The hospitality industry has been steadily recovering since the major hit it took during COVID, but as inflation persists, managing properties is an exercise in juggling expenses. It is innately challenging, as maintaining the level of service and quality is essential.
Infrastructure costs – especially energy costs, – are among the biggest expenses for hotels, with air conditioning often making up between 40% and 50% of total energy costs. According to data, commercial buildings – in the US, including hotels, are responsible for 75% of all electricity use – and nearly half of that is used for heating and air conditioning. But savings are possible: Implementing on-site thermal energy storage, on its own or together with other sustainable energy solutions, could help properties cut their electricity bills significantly, especially as the cost differences widen between day and evening—or off-peak and peak– electricity rates.
With advances in renewable energy, installing solar panels that produce power directly for their needs is becoming more popular in the hotel sector, as properties seek to reduce electricity bills. This approach can indeed cut some electricity costs significantly. The Hampton Inn and Suites Bakersfield North-Airport, for example, cut its electric bill by around 40% after installing a photovoltaic array.
Energy Storage is Key—With or Without Solar Generation
Another available innovative option for hotels to cut their power costs is by installing on-site thermal energy storage systems. These systems work even for those hotels that are not generating any of their own power, but simply rely on ordinary electricity, which is still the large majority. Usually based on water or ice, they can be charged with regular grid electricity during the hours when it is cheaper–often daylight hours when demand is lower and utilities are generating power from low-cost solar sources. Then the stored energy can be released to run the air conditioning during the peak evening hours when grid electricity is more expensive and subject to extra tariffs and high-demand charges from utilities companies. Thermal storage systems are currently in use at the Beverly Hilton and Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills hotels, delivering some 40% of their combined peak cooling demands during the summer months, and saving them money on demand charges from the utility company.
Meanwhile, for those hotels that are generating their own solar energy, thermal storage solutions are also becoming increasingly valuable. In these cases, properties could use their own generated power or grid electricity to charge the storage systems, then release the stored energy during early morning or evening hours to power HVAC systems. This extends their independence from the grid into the more expensive evening hours, and ends the risk of daytime energy savings from solar generation, while significant, being offset by higher peaktime expenses for electricity.
Going Beyond Batteries
Most people think of batteries when they think of storage, but thermal storage could be a better way to go, offering an alternative to many of the challenges posed by batteries. . Batteries have limited capacity, are costly (especially for commercial buildings), and are often dangerous. The bigger the battery, the greater the risks, and putting guests at risk is the last thing a hotel would want.In addition, several jurisdictions now have rules limiting who can install batteries on commercial properties, making the process even more complex.
Thermal storage is especially worth considering now as prices are rising on just about everything, and many of these areas, including food and labor, are difficult for hotels to cut. Many of these costs are not in their control, and for the ones that are, hotels can’t afford to skimp. If they start providing fewer services or lower quality food or shampoos, their guests are sure to notice, and likely not be happy.That puts them at the center of the inflationary storm, jeopardizing their bottom line. But thermal storage systems do allow hotels to take control of cutting their energy costs, without disrupting other operations and services, or affecting guests. By cutting these costs, they will be able to weather better rising prices, labor shortages, or any of the other myriad issues that can hurt their bottom line–without compromising on the guest experience.
