Guideline #4
Install digital thermostats in guestrooms and throughout the hotel.
Installing digital thermostats in guestrooms and throughout the hotel is an excellent way to generate savings. Hotels can achieve these savings by reducing electrical, natural gas, and fuel oil consumption along with improving customer satisfaction. Digital thermostats can be programmed with set temperature range limits to avoid wild customer swings in settings. They are also very accurate in comparison to conventional thermostats for additional efficiencies.
A 300 room downtown hotel believes that they may have a potential opportunity to reduce energy consumption by installing new digital thermostats. However, they want to calculate the return on their investment before taking any action. Occupancy is gathered from the P&L and the energy (watts) saved is an average from several nationally recognized business cases. The calculator assumes that new digital thermostats are installed, decreasing energy used that is calculated in kilowatt-hour and requiring 90 minutes in labor at a cost of $24.00 to install.
For the calculation, the cost per kwh is $.12 (obtained from bills). The cost per digital thermostat is $93.00 including labor.
Number of Guest Rooms
|
|
Occupancy
|
|
Watts Saved
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Hours Saved
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Total Days
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Kwhr Multiplier |
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Total Kwh Saved
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300
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X
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72%
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X
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158
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X
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24
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X
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365
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X |
.001 |
=
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298,961
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Annual Electric and Natural Gas Savings: 298,961 x $.12 = $35,875
Total Annual Savings: $35,875
Investment
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Payback
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Cost per Digital Thermostat Installed: $93.00
Number of Rooms: 300
Total Investment: $27,900
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|
Investment: $27,900
Annual Savings: $35,875
Payback: .9 years (10 months)
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Utilize the Energy Star Portfolio Manager tool to measure and track your energy usage and receive a 1-100 energy performance rating that compares your hotel to hotels of a similar type across the country.
Operations utilizing central chilled water systems should have a professional evaluation of efficiency upgrades including (but not limited to) variable speed drives, digital controls, economizers, and chilled water temperature resets. Building re-commissioning is also recommended.
When new through-the-wall units are purchased, choose units which are Energy Star Qualified. In climates where cooling and heating are needed, consider the purchase of heat pump units.
Information about the energy efficient operation of buildings can be found by referring to the Building Upgrade Manual at the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Energy Star site
The Upgrade Manual has a section specifically devoted to hotels and motels ( as well as more general information.
The Federal Government operates an Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) program and their Website offers information on the program, its standards, and products.
In many states as well as at the federal level, loan, rebate, and tax incentive programs exist for the purchase of energy efficient equipment as well as the installation of renewable energy equipment. Be aware of these and incorporate them into your purchase evaluations.
Guideline #3 Guideline #5