Occupancy sensors used to be the cutting-edge tool in energy management. Placing a sensor on the ceiling in a guestroom to determine whether the room is occupied and having that sensor “talk” to the thermostat is now widely accepted and has even evolved.
Now, those sensors communicate with other tools in the room, they are networked and monitored over the Internet, and thermostats are programmed with intricate precision.
“The next step in the evolution is merging the technologies to allow more interoperability,” said Jeff Sobieski, COO of Telkonet.
For instance, Telkonet is working on a Zigbee platform that will allow its occupancy sensor to communicate with a door lock on the same system, improving the ability to determine occupancy. It will also communicate with the lighting control, so lights can be dimmed and blinds can be closed when a guest leaves the room. Eventually, all of these options will be available to the guest from the in-room television, Sobieski said.
At the same time, Onity is focusing its major efforts on temperature setbacks in the room. SensorStat from Onity allows a hotel operator to limit what temperatures the thermostat is set to, determine a setback temperature for when the room is unoccupied and determine a setback temperature for when the room hasn’t been sold.
“All of the thermostats communicate to a server that resides on site,” said Brian Bevins, business development manager for Onity’s energy-management division. “Occupancy information is available and thermostats can be regulated from the front desk. Or the maintenance man can do it remotely from his laptop at home.”
In the numbers
50-70 percent of energy bill related to heating cooling
31 percent of energy saved after cleaning AC units
250 percent ROI in dollars after having AC units cleaned
1,500 ChemTrom service providers across U.S.
Source: Howard Cohen, president of ChemTron
For an estimate on how much Onity can lower utility bills, see their energy-savings calculator here.
