Exploring the benefits a BMS provides in managing a hotel and its hot water
Hotels are composed of many moving parts to provide guests with the most comfortable and positive experience possible. To provide the best on-demand comforts, the maintenance and management of a hotel’s building functions, such as light, heat, or hot water, is of the utmost importance. And with many appliances today being compatible with building management systems (BMS), controlling a hotel’s electrical and mechanical equipment has become a much simpler process. The use of the integrated system creates a holistic approach to hotel management, where learning about guests’ data usage via a computer-based control system can lead to a well-functioning hotel.
When looking specifically at controlling and monitoring hot water, for example, it’s a highly important part of any business, especially as it’s needed to keep a hotel’s doors open. There are many offerings for BMS-compatible water heaters, but selecting the right one, such as high-efficiency tankless water heaters, to supply guests with immediate hot water can also provide your business with long-term savings.
MONEY DOWN THE DRAIN
Imagine a guest waking up in the morning, turning on the shower, and waiting and waiting and waiting for hot water. This provides an inconvenience to the guest, but the time guests spend waiting for the water to heat up is money running straight down the drain.
Many tankless units offer precise load tracking, so the amount of energy consumed is directly correlated to the amount of water heated at any given time vs. having to heat and re-heat stored water with boilers and tanks. In the case of hotels, multiple tankless water heaters can be installed to provide redundancy. If one tankless water heater is at capacity, this means the next tankless unit will be turned on to provide guests with the hot water they need.
There are variations in the number of units serviceable by one BMS. For example, some more-robust offerings can connect up to 24 units and provide 4.8 million BTUs. An interlinked system like this provides the capability to monitor peak hot-water usage throughout the day. And the usage data that flows in from the BMS allows building managers to meet high demand by monitoring flow rates, operation hours, and more. All these management capabilities ensure your guests have immediate, never-ending hot water.
SHOW ME THE MONEY
Combining as many of the building’s functioning elements into a centralized command system helps manage peak energy demands but also provides cost-efficiencies that save money in the long run. With BMS-compatible tankless water heaters, management can remotely enable and disable units, monitor temperatures, output functions, and receive notifications on any unit errors.
Through all these BMS capabilities, management can determine the appropriate number of tankless units to turn on or off, thereby saving energy and reducing water waste. With a simple error code, the building maintenance team has a way to quickly locate and diagnose any potential issue with a tankless water heater. And error notifications provide management with the ability to keep the building’s equipment in optimal performance, thus creating longevity of the product and helping hotels reduce the costs associated with replacing or repairing old water heaters, which is often seen with tank units.
In terms of component integration, whether it’s maintaining generators, lighting, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, or hot water, a BMS provides exactly what is needed for an integrated approach to saving money and giving the guest a positive experience.
