Introduction

Combined heat and power (CHP), is an energy-efficient choice for Mid-Size to Large Hotels. It controls energy costs while improving the reliability of power supply for the hotel. CHP is the production of both power and heat from a single fuel source. By making use of the waste heat from onsite electricity production for heating or cooling, CHP increases fuel efficiency and decreases energy costs.

With fuel prices at a record high, energy costs have been rising for hotels. CHP offers a solution to control spiraling energy costs. Increasing energy costs are a major concern for hotels, particularly as demand for more hotel amenities, such as restaurants, lounges, retail shops, and recreational facilities, has increased electricity and natural gas consumption industry-wide.

With the improved efficiency of CHP, operating and maintenance costs are reduced while environmental performance is improved. The power and heat produced on site by the CHP system offsets purchases of electricity and fuel for boilers. The same reductions in purchased electricity that provide energy cost savings also reduce the environmental impact of hotel operations by reducing air pollution. CHP is a best practice for energy efficiency in hotels and will reduce your property's environmental impact through reduced electricity consumption.

CHP provides a reliable source of energy to keep hotel guests comfortable and safe by producing simultaneous power and heat 24 hours a day, seven days a week. CHP integrates seamlessly into existing heating and electrical systems, provides a steady supply of hot water, and can be configured to provide backup power in the event of a utility outage.

CHP units burn fossil fuel, typically gas, to generate electricity on site, and recover the 'waste' heat from the process for space and water heating: they can lower running costs. Success depends on: accurate appraisal of the hotel's potential for CHP the correct sizing of the CHP unit to suit the hotel's pattern of energy use; and a well engineered, well controlled and reliable installation. Assess the feasibility of installing CHP after, not before. Energy use has been brought under good management practices. CHP units raise the amount of delivered gas consumed, while reducing metered electricity, but usually lead to a reduction in overall energy costs. If you have CHP you can assess your consumption against the values in this Guide in one of two ways:

1. To use the £/bedroom/year unit add your gas and electricity costs together and compare them with the sum of gas and electricity costs from the charts.

2. To use the energy consumptions in kWh/m2/year, it is best to convert both these, and your own fuel consumptions, into the equivalent of primary energy before making the comparisons. To make the conversion of both your own delivered energy and the values in the charts, multiply the electricity consumption figure by 3.5 and then add it to the gas consumption, You can then compare your primary energy consumption with the appropriate performance band in the charts.

Example

Suppose you have a luxury hotel annually consuming 800000 kWh of gas, or other fossil fuel, and 300000 kWh of delivered electricity. This represents 800000 kWh of delivered fossil fuel, and approximately (300000 x 3.5) kWh of fossil fuel consumed in generating, at the power station, electricity delivered to your hotel, ie 1850000 kWh of primary energy. If the heated floor area is 3000 m2, the annual specific primary energy consumption is:

(1850000 / 3000) kWh/m2, ie 617 kWh/m2 From the charts, a luxury hotel will make the 'good category if the annual combined gas and electricity consumption, in primary energy terms, is less than 300 + (90 x 3.5) kWh/m*, ie 615 kWh/m2 of primary energy. Therefore your hotel just fails to make the “good category”.