Latest from From the Field

Control System Reduces Hotel-Room Energy Consumption

Nov. 3, 2009
Magnum Energy Solutions put their Verde wireless and batteryless energy-control system, enabled by EnOcean, to the test in an independent study conducted at a Wyndham Hotel in Boston. The test sought to measure the HVAC and lighting energy savings that ...

Magnum Energy Solutions put their Verde wireless and batteryless energy-control system, enabled by EnOcean, to the test in an independent study conducted at a Wyndham Hotel in Boston. The test sought to measure the HVAC and lighting energy savings that could be realized by utilizing sensor and control devices that respond to hotel-room-occupancy statuses. Testing concluded that hotel rooms controlled by the system consumed 33-percent less energy than rooms without the energy-harvesting controls.

The Verde energy-control system determines if a hotel room is vacant or occupied according to the status of the system's keycard access switch. When a guest enters a hotel room and inserts a keycard into its dock, a radio signal is sent that alerts the system the room is occupied. When the guest leaves the room unoccupied, the removed keycard automatically shuts off controlled lights/electronics and sets the in-room HVAC system back to its unoccupied/energy-conservation mode.

In the Wyndham Hotel study, four hotel rooms were monitored. Two were retrofitted with controls, and two were used as independent control rooms. HVAC and lighting energy consumption was analyzed over a period of 30 days. The energy-control-system-equipped rooms used 33-percent less energy for HVAC and electronics than the control rooms. With the implementation of the energy-control system in all 293 rooms, the hotel will save 480,991 kwh annually. Additionally, the energy-control system can help hotels comply with energy standards, such as California Title 24, Energy Efficiency Standards for Residential and Nonresidential Buildings, and ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings.