CHP
&EPA COMBINED HEAT AND
POWER PARTNERSHIP
Combined Heat and Power
An Energy Efficient Choice for Mid-Size to
Large Hotels
Combined heat and power (CHP),
also known as cogeneration, can be
an excellent solution for controlling
energy costs while improving the
reliability of power supply for your hotel.
With CHP, your hotel can:
Reduce operating costs and control
rising energy costs.
Ensure the availability of reliable
hot water and electricity supply.
• Increase energy efficiency and
improve environmental
performance.
What Is CHP?
CHP is the production of both power
and heat from a single fuel source. By
making use of the waste heat from on-
site electricity production for heating or
cooling, CHP increases fuel efficiency
and decreases energy costs.
For hotels with 100 to 500 rooms, CHP
system sizes typically range from 60
kilowatts (kW) to 350 kW, depending
on the size and energy requirements of
the hotel.
For information on CHP systems for hotels and casinos
with more than 500 rooms, see the CHP Partnership's
companion fact sheet, CHP for Resort Hotels and Casinos.1
What Can CHP Do for You?
Reduce Energy Costs
With fuel prices at a record high, energy
costs have been rising for hotels. CHP
offers a solution to control energy costs.
The hospitality industry spends nearly $4
billion per year on energy. Increasing
energy costs are a major concern for
hotels, particularly as demand for more
hotel amenities, such as restaurants,
lounges, retail shops, and recreational
facilities, has increased electricity and
natural gas consumption industry-wide.
The market analysis for hotels and casinos
developed by EPA's CHP Partnership1
shows that about 10,000 of the nearly
48,000 hotels in the United States have
energy characteristics suitable for current
CHP technology. More than 1,000 of
these sites are likely to meet a simple
payback on their investment within five
years or less.
Available at www.epa.gov/chp/documents/hotel_casino_anolysis.pdf
-------
Increase Energy Efficiency and Improve
Environmental Performance
With the improved efficiency of CHP, operating and
maintenance costs are reduced while environmental
performance is improved. The power and heat
produced on site by the CHP system offsets
purchases of electricity and fuel for boilers. The same
reductions in purchased electricity that provide
energy cost savings also reduce the environmental
impact of hotel operations by reducing air pollution.
CHP is a best practice for energy efficiency in hotels
and will reduce your property's environmental
impact through reduced electricity consumption.
Ensure the Availability of Hot Water and
Electricity Supply
CHP provides a reliable source of energy to keep
hotel guests comfortable and safe by producing
simultaneous power and heat 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week. CHP integrates seamlessly into existing
heating and electrical systems, provides a steady
supply of hot water, and can be configured to provide
backup power in the event of a utility outage.
CHP in Use at U.S. Hotels
In 2007, 109 hotels in 21 states were utilizing CHP systems, representing more than 70 MW of electricity
capacity. Of the existing CHP systems in the hotels sector, the majority are reciprocating engine systems
operating on natural gas. Many of these systems were installed during the late 1980s and are continuing to
operate reliably and efficiently today. In recent years, the mix of technologies used for CHP has broadened to
include microturbine, fuel cell, and gas turbine installations.
The following case studies provide examples of recent successful CHP installations at hotels.
Embassy Suites Hotel, San Luis Obispo,
California
The Embassy Suites Hotel in San Luis Obispo,
California is a full-service hotel with 196 guest
rooms, 11 meeting rooms, a pool and fitness
center, and a restaurant and lounge. Powerhouse
Energy (PHE), a Partner in the CHP Partnership,
installed an 85 kW CHP system at the hotel in
July 2005.
The reciprocating engine-based system provides
approximately 40 percent of the hotel's average
electrical demand and more than 75 percent of the
average thermal demand (including all domestic
hot water needs during the summer months).
The Embassy Suites management chose to have
PHE install, own, and operate the system,
guaranteeing the hotel an energy savings on their
electrical and thermal energy costs. The CHP
system installed at the hotel provides typical
savings of $900 to $1,200 per month, which should
save Embassy Suites $180,000 over the 15-year
life of the energy service contract.
Starwood's Sheraton New York Hotel and
Towers
In June 2005, Starwood Hotels and Resorts
Worldwide Inc., a Partner in the CHP Partnership,
began operating a 250-kW fuel cell CHP system at
the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers, a 1,750-
room facility and the brand's flagship property. The
fuel cell was manufactured by FuelCell Energy,
another Partner in the CHP Partnership, and is
owned, operated, and maintained by PPL
Corporation.
The CHP system—fueled by natural gas and
located on a fourth-floor rooftop—provides about
10 percent of the hotel's electricity and hot water
and is designed to supply backup electricity for a
portion of the hotel. The system will save Starwood
an estimated $70,000 per year in energy costs.
The New York State Energy Research and
Development Authority provided a grant for the
system through its Distributed Generation and
CHP Program.
For more information on these and other Partners in the CHP Partnership, visit our Web site at unww.epa.gov/chp/chp^artners.htm
-------
Options for CHP in Hotels
CHP technologies are flexible, providing a wide range
of sizing options. The right CHP system for your hotel
will be determined through consultations and analysis
that will include a site-specific evaluation of your
hotel's electricity and thermal loads.
CHP is typically sized to match the thermal demand
of the hotel and usually provides 50 to 70 percent of
a hotel's electricity needs. This approach to CHP
system design, known as thermal base-loading,
maximizes both the efficiency and the return on
investment for CHP. Water heating is often the
main thermal load met by a CHP system. Space
heating, space cooling, laundry, restaurant, and pool
heating loads can also be met by an appropriately
sized CHP system. During the design phase of a new
construction project or when adding or replacing
boilers or chillers, hotels might want to consider
installing CHP instead of new boilers or chillers to
help offset capital equipment costs.
Hotels in the 100- to 300-room size range can use
small 60 to 250 kW CHP systems with reciprocating
engines, fuel cells, or microturbines that supply hot
water for domestic hot water, space heating, and
laundry needs. Larger hotels with central cooling
systems can use larger CHP systems (i.e., 300 kW
and greater) by incorporating absorption chillers that
increase thermal energy recovery and provide both
air conditioning and heating.
Because maintenance and service contracts are
available for the type of CHP systems that are
suitable for a typical hotel, no additional expertise or
expense on the part of facility staff is required.
You might also want to consider a broader effort to
benchmark the overall energy use of your hotel. By
following ENERGY STAR® strategies for energy
management, your company can take control of
Is My Hotel a Good Fit for CHP?
• Do you have more than 100 rooms?*
• Do you pay more than 7 cents per
kilowatt-hour for electricity?*
• Have you already implemented other
energy efficiency measures?
• Are you concerned about rising utility
costs?
• Do your guests complain of insufficient hot
water?
• Has your hotel ever experienced a utility
outage?
• Does your hotel have a central chilled
water system?
• Are you planning to add new boilers or
replace existing boilers?
If you answered "yes"to three or more of these
questions, your hotel might be a good
candidate for CHP.
*lf the answer to either of these first two
questions is "no," CHP probably will not be
a strong economic or technical fit for your
hotel. Please consider the many other
energy efficiency measures available to
hotels to decrease energy costs and
improve facility operations. Resources
containing additional information are listed
on the back of this fact sheet.
energy costs, improve your bottom line, and help
protect the environment. In fact, pursuing energy
efficiency improvements before installing a CHP
system will help ensure that you have taken
advantage of existing energy savings opportunities
and that you will install a correctly sized system.
-------
What Resources Are Available?
Technical Assistance
The CHP Partnership has developed services and
tools to assist those considering implementing CHP
at their facilities. Visit the Streamlining Project
Development pages of our Web site at
------- |