ENERGY IN RETAIL, HOTELS & LEISURE


Daikin’s Madoka Plus controller offers an ecosystem of intelligent and wireless sensors for monitoring room conditions and supporting automated climate control. The system can adjust temperature based on occupancy, switch off systems when windows are open, activate dry mode in high humidity and optimise ventilation based on CO₂ levels.


also have a commercial impact, as social value commitments and green financing increasingly link funding to measurable decarbonisation. Direct electric heating is


Where hotel energy actually goes


Cutting a hotel’s energy use starts with HVAC and hot water. Martin Passingham from Daikin UK looks at the key opportunities for energy savings and what they do for room availability and revenue maximisation.


Martin Passingham


Commercial business manager at Daikin UK


www.daikin.co.uk/commercial A


bout 70% of a typical hotel’s energy use sits with HVAC, hot water and refrigeration. Across buildings generally,


HVAC alone can account for up to 40% of total consumption. In a typical hotel, space heating uses 31%, space cooling 15% and hot water 17%, with ventilation and refrigeration making up the rest.


That’s a big share of the bill


concentrated in one group of systems, which is why it’s the obvious place to start. There are three areas worth looking at: energy optimisation, which covers controls, energy waste management and maintenance; proactive asset replacement regimes; and how the hotel generates hot water.


Energy optimisation Understanding an existing system starts with visibility. Mapping energy use shows where consumption is highest and provides the data needed to build an effective optimisation strategy. Hotel bedrooms are typically the biggest source of energy use, but balancing efficiency with guest comfort is critical. Monitoring true room occupancy is the most practical way to reduce waste. Key card and window contact


integration prevents systems conditioning empty rooms or operating


EIBI | SEPTEMBER 2026


while a window is open. Flexible setback keeps temperatures within comfortable limits and allows rooms to recover quickly when guests return. Simplified room controls also make it easier for guests to manage comfort, reducing complaints and engineer callouts. Madoka Plus, for example, puts temperature, mode, fan speed and louvre position on one screen, alongside programmable energy-saving functions and real-time feedback. Optional intelligent sensors can monitor doors and windows, motion, temperature, humidity and CO₂. Blocked filters are another hidden source of inefficiency. Hotel bedrooms are high-dust environments, and frequent linen changes add to the load. A dirty filter reduces performance and can shorten equipment life. Auto Clean ducted units address this by collecting dust automatically for removal with a standard vacuum. Central control brings room-level


data together. A controller such as the Daikin i provides a single view of every unit, allowing setback, set-point limits and mode restrictions to be applied across the hotel rather than programmed room by room. Integration with existing systems


extends this further. Daikin units can connect to a BMS through Modbus, KNX or HTTP, and to hotel booking systems such as Oracle Opera PMS. The PMS connection can pre-condition rooms ahead of arrival, improving guest comfort, while giving reception visibility of room-unit operation. Units can also be switched off following checkout, delivering direct energy savings. Daikin Cloud Plus provides


estate-wide energy reporting, site benchmarking and floor-plan mapping. Its predictive maintenance capabilities can identify potential component failures early, allowing repairs to be planned rather than handled as emergencies. This reduces downtime, protects room availability and helps maintain revenue.


Proactive asset replacement Scheduled HVAC equipment replacement protects room availability and puts you ahead of a breakdown. Newer systems run more efficiently and take out the cost of emergency repairs. A well-maintained VRV system


can run for more than 15 years, but efficiency declines and maintenance costs increase over time. Parts availability can also become an issue, particularly on older R-407C systems. Leave replacement too long and a planned project can become an emergency, with rooms unavailable while equipment or parts are sourced. The efficiency case can be


significant. VRV 5 is more than twice as efficient in cooling as VRV II, largely due to variable-speed compressors. For a 150-bedroom hotel with twelve 10HP systems, the difference in running costs can deliver an ROI of around three years, based on 33p/kWh and excluding removal of the old plant. This doesn’t account for reactive maintenance, out- of-warranty repairs, lost room revenue or guest compensation.


Hot water generation Hot water accounts for around a sixth of hotel energy use and is often the reason gas boilers remain in place. Decarbonising hot water is therefore critical to achieving net zero. It can


straightforward to install but expensive to operate and can place significant demands on incoming electrical capacity – often a major retrofit constraint. Where space is limited, the challenge


is producing high-temperature hot water from a compact footprint. Commercial heat pumps using low- GWP refrigerants such as R-290 can significantly reduce carbon emissions while maintaining performance. Modular designs minimise refrigerant charge, provide flexibility and can free up plant space.


Calculating true peak hot water demand through actual measurement is the best way to minimise heat pump plant and optimise system design to meet the needs of the building. Calculating based on bed count or total daily volume using CIBSE Guide G is also a good design method although it may not give a result that reflects the actual usage profile of a particular hotel. The calculation itself is straightforward. Take 150 beds at 200 litres per bed to a 60°C setpoint, with a 10°C supply temperature and a 1.10 safety factor. Allow an eight-hour reheat over two cycles and you need roughly 16,500 litres of storage and 133kW of heating capacity. Change the reheat window or the number of cycles and both figures move. Storage volume, reheat time and distribution temperatures decide whether the system performs, so involve the manufacturer’s design team early.


Where to start Monitoring and collating energy data shows what assets actually need. The diagnosis comes first; the strategy follows. Without the data, you’re guessing which systems to adjust and when. Start by reviewing the asset register. Consider equipment age, energy costs, engineer callouts, replacement parts and the revenue lost through downtime. This turns replacement into a planned investment rather than an emergency. Work can be scheduled around occupancy, phased to spread capital costs and delivered on a timescale that suits the hotel. ■


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