Hotel owners simply can’t overlook their energy usage. It was found that, on average, the American hotel spends $2,196 per room each year on energy costs. On top of those everyday costs, extended power outages and extreme weather conditions can be crippling to a hotel’s balance sheet. Meanwhile, increased focus on sustainability from both guests and government means that green practices are no longer a “nice to have.” They are imperative to a hotel’s future success.
One way hotel owners can tackle their energy challenges is by installing a battery-based energy-storage system, a device that stores energy in a giant battery for later use. Many Electricity Storage System units operate on renewable energy, like solar or wind, and offer various storage capabilities that can be scaled to the size of the hotel. Electricity Storage Systems can be coupled with an existing solar system or connected directly to the grid.
Here are three ways that Electricity Storage Systems can help hotels address energy issues.
1. Reduce Energy Bills
An Electricity Storage System helps with the latter by storing energy gathered for later use during peak periods. This could be as simple as storing up solar energy during the sunny morning hours for use during the evening rush or taking advantage of the low-cost power in the middle of the night to have extra energy available for the afternoon surge. In both examples, by switching to saved energy at times when grid costs are the highest, hotel owners can quickly reduce that $2,200 energy bill spent annually per room.
This is where the real value of an Electricity Storage System comes to play. Unlike other equipment such as generators or emergency lighting that are purchased with the hope they will never be used, an Electricity Storage System is purchased with the idea that it is used and starts paying you back immediately. Instead of asking the question, “How much is this going to cost?” hotel owners exploring an Electricity Storage System quickly realize the question they should be asking is, “How much is this going to save me?” The previously mentioned Energy Star report also states that hotels spend approximately 6 percent of their operating costs on energy. If that figure could be reduced by even just 1 percent, how much more profit would that mean to a hotel’s bottom line?
2. Backup Power
Power outages are nightmares for hoteliers. In addition to creating unsafe and unpleasant conditions for guests (which could lead to bad reviews at best and guest and site safety issues at worst), outages can affect everything from lights and elevators to critical business systems and kitchen appliances. An extended outage like we saw in the Northeast Blackout of 2003 could shut down a hotel for days, weeks or—in some cases—for good.
Now, the good news is that we’ve come a long way in the last 20 years, and backup power in hotels in now required by The International Code Council. But while diesel generators have historically been the chosen solution, they are often noisy, emit carbon monoxide, require ongoing fuel costs and regular maintenance and can typically only power a small area at a time.
An Electricity Storage System, in addition to avoiding many of the traditional problems of diesel generators noted above, can have four commercial units stacked together, offering 1,000 kilowatts of stored energy for use during extended blackouts. When paired with sufficient solar energy and with reasonable adaptation for the available power, the hotel can keep all critical systems operational, including safety systems, refrigeration, internet and business systems. When those business systems still work at the hotel restaurant and bar, the hotel can maintain or even increase revenue during an outage.
3. Greener Practices
With the increasing focus on sustainable business practices from guests and government agencies, Electricity Storage Systems can be a big part of a hotel’s journey to a greener future with more focus on renewable energy sources like solar and wind (for everyday power) and less reliance on fossil fuels (for backup power).
Not only is it the right thing to do for the environment, but there are tangible benefits for hotel owners too. Being listed as a “green hotel” could result in more traffic from sustainably focused travelers. Plus, green business practices in general help reduce expenses as well by using less water, less peak energy, and less environmentally harmful chemicals.
4. Energy Matters
Hotel owners don’t have the luxury of overlooking their energy usage. With rising costs and increased sustainability demands, hotels must be considering their energy footprint. Fortunately, energy storage systems will help reduce energy bills, provide backup power for critical systems, and move towards greener business practices. And that is a luxury we can all enjoy.
Installing Energy Storage at Your Hotel
Recent advances in battery technology, rising electricity demand and the advent of low-risk financial models have made electricity storage a financially attractive option of hotels.
A hotel in San Diego
A hotel in San Diego is installing a 36 kW/60 kWh energy storage system consisting of two modular 18 kW batteries. The hotel is 175,000 square feet, 210 rooms, and has an average monthly electricity maximum demand of 318 kW. The proposed system has the capacity to offset grid demand consumption during peak hours by 36 kW for two hours at a time, enough to counteract any spikes in demand that may occur.
The $100,000 Battery at the Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco, USA
Two 54-kilowatt energy storage systems at the Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco’s Nob Hill will be able to supply 20 percent of the building’s electricity demand.
Intercontinental Hotels has run a trial with a 15-kilowatt storage system for the past year, and the managers have seen a 17 % to 30 % improvement in his ability to manage demand. The hotel has 17 systems on order and plans to install two 54-kilowatt battery packs at the Mark Hopkins in San Francisco, which would supply 20 percent of the hotel’s demand.
The 54-kilowatt system costs about $100,000, though California state incentives cover about 60 percent of that price.