Marrying sustainability with style
A brand new hotel is a metaphorical blank canvas, so in a bid to make it one of the most energy efficient hotels in London, Siemens were consulted.
Apparently, just 25% of the total costs in the lifecycle of a hotel are for the concept, design and construction, compared with 75% for its operation. It’s therefore not surprising that the sector is increasingly looking at ways to improve the operational efficiency of its properties.
For a new build property, there is an even bigger opportunity to maximise these savings by ensuring that energy efficiency is a key part of the hotel’s concept. This has been the approach for the latest addition to the Grange Group’s portfolio, an independent chain of luxury hotels in London.
With a commitment to be one of the most energy efficient hotels in London, the Grange Tower Bridge Hotel design by Buchanan Architects has ensured that sustainable practices and environmental features, which include renewable solar and PV panels, high performance glazing and low energy lighting, are all part of the DNA of this hotel.
Moni Dhanjal from The Grange Tower Bridge Hotel comments: “This hotel is about redefining the luxury property market for central London. We want our business and leisure guests to enjoy the highest levels of comfort in the bedrooms and public areas. With a new build project there was a real opportunity to think about how we could marry that with a strong commitment to creating an energy efficient space. Working with like-minded partners and suppliers in the design and build of the hotel was an important part of achieving this aim and extended into every area of the building, ensuring that there were no compromises on the aesthetics, even in minor details.”
One of Grange’s key partners has been the Siemens Building Technologies division. Responsible for providing electrical infrastructure for the hotel and key elements of the building management system, the team has worked closely with Grange and other partners involved in the construction of the property to deliver energy efficient and flexible solutions, without compromising on quality and an aesthetically pleasing finish.
In terms of managing the hotel environment, Grange chose the Siemens Building Energy Management System (BEMS), Desigo, which helps to make efficient savings whilst ensuring the optimum level of comfort for hotel guests.
Nigel Galling, UK National Account Manager Hotels for Siemens, explains: “The flexibility of this system means that it can be tailored to suit the requirements of the building and can also be adapted to change or enhance the functionality in the future. A good example of the use of the system is the two penthouse suites which use the Desigo system to control the lighting in the room.”
Siemens’ Solution Partner, BAS Building Automation Solutions Ltd., installed the Desigo BEMS that resides upon an Ethernet network using BACnet/IP open protocol for communication. A key element of the project was to ensure heating and cooling demands are controlled to ensure energy efficiency, particularly where the use of waste heat from the condensed water loop was concerned and also to co-ordinate the borehole cooling and DHW sequences.
In addition, the public areas and the Health Club utilise the eu.bac-certified Desigo RX room automation system for energy efficient control of fan coil units and variable air volume (VAV) boxes to deliver the required temperatures for the hotel guests. The air handling units throughout the hotel are supplied with factory fitted Siemens Climatix controllers and these have been seamlessly integrated into the Desigo BEMS.
All the key functions of the BEMS are available via the Desigo Insight management station or remotely via a standard web interface. Plans are in place to begin an energy-monitoring regime by using data collected from various meters across the facility.
When it came to selecting the wiring accessories in the hotel suites, it was important that they fit in with the hotel’s modern look. The Crabtree range that was used, with screwless fittings, was easy to install, making this aspect of the fit out straight-forward and efficient, as well as delivering a professional finish to the rooms.
Away from the guest spaces is the plant room that houses the major infrastructure for providing an efficient, safe and effective power supply to the hotel. Working with its power partner ICW, Siemens has provided a totally integrated power solution to include medium voltage transformers and four LV switchboard panels (Essential, Non-essential, Life safety and Critical supplies) are all fully monitored and metered and complete with automatic changeover controls.
With a 14-storey west tower and 12-storey east tower, the two areas of the hotel are connected by a seven-storey central core. In each ‘tower’ the Siemens busbar trunking system feeds 27 three phased distribution boards on each floor via tap off units that connect to 370 Siemens single phase room distribution boards to provide power to each hotel room. Throughout the building, there are a further 40 Siemens distribution boards providing power to public areas of the hotel.
Dhanjal concluded: “We have formed a true partnership with Siemens to be able to realise our ambitions with this project. They always delivered on time and to the highest standards and we look forward to working together on new and innovative developments that we have in the pipeline.”
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