EEG to Audit Sun Resorts’ Energy

Lebanon-based Energy Efficiency Group has signed an agreement with Mauritius-based luxury hotel group Sun Resorts Limited to undertake energy audits across its whole portfolio.

Sun Resorts own and manage five prestigious hotels in Mauritius, and one island resort in the Maldives. EEG has signed an agreement to carry out energy audits of all six resorts, in addition to its central laundry in Mauritius.

The project starts in June and is expected to be completed by the end of the year. EEG will be looking at the opportunities for individual energy efficiency measures in every property, in addition to building the appropriate group-wide energy, sustainability dashboards and employee engagement.

EEG has carried out energy audits in the past for individual hotels from other hotel groups, including Four Seasons, Raffles, Moevenpick and Rotana.

In other hotel news, Onity has released details of its humidity management program at the CoCo Key Hotel and Water Resort in Orlando, Fla. Onity uses its SensorStat DDC Energy Management System and the web-based InnGENIUS monitoring system by EcoLodgix at the 55,000 square foot facility.

Through the use of motion detection and the InnGENIUS software, the Onity EMS can recognize when a room is unoccupied, monitor temperature and humidity, and adjust the thermostat to automatically regulate the individual units to setback levels established by the hotel operations staff.

The temperatures then drift to the pre-established setback levels and the Onity thermostat engages its patented dehumidification process when necessary to reduce the dampness in the air. This keeps the moisture levels down without allowing the room temperature to get too low. When the guest returns to the room, the software reverts to the guest’s desired setpoint, and the guest again has full control of their thermostat settings.

The hotel saw energy savings of 20 percent within the first three months of installing the new EMS.

In February, hoteliers from throughout The Bahamas attended the launch of the Caribbean Hotel Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Action-Advanced Program. The programs aim to improve the competitiveness of small and medium sized hotels (with fewer than 400 rooms) through improved use of energy, with the emphasis on renewable energy and micro-generation. The first phase of the program involves energy audits of participating hotels and recommendations on how to improve energy savings. The energy audits will then be transformed into financial proposals that could be presented to international or local financial institutions to obtain funding for implementation. The program will fund energy audits up to a total amount of $1 million for participating hotels in the Bahamas.