The hotel industry in the UK has grown significantly in recent years and it is expected to expand even further soon. The hotels that improve their operating efficiencies are the ones that are the most successful in reducing their operating costs. These hotels have a competitive advantage.
In recent years, hotels in the UK have been facing increasing competition and rising energy costs. This challenge can be eliminated, however, by undertaking steps to be more energy efficient.
In fact, as Sustainable Energy Ireland said ‘Many hotels can reduce their energy costs by up to 20% without significant investment.’
Energy Solutions has prepared a guide for hotels to promote energy efficiency savings in the hotel industry. Because of their nature, hotels use a significant amount of energy. Nevertheless, there are a number of solutions that can be introduced without compromising guests’ comfort and that allow hotels to cut their energy bills.
Benefits of being more energy-efficient
Do you know what the benefits of your hotel consuming less energy are?
Firstly, you will be spending less money on energy bills which of course is a great advantage. If you pay less for energy bills, you will be able to spend this money on something else or invest it into growing your business. Nevertheless, that’s now the only benefit of being more energy-efficient.
You will also be more environmentally friendly, which will allow you to build better relations with other businesses and expand your customer base. Moreover, if your business is green, you will enhance its reputation.
Managing energy costs in the energy industry
Managing energy costs in the energy industry is very important because high costs of energy create pressure on competitiveness. Nowadays, becoming energy efficient is a must.
The numbers of tourists visiting the UK increase each year, so it is important to be able to manage hotels without using too much energy and causing harm to the environment.
Carbon Trust reports that currently, the UK’s hotel industry spends around £1.3 billion each year on gas and electricity. That proves that high energy bills are a big issue for hotels. If hotels want to survive, they need to be greener and consume less energy.
Energy Solutions is committed to helping hotel owners reduce these costs to be able to focus on other, more important, aspects of running their businesses.
Ways to cut energy bills
| Aspect of running a hotel | Tips to be more energy-efficient |
| Lighting | Switch lights off when there is no one in the room. Light switches should be clearly marked so that the staff knows which ones to use to turn on the desired lights. Maintain and clean lights regularly. If there is dust on the lightbulbs, the room will seem darker than when the lights are clean. Replace older, less efficient lighting with energy-efficient light bulbs. LED bulbs are the best choice nowadays as they consume around 80% less power than traditional bulbs. Install lighting controls. Daylight sensors will ensure that the lights are off when there is enough sunlight coming in. Movement sensors will turn the lights on when someone enters the room but keep them off when they are not necessary. |
| Space heating, hot water generation and distribution | Service your boiler equipment regularly. You should check your boiler at least once a year to ensure it operates safely and efficiently. Boilers that are not serviced often can use 10% more energy. Insulate your boiler and hot water pipes. Make sure you regularly check whether the insulation is in place and there are no leaks because wet insulation will not be effective. Use an accurate thermometer to check the temperature in the building as each 1°C overheating can significantly increase your energy bill. Heat your water to the correct temperature, do not exceed 65°C to save energy. At the same time remember that the temperature has to be kept above 55°C to avoid bacteria. Maintain your hot water system regularly to ensure that there is no build-up of scale or air in the system. Insulate the building. Make sure that doors and windows are in good conditions and install thick curtains that will keep the heat in. Switch to a gas condensing boiler as they are more energy-efficient than traditional boilers. They can be used with almost all gas heating systems. Switch to a combined heat and power (CHP) unit. They are great for hotels as these usually require both heat and electricity. CHP units have total efficiencies in excess of 90%. |
| Catering and kitchen | Switch appliances off when they are not being used. Kitchen equipment generates heat so if you leave it on it will waste energy. Regularly maintain catering equipment. You should regularly check refrigeration, cooking, and washing machine equipment to ensure that it works efficiently. This way you will increase food safety and hygiene and you will see savings between 2-25%. Purchase and install energy efficient catering equipment. If you compare available technologies and choose the most energy-efficient one, you will see savings between 5-15%. Use the right size pans to fit the hobs and use pan lids to avoid wasting energy. Only put the dishwasher on when it’s full and use the ‘eco’ mode. Do not open fridge and freezer doors unless it’s necessary. Leave the dishes to dry instead of using machines. |
| Cooling and Air Conditioning | Keep the temperature at around 24°C. This way people in the building will be comfortable and will not need to turn the air conditioning on. Cooling below this temperature can significantly increase your energy bills. Do not turn the heating and cooling on at the same time as this way you will be wasting energy. Keep the windows closed when air conditioning is on. Opening and closing windows and doors when air conditioning is on forces the system to work harder and use more power to achieve the same temperature. Use natural breeze. Sometimes it’s a good idea to keep the air conditioning off but open the windows to let the air in. The natural breeze will immediately make the room seem cooler. Regularly service air conditioning equipment to prevent dust from getting into the system. Otherwise, the machine will have to work harder and consume more energy to cool the room. |
| Swimming pools | Install a pool cover to reduce heat losses. Getting a pool cover can lead to savings of between 10-30% after a few years of using it. Do not overheat the water in the pool. You should keep the temperature in the pool at between 27-30°C. Making the temperature higher by as little as 0.5°C can significantly increase your energy bill. Invest in a heat recovery system on the pool hall ventilation system. A heat recovery system transfers heat from a warmer source to a cooler source. If you combine it with the pool hall ventilation system, you will be able to reduce the energy requirement for heating by 30%. |
If you follow the tips discussed in the table above you will be able to:
- Save up to 75% on lighting costs.
- Save up to 30% on heating and hot water costs.
- Save up to 40% on kitchen costs and catering.
- Save up to 30% on cooling and air conditioning costs.
- Save up to 30% on swimming pool costs.
- Save up to 15% on total energy costs.