When a boutique hotel in Melrose, Johannesburg needed to expand due to high occupancy levels, it was found that the additional load that the expansion would place on the electrical grid would necessitate an upgrade of the already over-taxed electricity supply. According to James Peech, owner of the Peech Hotel, “the hotel was at the maximum load allowable without an upgrade to its supply at the point where it needed to expand from 10 bedrooms to 16 bedrooms”.

A basic energy audit conducted by solar hot water specialists, Solar Heat Exchangers, revealed that replacing the entire compliment of electrically powered conventional hot water cylinders would reduce the load requirement enough to build the additional rooms that would also be supplied by solar heated water.

Furthermore, the cost of replacing the electrical hot water cylinders would amount to only double the cost of upgrading the power supply without the lengthy lead time associate with the latter. The cost savings over time in terms of reduced electricity consumption made it a financially attractive proposition and Solar Heat Exchangers was contracted to do the replacement which consists of nine 282 litre close-coupled systems with flat plate solar collectors to make up a total capacity of 2 538 litres of solar heated water for the hotel.

The solar hot water installation is very much in keeping with the hotel’s other green credentials which include grey water recycling, the installation of energy-efficient lighting,  double-layered roof insulation, the use of ecological detergents and cleaning agents and a recycling programme. The motivation behind these measures is for the operation to become as sustainable as possible, says Peech, pointing out that green considerations are not yet part of the hospitality industry’s rating system.

Through converting to solar thermal water heating, the hotel has been able to expand by the required number of rooms “without any increase in overall monthly electricity consumption” and guests are responding very positively to the green measures employed.

According to Lize Jennings, Project Manager at Sustainable Energy Africa, a non profit organisation promoting sustainable energy approaches in Southern Africa,  and based on energy audits conducted in a number of hospitality operations, energy consumption attributable to water heating in small hotels amounts to between 25% and 35% of the total energy consumption. Solar water heating can reduce the required electricity needed for water heating by up to 60%.

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