Intelligent heating management solutions: Compensating for occupancy behaviour
The ideal temperature and length of the heating cycle in a room or a flat will vary from one person to the next. Many factors influence how we manage our heating needs and there is no doubt that the cost of energy is front-of-mind for many households. However, when people are in settings such as a hotel, where the room fee includes the heating cost, or in student accommodation where a flat fee is paid with no penalties for excessive energy use, our behaviour can change.
In this blog, we look at the reasons for the behavioural change when it comes to space heating and the impact that occupancy and occupant behaviour can have on the hotel and Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) sectors.
Using energy management to help compensate for occupancy behaviour is one of many topics explored in the SmarterDM by Dimplex white paper ‘Intelligent heating solutions – reducing carbon emissions and energy costs for hotels and student accommodation’ that is available as a free download.
How does the behaviour of occupants adversely affect energy use in hotels and the PBSA sector?
There is a saying that has been well used in recent times and it goes something like ‘the greenest energy is the energy you don’t use’. It is also, of course, the cheapest and, in our own homes, we see the financial benefits of saving energy directly in our fuel bills. This makes finding ways to cut costs by reducing our energy use a strong driver of our behaviour. The steep rise in energy costs has added extra incentive to encourage us to switch off unnecessary lighting, only heat rooms when they are being used and try to live with the thermostat set a little lower than previous years. Whilst saving us money this also reduces carbon emissions, although this may be a secondary bonus rather than the primary reason for any frugal use of energy in the home.
However, the people who stay in hotels and PBSA, may not have the same direct attachment to the energy they use. In hotels, the price of the room includes the use of the heating, lighting and hot water. Therefore, it can be seen as ‘already paid for’ regardless of the energy used, or wasted, during the stay.
For students, a flat rate is paid for energy for their accommodation meaning that there are no additional charges for energy consumption. This inevitably leads to higher than necessary energy use as there are no financial penalties when energy is wasted.
Although there will be some people who stay in hotels and some students in accommodation who care passionately about carbon reduction, the businesses involved in running these assets need to find ways to make it more difficult to waste energy in the first place. This is where energy management systems are an invaluable tool to help reduce wasteful practices but at the same time, not affect the ability of the occupiers to select their desired level of thermal comfort when in the room.
How do intelligent heating management solutions compensate for occupancy behaviour?
Intelligent heating management solutions compensate for occupancy behaviour by being able to remotely monitor and control heating systems used within buildings such as hotels and student accommodation.
The key to their success is they can identify when rooms are unoccupied and if the heating has been left running by the occupants, the system can reduce the heating or turn it off completely depending on the circumstances.
A typical hotel room may have a check-out time of 10 am and a check-in time of 4 pm leaving the room empty for at least 6 hours in the day. Once the room is occupied by guests, they are usually using it as just a place to sleep and are likely to go out, adding further time when the room is unoccupied. It cannot be assumed that guests, or indeed busy hotel cleaning staff, will remember to turn off the heating when leaving to help prevent energy from being wasted. The heating management system can identify the state of the room and act remotely to save energy and reduce both running costs as well as operational carbon emissions.
It is a similar picture in student accommodation where rooms are unoccupied during the day as students attend lectures, or in the evening when they leave their rooms for social or extra-curricular purposes. However, unlike hotel rooms, student accommodation is seasonal with three terms a year, so rooms are left vacant for days on end. This leaves around 16 weeks, or 30% of the year where the rooms do not require heating, The asset manager of a PBSA can use the heating management system to supply only the level of heating required to prevent frost and mould damage during winter months, reducing energy wastage whilst taking good care of the building fabric.
Energy management systems have proved their worth in both the hotel and PBSA sectors. Travelodge realised savings of more than 40% on their heating costs in ten hotels by installing a bespoke SmarterDM energy management system, read our case study on Travelodge and the implementation of the SmarteDM heating management system. One leading student accommodation provider enjoyed an annual cost saving of £28K by using a SmarterDM solution that paid for itself in just over 2 years.
Where can find more information on how intelligent heating management solutions can compensate for occupancy behaviour?
More information on how intelligent heating management solutions can compensate for occupancy behaviour can be found in the SmarterDM white paper ‘Intelligent heating solutions – reducing carbon emissions and energy costs for hotels and student accommodation.’
SmarterDM by Dimplex is an innovative UK based software and hardware development company that delivers intuitive systems for asset holders to help monitor, report and manage data in real time.
If you would like to find out more about the financial and sustainability benefits that using a SmarterDM energy management system could bring to your asset, please contact us and our expert team will be in contact to complete a free indicative energy saving calculation.