitation for operators. There is simply too much risk of negatively impacting the guest experience.
The key challenges to energy management for hotels
Unpredictable demand
Hotels and their facilities have unpredictable demand for energy. This is affected by shifting occupancy levels, seasonality, and weather conditions. Building characteristics also play a role in the amount of energy required – especially in the case of historical building. Additionally, building management systems and maintenance affect demand.
Complexity of centralised energy management systems
Hotels usually feature complex operational layouts. Multi-room monitoring – sometimes across multiple locations with added facilities like bars, restaurants, spas, and conference facilities – are highly challenging for centralised energy management.
Not all hotels utilise sub-meters. Even if they do, smarter processes are required to provide the consistency and quality of data to create an agile energy management approach that strategises around occupancy and actual consumption.
The risk of change vs the guest experience
A change in approach is not worth the risk of a bad guest experience. Guest expectation has shifted too, with 71% of UK travellers prioritising sustainability according to an article by booking.com. This means hotels are tasked with creating more sustainable operations without compromising service expectations. Heating, cooling, lighting, and hot water are some key areas of change that hold potential for change, but also come with potential risk.
Knowing where To Start
Attached to the above point is the guesswork attached to strategy. There is no one-size-fits-all approach – and strategic change relies on understanding unique consumption patterns to maximise the effectiveness of changes.
Smarter technologies for smarter energy management
Real-time data and intelligent analysis
Real-time data insights unlock understanding of consumption. Intelligent analysis of data trends allows for unusual and undesirable consumption to be quickly identified and corrective action to be taken.
The data on offer could be granular – per room and even down to individual equipment. IoT smart energy monitoring solutions, however, provide a detailed, centralised view of whole-operations consumption. This data is remotely accessible from a cloud-based dashboard and allows for tripwires to be set around consumption thresholds and other metrics to inspire smart energy management strategies and instant reaction.
Taking action around this data has the potential to cut consumption without impacting guest satisfaction.
Guide automation and AI
Together with smart building sensors, smart energy monitoring is a key component to guide automation and AI. This could include smart lighting, thermostats, water heating, and more based on room occupancy.
Full team (and guest) engagement
Hotel staff have a central role to play in enhancing efficiency. Real-time energy data is a powerful tool for educating staff on where energy is used and where it can be saved. It also helps teams to understand what data they are seeing and empowers action to mitigate waste. Similarly, it is an important tool in guest engagement.
Sustainable finance reporting
For some lenders, smart technologies like smart building monitoring solutions are a fundamental sustainable finance reporting tool.
Create smart energy strategies
Live energy data allows leadership to make strategic decisions with an in-depth, detailed understanding of actual consumption. This data reveals easy gains and instant changes. In the long term, it creates a roadmap for priorities to maximise efforts for efficiency.
It also forms the basis for a business case for intervention and the shift to renewables, for example. For every implementation, ongoing monitoring reveals outcomes and measurable ROI for stakeholder reporting and accountability.
As net zero and climate-related regulations tighten, compliance will take on strategic significance. This data is central to benchmarking, implementation, and reporting for regulatory purposes.
Cutting consumption means cutting costs
Reduced energy consumption has positive environmental effects, but there are revenue benefits to be had too. Through active smart energy monitoring, Farncombe House managed to devise a strategy which would result in their energy costs being cut by 30%. Additionally, this strategy would mean 50% of their energy would be produced on-site, which set them on the path to self-sufficiency.
Farncombe House is a luxury hotel and estate with many moving parts, with year-round bookings and a requirement for consistent excellence on all fronts. Their objective is to prioritise sustainability and carbon-cutting to meet internal and guest expectations.
Author: Matthew Margetts, Director at Smarter Technologies
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