Green hotel tips

Green hotel tips. Can my hotel be green AND save money?

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Absolutely. Being ‘green’ does not mean spending a fortune on a new heating system or new windows throughout the hotel. We have put together some free green hotel tips. These won’t cost you anything to implement and will reduce your energy use and therefore save you money! You will be a more sustainable hotel with a lower carbon footprint before you know it.

There are also some low cost green hotel tips that will cost you a little. And you will soon benefit by further energy savings.

The Carbon Trust have more energy-saving advice for a green hotel

The Carbon Trust also have posters for download to encourage energy saving

Further information: green business electricity

Free green hotel tips

Green hotel - hotel energy consumptionHotel energy use is shown in the chart. About 40% is used on heating, and further 20% on hot water. Here are some free green hotel tips to reduce your energy use:

  • Keep the temperature of lounge, bar and bedrooms to no more than 21C. This is more than high enough to ensure guests are comfortable.
  • The temperature in the kitchen can be considerably lower as plenty of heat will be generated here anyway. 16-17C will be fine, you can apply this to your laundry area as well if you have one.
  • Staff and guests should be encouraged to keep heat in the building during hours you have the heating on. Polite notices next to windows explaining your green reasons for this will help. If guests need to open windows, then you have the heating too high and are wasting energy!
  • Ensure hot water is stored at 60C. Your guests won’t need water any hotter than this. This temperature will also kill Legionella bacteria.

Lighting accounts for up to 15% of hotel energy use:

  • Encourage staff to turn off lights when they leave rooms. Unused rooms with lights on are wasting energy and costing you money.
  • Guests can also be part of your green journey. Place a smart, polite note next to the light switch as they leave the room.
  • Check any lights on timer switches in lounge, bar, or communal areas. Timer should be set for trading hours so you don’t waste energy (and money).

Low cost green hotel tips

These low cost green hotel tips will reduce your hotel energy use for hot water and heating. The small investment required will soon be outweighed by the saving you will make in lower energy bills:

  • Be sure your boiler has a regular, annual service. An efficient boiler will use the minimum energy to reach the temperatures you set.
  • You can insulate your hot water tank and pipes to conserve energy. This is a very low cost energy-saving measure, you can recoup the cost within a few months.
  • Buy and fit TRVs (Thermostatic Radiator Valves). These adjust the heat emitted from a radiator. Very useful for lounge or bar areas that can fill up with people. As the room gets busy, body temperature will increase the room temperature. The TRV will reduce the heat from the radiator, reducing the energy use to heat the room.

There are also low cost green hotel tips to reduce electricity used in lighting:

  • Install occupancy sensors in guest bedrooms and bathrooms. These ensure electricity is only used for lighting when the rooms are in use.
  • Standard light bulbs are not very efficient. If you upgrade to LEDs you will benefit from lower electricity use (and lower bills). LEDs use up to 80% less electricity than standard bulbs. You can expect to get around 50,000 hours of use from them.

Improve your green credentials even further and buy green energy

You may think green, or renewable energy, is far too expensive and you can’t afford it. However, as energy brokers, our buying power in the energy market means we can get you lower gas and electricity prices.

As such, the green tariffs we have from energy companies are often around the same (or less) than the standard price you may currently be paying. There are over 30 energy companies who supply gas and electricity to hotels of all sizes. We know them all well and would be delighted to help you.

For more information on  green energy prices to reduce your carbon footprint even further, or standard energy prices, please call Kevan Enticott, free, on 0800 977 5462.

 

Perfect Clarity can help businesses save money on their energy and water contracts. Call 020 3372 6517 for more information.