Solar Powered Energy Management for Hotels
- Tuesday, 19 July 2011 10:24
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Article Read: 2357
Accommodation complexes consume massive amounts of energy and use 50% more energy than a similar sized residential building despite having only 65-75% occupancy rates on average.
Most hotels are rapidly moving towards smart energy management solutions but it’s expensive to retrofit old hotels and most won’t shut down for major renovations if they don’t really have to. Energy costs are the highest fixed cost for accommodation providers after salaries.
Zenros, a Danish company, has created a new solar powered energy management system for hotels they believe will save hotels at least 35% in HVAC costs over current sensor based technology. Their solar panel system is integrated with the lights via the room controller, drawing power from man-made and natural light. Then, using Zigbee Smart Energy, the panel wirelessly communicates with all the electrical devices in the room – the minibar, doors, windows, lights, TVs, etc. The use of solar energy and wireless eliminates any need for re-wiring the hotel room meaning that installation is significantly simplified in existing hotel buildings. The Zenros Solar Touch panels can be installed without the use of any new cables or external power and retrofitted to any hotel.
The bigger picture is that the Zenros Solar Touch panels are ideal for appliances or locations that have no electrical grid nearby. The solar lights can be used all day. Instead of kicking on or off like most sensors, the panels adjust all the electrical devices in the room to what is happening. The reporting system detects when the system has changed and then calculates how much has been saved or what the interruption was to illustrate the savings that were generated.
