Topic 5 Energy Management System
Energy Efficiency in SME hotels can be achieved through three different approaches:
- The “energy management”: clear energy plan that nudge staff and guest for better energy behaviours and conservation.
- The “reduction of heating and cooling needs of the hotel” technical solutions for the renovation of the building’s exterior, in order to reduce the hotel’s heating and cooling needs;
- The “equipment efficiency” technical solutions with the aim of improving the hotel’s equipment efficiency, either by a better operational system (through equipment control and regulation) or by replacing equipment.
Energy Management Systems, or EMS, refer to various computer-aided tools that are used in order to control the energy use in large facilities and organizations. Numerous hotels have started to implement energy management systems to reduce costs and to improve productivity. An EMS is a set of applications that are used to control, optimize and lower the energy consumption.
The following video offers insight in one of the EMS used in accommodation industry:
The mechanism of EMS is very simple:
The EMS serves in data gathering and monitoring the energy consumptions, this information can be used to make energy-efficient decisions.
Here is an example; sensor-based occupancy systems come in handy for large hotels who want to cut down energy costs. These sensors detect movement (or the lack of it) and they adjust the lighting systems or the air-conditioning unit accordingly. If there is nobody in the room, the AC will be automatically lowered and the lights will be turned-off.
These systems involve the best practice for energy management in day-to-day operations, which results in lower costs and improved performance and productivity. An EMS is environmentally-friendly, given the fact that it reduces the overall energy consumption; therefore, it is safe to assume that this system is green technology that is especially designed to help hotels “do more with less”. As numerous statistics reveal, an EMS can result in 10% reduction of monthly water use and up to 25% energy use reduction. On the other hand, solar powered energy management systems can reduce the energy consumption by up to 50%.