Rising energy prices have made it a pressing challenge to reduce energy consumption in hotels. Among others, this is why Elektro-Kamleithner Ltd. offers complex building automation systems, and its latest workshop focused on the conditions and solutions required for energy-efficient operation of hotels. ZOLTÁN BALOGH, the company's managing director, spoke to us at the event about the potential of automation.
Building automation is not new. What was the reason for organising a hotel-themed workshop just now?
Elektro-Kamleithner Ltd. has been involved in building automation and intelligent buildings since 1996.Until 2022, 98 percent of our projects were for the installation of automation systems in new buildings, industrial halls and hotels. For different types of buildings, we face different challenges and have different tasks to solve.
With over a quarter of a century of experience and a portfolio of solutions for the complete automation of buildings, we offer a complete building automation solution. Until 2022, energy efficiency was only a consideration for new buildings, but last year, with energy prices soaring, more and more people were considering upgrading existing buildings.
Is interest from the hotel industry also picking up?
Yes, over the last year and a half we have been approached by more and more hotel operators who want to make their building more energy efficient, without having to close the building and with as little or no demolition as possible. This is now the new challenge for which we offer complex solutions. For new hotels, it is common to ask for full automation, including complete control of rooms, common areas, conference rooms, the engine room and swimming pool technology, but of course we also do not automate the whole building, but only a specific area. By contrast, energy efficiency upgrades in existing hotels focus on two areas: one is complete automation of the mechanical systems, the other is replacement of the room controls. It is worth noting that mechanical energy consumption accounts for 40-50% of energy use in hotels, so automation can deliver significant savings. And upgrading room controls can, among other things, prevent guests from setting any room temperature in either heating or cooling mode without restriction while leaving the window open.
What else is covered by building automation?
Smart buildings have been developing over the last three decades. In simple terms, building automation systems can control all equipment and appliances that use electricity or have something to do with engineering. In the case of hotels, this includes the control of cooling and heating, typically by fan-coil units, lighting, and indoor and outdoor shading. Room temperatures, for example, should always be set according to occupancy. This is facilitated by the virtual card holder function, which works with the most common Property Management System solutions as an intelligent occupancy sensor, and can use presence and opening sensors to assess whether the room is being used. This allows different room temperatures to be set depending on different operating conditions. At the same time, the presence sensors can also effectively control the corridor lighting to the desired light level. Finally, the data collection by the system is very useful, as it is difficult to measure consumption and savings without it.
Does the system deployment include both software and hardware?
We offer complete systems, the software being the smaller part, while the hardware consists of various sensors, actuators, thermostats and other built-in devices. As hotels, we work with quality devices that can be adapted to a wide range of interiors. We offer 30 to 40 different designs and within these, devices with different textures and touches. All the fittings in the room will be the same: thermostat, sockets, USB charger, computer sockets and other devices will all be in the same design. This is particularly important for new builds or interior renovation. The various elements can be made from individual materials, such as brass, copper, nickel, stone, wood or leather. We also take care to develop user-friendly interfaces - always defined together with the operator and adapted to the hotel's specific needs.
KOLPING HOTEL BUILDING AUTOMATION IN TEST MODE
At the Kolping Hotel in Unterópáhok, the decision to introduce building automation was made primarily due to a reduction in the number of technical staff. Csaba Baldauf, the hotel's director, told us that the continuous monitoring of the energy centres of the hotel, which operates in separate buildings on an area of 10 hectares, requires a considerable amount of human resources, while the number of technical specialists in the hotel industry is decreasing. "We were looking for a building management system that would help us manage operations in an intelligent way. Our intention coincided with the energy crisis last autumn, which also pointed in the direction of automation. Prior to this, we started a boiler room reconstruction at the hotel, installing more modern gas boilers in all buildings, and we also installed heat pump and air conditioning systems in the residential buildings. And in the hope of more economical operation, we decided to link the control of the radiator and fan-coil systems, the control of the devices and heat pumps in the boiler room to a single system. This will also give us specific operating data to help us control the operation."
What savings and payback period can be expected when "cleaning up" a hotel?
In general, we see that building automation can achieve energy savings of around 30 percent. Obviously, if the building is very modern, the savings are lower, but if it is not modern, the savings can be higher. Based on current energy prices and the value of the investment, our experience suggests a payback period of 2-4 years. As energy prices are expected to rise in the long term, this payback period can only be shorter in the future. In any case, the future is pointing towards energy-efficient buildings, just think of the emission reductions envisaged by the EU. If we can reduce building consumption from 100 units to 70 units by automation, then in the future, when we switch to renewable energy, we will have to plan with 70 units of energy instead of 100, so the investment cost will be lower - and building automation is a way forward in this respect. In addition, these modern hotels can be said to be taking an important step towards sustainability by using less energy, which is appealing to an increasingly large number of guests.
The article was published in the June 2023 issue of turizmus.com.
Contributed by Krisztina Szerdahelyi