Electrical Engineering Solutions

“It is crucial that the hotel and hospitality industries today implement intelligent automation to analyze and manage their energy consumption, if they are to reduce their energy use, lower their operating costs and adhere to green principles.”

This is according to Bradley Hemphill, Managing Director of Cape Town-based Electrical Engineering Solutions (EES), speaking at a Hospitality Energy Efficiency forum in Johannesburg last month on ‘Hotel energy consumption analysis and source of savings’.  This event was hosted at Schneider-Electric and endorsed by the Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa (Fedhasa) and the Department of Minerals & Energy (DME).   

“It is the hotels and hospitality businesses which understand and have implemented intelligent automation that today are well on their way to substantially reducing their overall costs and improving their bottom line,” says Hemphill. 

“And apart from the obvious advantage of reducing costs in harsh economic times, the use of intelligent automation also assists hotels and hospitality concerns to adhere to green principles, a move that is rapidly gathering momentum the world over.”

Energy needed for the day-to-day running and services of a hotel or hospitality concern, such as air conditioning, hot water, room lighting, television and video etc, is sourced from cooling systems, boilers, lighting and multimedia. 

“In order to optimize energy efficiency, energy use needs to be analyzed and reliable data is needed for this analysis”, Hemphill explains.  “To obtain reliable data it is necessary for a good quality meter to be installed on the hotel’s incoming load and at least some of its core distribution loads.  Analysis is then done, the outcome of which is intelligent automation, which links all the energy source systems together to reduce energy consumption.” 

He continues that when it comes to cooling, the key card contactor is not necessarily the answer.  Alternative, more sophisticated intelligent automation solutions which really remove the human factor, reduce energy consumption and help hotels to go green, are now available and should be considered.  

Boilers too can be effectively automated by means of a backend occupancy data base, which ensures that the number of boilers that are switched on is always in line with the number of guests staying at the hotel.

With regard to lighting, energy reduction in common areas should be addressed first, and automated so that lights come on only when there are people in the particular common area.  Back of house is another opportunity for energy efficiency. 

To address energy efficiency in multimedia systems, technology, such as High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), should be used.  This allows the operator to switch devices on and off either remotely or manually.  It also enables remote control of multiple devices making it easy to switch off all devices with one button.    

Hemphill however raises the concern that there are currently still some obstacles to achieving intelligent automation in the hotel and hospitality industry.
 
“Not all stakeholders are being engaged, resulting in a silo approach, in which the major players are not talking to each other and often have conflicting business drivers.  The result is a difficult and sometimes impossible task of achieving meaningful integration.”  Hemphill stresses that experts should co-operate and make use of their own particular strengths to deliver a complete solution.

“Another obstacle is that Building Automation System (BAS) vendors are locked into their own business models and technology.  They need to be open to the use of alternative protocols, which would allow them to choose the best of breed, possibly even from competitors.”

Furthermore BAS and IT are not understanding each other.  They have a different approach to problems, as IT being a newer industry has developed a more up-to-date approach.  IT and BAS industries need to work together and encourage ongoing communication between the two parties.

And planning is not happening upfront, when IT infrastructure should be included in the early planning phase of hotel developments.  “It is easier and more cost-effective to design and construct the appropriate infrastructure, cable containment etc, from the start, as there are architectural requirements for an intelligent IT-based hotel design.”

There is also the tendency for people to resist change and not want to break out of their comfort zone.  They can be reluctant to see the benefits of modern technology.  They do not, for example, see the need for a concept such as customization of temperature and lighting in a hotel room according to individual guest needs to give it a personal touch. 

In conclusion, Hemphill advises that it is best to ‘start simple’, and take it one step at a time.  “As tangible results start to be seen, the huge benefits of intelligent automation will become increasingly apparent to all players throughout the hotel and hospitality industries worldwide.”