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01/06/2004 |
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The impact of ‘invisible’ services
such as ventilation and air conditioning on the overall running
costs of an hotel are often overlooked – at an extreme
cost, says Mike Malina*.
Those superb plush exteriors that greet visitors
to some of our most impressive hotels often hide a multitude
of sins. While the hotel trade prides itself on providing
the very best of everything for its guests, it often falls
short when it comes to one of the most basic needs –
comfort. Poorly designed and commissioned air conditioning
often leaves occupants struggling to get the right temperature
and air quality in their rooms – and the energy wasted
by these systems is an expensive scandal.
Your guests need looking after, but your biggest
fixed asset is your building and if it’s in use 24/7
it will also need some serious care and attention.
‘Commissioning management’ might
be an unfamiliar term for many people, but it is an area of
growing importance. Commissioning used to mean that a group
of engineers would ensure the air and water systems of buildings
were properly balanced before they were handed over to the
building occupants. Today it has expanded to become a complex
art central to the design and operation of most commercial
properties, and it is a far more respected part of the construction
and maintenance process than it used to be.
A new authoritative study of the indoor environment
written by a group of respected researchers1 describes commissioning
as: ‘the process of ensuring that a building performs
according to its design intent and to suit the needs of its
owners and occupants’.
Legislation, like Part L of the Building Regulations,
has focused building owners and operators on the importance
of their building services. Commissioning specialists are
now part of the professional team and are often engaged at
design stage to make sure a building is actually commissionable.
Firms are now regularly called in long after
a building is up and running to carry out energy audits to
ensure owners meet building performance targets. Their efforts
should also help mitigate the effects of the Climate Change
Levy that is adding 15% to the bills of all commercial energy
consumers. Hotel managers are among a range of professions
now recognising the importance of finding just how much energy
their expensive building is using – and if that energy
is being used properly.
For example. controlling the temperature in
highly glazed buildings is difficult at all times of year
because of the vagaries of solar gain, so better control strategies
and improved insulation levels will be required to get the
building through the inspection process to meet the requirements
of the new building regulations as well as reducing running
costs.
The increase in air tightness levels for buildings
has also driven up demand for commissioning services and there
is a growing clamour for ‘Building MOT’s’,
which would ensure that, at least once a year, the safety
and business critical processes of a building – like
fire alarms and power back-up systems – are in full
working order.
Global framework agreements with international hotel chains
are coming into play as they see the benefits of having their
buildings controlled and managed by central teams of specialists.
This can even extend to strategies for ‘disaster management’
in the event of catastrophic power failures or even terrorist
attacks – as well as the rather more day-to-day elements
of heating and air conditioning maintenance.
Since September 11 there has been greater demand
for life safety testing of systems. Some of the major companies
have whole buildings on stand by to take over if the worst
happens, and commissioning specialists can take on the role
of making sure they are ready by carrying out simulation exercises,
for example.
On a day-to-day pragmatic level, we are fortunate
to have a range of wonderful technologies that can control
temperature and air quality in buildings, but these will fail
just as badly as their less sophisticated predecessors if
they are not tested properly and commissioned. And if they
are not performing as intended, then the whole design strategy
for your building is undermined and everybody loses.
Sometimes it takes years to fathom why systems
are not working properly and because of the time pressures
to finish buildings; it is often difficult to complete testing
before they are handed over after construction. We still come
across buildings with no balancing valves on fan coil units,
for example. We need to think about design for commissioning
and testing, to record the process and then ensure the documents
are kept safely somewhere on site so that the people responsible
for managing buildings can access and understand how the building
is supposed to work.
Methods for controlling the services also have
to be easily understood so that users can get the best out
of their building. There are a lot of bespoke control arrangements,
which are very good as long as they are tried and tested.
It is important not to be too clever and complex - one of
the most common problems is with the methods used to control
air conditioning chillers, for example.
Lighting is another area of major wastage. Hotels
often leave the lights blazing in their underground car parks
whether there is anyone there or not. It is very simple to
apply occupancy sensors with lighting these days, which means
only basic background illumination will run while the car
park is empty, but full lighting will come on when needed
– and the savings run into thousands of pounds per annum.
Getting water quality issues and boiler flue
positions right at the outset can also cut costs by avoiding
operational problems later on, but all of these things should
be part of a properly conceived ongoing process for validating
systems to ensure they are still running as intended. A validation
strategy is critical to the comfort and safety of hotel guests,
and will also ensure the efficient running of the building
as well as extending its useful life.
1 ‘Achieving the Desired Indoor Climate’
edited by Per Erik Nilsson
*Mike Malina is manager of the Energy Management
Division of The Commtech Group.
CONTACT
The Commtech Group
Breakfield
The Ullswater Business Park
Coulsdon
Surrey
CR5 2HS
Tel: 020 8668 0312
enquiry@commtechgroup.co.uk
Copyright 2004 Commtech Group -
by wickedweb.co.uk
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