The Phuket News’ Environment Desk recently spoke with Treepop Paojeen, Director of Engineering at the Mövenpick Resort & Spa, Karon Beach Phuket. In a recent article, we explored the esteemed property’s water conservation and recycling initiatives. In this follow-up we will look at a few of its energy conservation projects.
Starting with clear targets, Treepop says the goal for the coming year is to reduce energy consumption to 79 killowatt hours (kWh) per room per year – from 81kWh currently, and 84kWh previously.
“We will continue to install and implement new systems, replacing old electronic system with new, more efficient ones,” he said.
To reach the target, Treepop’s engineering team are currently focused on several projects, which include the installation of energy-efficient LED (Light-emitting diode) lights throughout the property, especially in the main lobby, as well as the implementation of heat recovery units for water heating, and automation systems for improved energy regulation.
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A total of 105 villas on the Karon property are currently being cooled by a central air conditioning unit, with their hot water supplied by some 36 electrical heating units.
“The existing electric heaters can only heat 60 litres at a time, and to operate, all together cost us about B1.1 million per year in electricity.”
But Treepop’s research and calculations suggest that it will be possible to heat the villas’ water without using any electricity, and thus eliminating related costs from the overheads.
By applying a simple, yet clever technology known as heat exchange, or heat recovery, Treepop is projecting significant savings in the near future.
“We will install heat recovery water heater (HRWH) units, which can heat 100 litres of water at a time, and do so without additional electricity, but by recycling heat from compressed gas, a by-product in the air conditioning process.”
“We will upgrade about half of the rooms this year, which will cost about B2 million, then the other half [and another B2 million] next year.”
In other words, the return on investment would only be about three and half years, and after that, the savings would equal about B1mn annually.
He noted that the HRWH units are rated for about 10 years, before any significant repairs/maintenance are expected.
Aside from this, Treepop’s team is also looking to install various automation control systems.
“Automating our various control systems should help us to reduce our electricity consumption by 30 per cent. For example, we will install a Relay Control Unit (RCU) to help reduce electricity wasted in guests’ rooms, to automatically shut off lights and air conditioning when guests leave their rooms for extended periods.”
Automation will extend to the property’s common systems too, with savings to be realized simply by installing sensors that can optimally regulate internal temperatures, fan speeds and air flow for the central chiller, ventilation and kitchen exhaust systems, for example.
And there are other projects he has his eye on for the near future. One interesting project under consideration is solar powered Tuk Tuks. The hotel already has electric vehicles ready to transport guests around the resort, so upgrading to solar power would be almost seamless and inexpensive. Watch this space.