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HVAC systems for hotels are typically required to create the most comfortable environment for guests, so their stay can be great experience. Of course, that is expected to be done with reliable and efficient technologies.
Customer experience is a priority for any hotel, as customer experience is what the hospitality industry is all about.
Nowadays consumers have hundreds of choices when planning their vacation or a business stay, so consumers tend to look at what a hotel can offer and how comfortable it will feel. Hotels, then, need to make a memorable impression for guests to first choose that property and then come back again.
HVAC systems are an important part in creating customer experience in hotels helping the facility to be responsive to customers’ comfort expectations. But it does not stop with that. They also have a significant impact on buildings operating costs and profits.
In addition to these aspects relating user experience, there are also aspects relating to CO2 emissions and the need to reduce them, in accordance with European decarbonization goals.
As reported by the European Union, the building sector is responsible for approximately 40% of energy consumption and 36% of CO2 emissions in the EU. That is the reason why in 2021 the European Union has decided to align the rules for the energy performance of buildings with the European Green Deal and decarbonize the EU’s building stock by 2050, also defining a roadmap with intermediate targets, starting from 2030, when “Fit for 55” targets need to be met.
Within this context, space conditioning is identified as a major contributor to buildings energy consumptions, and both new buildings and renovation projects will have to have to integrate space conditioning solutions able to consume less and minimize buildings’ carbon footprint.
So, there is a number of aspects that should be taken into account when designing a HVAC system for hotels.
Thermal comfort and Indoor Air Quality
Nowadays, hotels, despite their category, they all aim at offering a memorable experience to customers, which depend primarily on comfort.
A good customer experience cannot be separated from thermal comfort, which needs to be guaranteed in all areas of the hotel – rooms, lobby, pool and gym area, restaurants, and ballrooms.
Comfort cooling and heating are then required in these facilities and chillers and/or heat pumps need to be properly sized to meet the cooling and heating demand of the different areas of the building.
The same goes for Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) – another very important aspect to consider – as the multitude of people in the different areas of a hotel deserve to breathe clean air.
That is one of aim of well-designed ventilation systems, which are great tools to clean air in indoor environment through air-exchange and air filtration.
Read more here about the importance of Indoor Air Quality
Another interesting aspect that Daikin is very much focused on, is IAQ monitoring, as monitoring and tracking is fundamental to take actions and make improvements.
By integrating the Daikin IEQ sensor, the HVAC system can benefit from an Indoor Environmental Quality Sensor able to monitor and track indoor conditions through a set of indoor air quality parameters, so facility managers can have a clear idea of the Indoor Air Quality status in the building they manage.
Click here to know how Daikin can help monitoring IAQ
Besides thermal comfort and IAQ, another aspect that should considering, especially when working at a renovation project, is that the new space conditioning system should help meeting environmental targets.
Most of the times hospitality facilities use boilers for space heating, which are often detrimental to the achievement of sustainability targets.
Heat pumps are recognized as far better solutions for space heating, allowing to consume significantly less than boilers, resulting in less emissions and savings on operative costs. That means heat pumps should be preferred over boilers in the design of new HVAC systems for new or renovated hotels, or should be integrated with boilers, so their impact in terms of emissions and energy consumptions can be drastically limited.
Hot sanitary water
Hotels need cooling to create the comfort every guest is looking for. But they also need hot sanitary water, which can be provided with a number of systems’ configuration.
The first one allows chiller or heat pumps to assist boilers through heat recovery, in the production of hot sanitary water. This is an option that allows hydronic units to support boilers and drastically reduce energy consumptions and related carbon emissions.
The other option would be using air sourced heat pumps and water to water heat pumps in a cascade configuration, so the combination of water to water and air sourced heat pumps can provide the hotel with hot sanitary water at expected temperature, still offering operating savings and lower CO2 emissions than systems integrating boilers.
That can be achieved with both chiller and heat pumps featuring heat recovery, which allows hydronic units to support boilers in hot sanitary water production, drastically reducing energy consumptions and related carbon emissions.
All these are all examples of system configurations that can help achieving thermal goals, sustainability and energy efficiency targets at the same time. Of course, Daikin has come up with specific solutions, check those including the Small Inverter Heat Pump – a Series that is particularly relevant to the hotel sector.
Low noise
Low noise is crucial when designing an HVAC system for hotels, so guests can have the best possible experience. The lower the noise produced by the HVAC system, the better for the occupants. So, at a design stage of the HVAC system, it is always worth considering technology that can reduce noise emissions from the system. All Daikin units, for instance, are designed to limit noise emission levels, and when needed can further reduce them with the “reduced noise” option available on any machine. Then to further reduce noise levels at certain times of the day, when units noise emissions can be further reduced through fan speed control could be considered.
Energy efficiency and building load variation
As HVAC systems usually consume a good portion of the total energy used in a hotel, it is important to choose energy efficient HVAC solutions.
In the case of chillers or heat pumps systems, it is important to consider technology that can efficiently perform both at full and partial load.
In fact, hotels’ load typically vary depending on the season and occupancy. That has a significant impact on the energy efficiency of the building, and it is important that the variation in load demand of the building is considered.
Part-load efficiency refers to the ability of a system to handle energy use at part load and should be taken into consideration when specifying a chiller, so that it can deliver the exact load requirement with the minimum power input.
Read more here about Daikin iCM control solution
Reliability and monitoring
Remote monitoring & control are very relevant aspects in HVAC projects involving hotels.
Monitoring and tracking not only helps getting a complete overview of how the HVAC system is performing, but also allows taking actions needed to make improvements. This is why it is important to have a system that can be monitored, controlled – even from remote – and that can allow facility managers to take preventive maintenance actions, which ensure systems’ efficiency and reliability.
Daikin has developed their own solutions to allow that. Daikin on Site (DoS), specifically, allows engineers across the world to monitor, manage and control HVAC systems in real time, directly from the cloud. And this has allowed in many cases service managers to remotely access HVAC equipment during COVID-19 and take preventive actions without even visiting the site.
Daikin on Site makes active remote monitoring possible, allowing visualization, monitoring and data collection on all units installed on the site or across multiple sites, exponentially increasing technical support capacity.
DoS is a remote monitoring tool by Daikin, that can provide 24/7 real time data, all year round, tracking chiller and air handling units’ plants and their correct functionality. All this to allow plant owners to take preventive actions and avoid extra costs associated with breakdowns and downtime.
Every time there is an alarm, plant managers can easily detect the issue and find the right solution. Through this platform they can evaluate all the parameters in real time and if there is a need for any settings adjustment, they can act remotely. All of this allows both to improve units’ operation and management and allows to increase units’ reliability.
DoS also allows to plan technicians’ work, giving them the possibility to be prepared on issues, possible solutions and spare parts that might be needed, speeding up work. Allowing them to work efficiently and reduce HVAC plants recovery time.
Besides that, DoS allows to create periodical reports of the system performance or energy audits, which help keeping the system as efficient as possible.
For all these reasons Daikin on Site has become fundamental because it is able to increase the level of efficiency and reliability of a HVAC plant, even (almost completely) from remote.
Would you be interested in visiting the Daikin factories where all the mentioned technologies are designed and manufactured? Then, get in touch here.