STANDBY POWER DIESEL GENERATORS
WAITING STANDBY
ON
Standby power has become business-critical in the hospitality sector, says Brian Muirie of diesel generator specialist Dieselec Thistle. He outlines the specification considerations affecting diesel generators in hotels
W
hether they’re away for a leisure break or a business trip, hotel guests expect a level of comfort equal to – or
beyond – what they could expect at home, so power cuts are a big no-no. And at the profitable luxury and boutique end of the marketplace, where impeccable attention to detail is a pre-requisite, the pressure to ensure guests enjoy a perfect stay is even greater. However, the trend towards investing in standby power systems for hotels is not just being driven by the increasingly competitive marketplace and the expectations of discerning customers. Standby power is a matter of risk mitigation and, increasingly, it is becoming specified for hotels because the risks of power outages have escalated to business-critical levels.
Power hungry One of the reasons why this has increased in hotels is that we live in such a power-hungry society. The UK may have embraced the need to conserve energy but, as a nation, we are using more than ever, which puts the grid under pressure and increases risk of outages. Add to that the seemingly established trend for harsh winters putting strain on power demand, and it’s clear that the already increased risk escalates at certain times of year too. This increase in energy demand is
echoed by hotels. Power showers, TVs and air conditioning in every room make many hotels power-hungry beasts, and over
www.cibsejournal.com October 2012 CIBSE Journal 25
The risks of power outages have escalated to business-critical levels
the past few years, the number of mobile electronic devices that guests typically bring with them has only added to hotels’ power consumption. Laptops, mobile phones, iPods and tablets may not use much charge individually, but multiply a combination of two or three of these devices for every guest in a 150-bed hotel and it’s easy to see how much more electricity a hotel requires now compared to 10, or even five, years ago.
Increased risk This increased risk for hotels is more complex than the amount of power consumed. Hotels’ use of technology to enhance efficiency is integral to operations, which intrinsically increases the risk. For larger hotel chains, most bookings
are now taken centrally and any information about reservations, guest contact details or billings has to be retrieved from a computerised system. Online booking systems that are confirmed in real time hold booking data online and securely, and hotels can only access the data via the approved IP location. As a result, if the power goes down, the hotel’s management team is powerless to check anyone in or out, contact arriving guests to inform them of the problem, or check occupancy levels. While some hotels provide guests with
a key to their room on arrival, most have consigned the key to history and, instead, allocate rooms with an electro-magnetic card key. But if a power outage means the card readers no longer work, guests will no longer be able to access their rooms.
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