5th Semester Housekeeping Notes 07/09/20

ENERGY AND WATER CONSERVATION

INTRODUCTION
Hospitality Industry has seen a tremendous growth in the past few decades. Tourism
has evolved in its nature and in concept. Certain terminologies like mass tourism,
sustainable tourism and responsible tourism have started coming into picture. Since
hotel industry plays a major part in the tourism of a place by not only providing the
best of the comfort but also helps the tourist in getting an experience of the culture of
the place. For example a tourist going to visit any place in Rajasthan might come
across the culture of Rajasthan within the periphery of the hotel in the form of the
dressing of the local people in Rajasthan, their local delicacy etc. However, being said
that at what cost the exceptional service is provided to the guests. The hotel industry
tends to utilise substantial amount of energy for providing the luxury to the guest. In
this paper we would discuss the sustainable alternates that can be used in the hotel
industry so that the utilisation of the natural resource would limit in its use.
ENERGY USE IN HOTELS
The energy use in hotel industry varies between the different types of hotels, size,
category, number of rooms, types of guests and location, climate zone and the
different type of amenities provided to the guests. The hotel's architecture is such that
it divides it into three distinct zones, that is:
 Guest area: Bedroom, Bathrooms and Toilets. Has varying energy loads
 Public Area: Lobby, Meeting halls, swimming pool etc. Spaces with high rate
of heat exchange with outdoor environment and high internal loads
 Service Area: Kitchen, Offices, store rooms etc. These are basically energy
intensive areas.
Various research regarding the energy use in different areas of the hotel states that
energy consumption in terms of electricity compared to that of gas and oil. It is a big
misconception that the reduction in the energy use in the hotels can be achieved by
installing and using expensive technologies. A proper evaluation of sustainability of a

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specific site needs to integrate considerations from the domain of regional land
planning, appropriate site selection, site planning and design.
 Appropriate Site Selection: A key consideration in the sustainable
development of a facility is to ensure equilibrium not only with the ecological
system but also the social, cultural and economic aspects of the space within
which the development is to be carried out. Therefore, facility developers must
familiarize themselves adequately with the essential qualities of the sites
chosen for development. Moreover, the choice of site will, by way of local
climate and topography, have a substantial effect on the energy needs of the
facility, as well as the availability of required material and energy resources.
Proper use of environmentally friendly construction materials, maximizing the
use of renewable and/or passive air conditioning and shading/ lighting
technologies and minimizing internal transport requirements are some of the
bioclimatic design tools available for mitigating energy use and environmental
impact already in the design phase.
When a site has been designated as appropriate to meet the needs example
energy efficiency then proper attention should be given for the cultural and
ecological sensitivity of that area and how it relates to the other factors like
accessibility, carrying capacity of the area, availability of support services and
amenities.
 Availability of Local Resources: Renewable energy resources that is solar,
wind, hydro etc are considered as appropriate choice in improving energy use
due to their low environmental impacts. Information on the available energy
needs should be soughted and compared with locally available resources to
determine the choice of technology. Information on the estimated energy needs
or loads and the type of energy needed should be found and compared with
locally available resources. Solar (Thermal and PV) energy systems, wind
power and heat pump plants, biomass fuelled systems and micro hydro plants
are some of the technologies that are commonly used these days.
 Implication on Overall cost and Services provided: Measures of energy
conservation are carried out in such a way that the guests well being are not affected.

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It is evident that the hotels can adapt specific energy saving measures which will be
appreciated by the group of eco tourist who would forgo some of the luxuries, at the
same time the group of tourists who are there for mass tourism or the tourists
preferring luxury would complain. so along with adapting environmental friendly
measures it is also essential to educate the tourists/ guests for the optimization of
energy use.
 Design Aspects:
 Around 20% - 30% energy can be saved that is used for space conditioning
can be achieved by zoning and/or using temperature control systems in
individual rooms.
 By installing occupancy sensor saving can save upto 35% - 45% of the
lighting cost. Additional saving can be done by using energy efficient lighting
equipment and by maximizing the use of natural light.
 Passive and renewable space conditioning options should be adopted,
including cooling or heating, passive ventilation and natural lighting.
 Structured energy management schemes and interactive/ intelligent energy
monitoring systems are powerful tools to minimize the energy consumption in
hotels

ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN HOTELS

An energy management system (EMS) is a system that combines monitor and control
capabilities to provide optimum efficiency for energy use within the environment managed
by the system. Such systems generally perform the action of automatically switching off the
lights and lowering of the temperature during the non demand times. The EMS are
specifically required for monitoring the building's temperature inside and outside buildings
and controlling the boilers and coolers.
The main energy consuming systems in hotels are:
 Heating
 Air-conditioning and ventilation
 Hot water production
 Lighting
 Electricity
 Cooking

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BENEFITS OF EMS

 Lower Energy Use: In-use devices and lighting in an unoccupied room, such as lights
and TVs, will be turned off. In addition, thermostats can drift to a temperature that
requires less demand on the HVAC system.
 Improve Guest Experience: An EMS can prepare a guestroom at the time of check-
in till the guest arrives at the room. This setting adjusts the thermostat to a
comfortable temperature, turns on welcoming room music, provides a welcome
greeting on the TV, and turns on necessary lighting. An EMS also recognizes when a
room is occupied by a guest, which can help avoid unnecessary housekeeping
disruptions.
 Optimize Preventative Maintenance: An EMS can track HVAC run-times and
notify hotel maintenance when filter and battery updates are required. This feature
allows proactive maintenance before guest complaints and avoids generic,
unnecessary replacements.
 Forecast HVAC Problems: An EMS can help identify faulty or failing HVAC
equipment by analyzing run-times as compared to similar units. This feature alerts a
person to look over the urgent maintenance needs, such as when room temperatures
drop too low during the winter season.

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MAJOR CERTIFICATIONS IN INDIA

SL CERTIFICATI ORGANIZAT
DESCRIPTION SOURCE
NO ON NAME ION
1 Leadership in U.S. Green LEED certification confirms that www.usgbc.or
Energy and Building the building has been made g
Environmental Council keeping green principles in
Design mind. It gives the commercial
building a scorecard meeting
standards to such areas as
location and transportation etc
(Montoya, 2010)
2 Green Key Hotel Environmental certification www.greengl
Global Association of program for hotels. Provides obe.com
Canada, technical guidance. Participating
LRAworldwid facilities are awarded depending
e Inc on the adherence to the criteria
(Griffin et al, 2002)
3 ECOTEL HVS The ECOTEL certification www.ecotelho
certification remains as one of the important tels.com
programs for sustainability in
hotels for protecting the
environment. By educating the
employees, a green team can be
created to spread the concept of
sustainability in the society
(Jones, 2002)
4 ISO 140000 International The International Standards www.iso.org
certification Standard Organization in 1996 is an
Organization important certification program
for organizations seeking to
achieve standardization in
environmental operations. Once

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the plan is implemented in the

organization ISO sends its
auditors to review the plan and
check the energy consumption
etc for certification (Tibor &
Feldman, 1996)
5 The Indian The IGBC is a green certification www.igbc.in
Green Building Confederation developed in India for green
Council (IGBC) of Indian buildings. Many projects have
Industry and been registered under this
the Godrej certification. Also, IGBC is
green business trying to motivate and certify
center hotels, who use environmental
practices in their operations.
(Council, 2008)
6 Sustainable Sustainable It is a certification offered for www.sustaina
Tourism Eco- travel tour operators, hotels, bletravel.org
certification international attractions, etc. It provides
Program (STEP) guidance, self - assessment tools
and 2-5 star eco - logo rating
system (Hansen, 2007)

GREEN HOUSEKEEPING
A comprehensive approach to green cleaning in hotels include:
 Saving energy and water
 Improving indoor air quality (IAQ)
 Furthering recycling efforts
 Increasing occupant productivity
 Purchasing environmentally-friendly products

The housekeeping staffs follow the following practices while carrying out the housekeeping
work in hotel:

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1. Use of HEPA filtration vacuum systems that removes 99.9 percent of airborne
particles and aids in relief from asthma and allergies
2. Use of Energy efficient light bulbs that are recycled when no longer of use
3. A water-based cleaning system that allows housekeepers to clean the surfaces with
technology that converts water, electricity and a small amount of salt into an effective
cleaning solution. Also, many hotels have turned into eco friendly chemicals for
cleaning.
4. Housekeeping now uses more Green Seal-certified cleaning products than ever.
Dispensing stations pre-measure chemicals in order to reduce water usage and ensure
accurate, safe dilution.
5. Microfiber clothes reduce waste and water use while also cleaning more effectively
than paper towels.
6. Housekeepers should switch off the light switches of unused guestrooms or common
areas where EMS is not being installed
7. Microfiber mops that reduce water usage by up to 90 percent over traditional style
mops
8. Recycled content paper products for packaging and as an amenity in the guestroom
9. Reducing the daily cleaning of the guestroom linen for an occupied guest to reduce
the use of water and pollution of water
10. Filtering the grey water coming from different areas of the hotel to reuse it in various
areas like gardening, flushing water inn toilets etc
11. Designing small pamphlets to educate the guests regarding conserving light and
energy
12. Providing adequate training to all the staffs for conserving water and energy

WASTE MANAGEMENT IN HOTELS

Various ways to manage different types of wastes in the hotel are as follows:
1. Carrying out waste audit
2. Installing recycling bins in guestrooms
3. Reusing old towels, linens and robes
4. Reduce newspaper distribution
5. Buy in bulk and use eco friendly alternatives
6. Reduce paper use
7. Avoid hazardous and toxic waste

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8. Adapting to furniture recycling scheme: The old furniture's at the time of

refurbishing can either be sold to the staff or given to re furnishing company
who can work on the old furniture to make it look new which can again be
used in different areas of the hotel
E-WASTE
Various brands for electronic product have launched recycling schemes for the hotels in order
to recycle the electronic wastes coming from the industry.

3 R's
T he 3 s i mp le R 's i. e. r ed uc e, r eu se r e c yc le a s a n e xa mp le o f r e du c ing t o
a vo id t he d e fa u lt u s e o f p la st ic st r aw s, pap er na pk i ns , p la st ic c l i ng wr ap,
et c.

Ga r ba ge Se gre ga tion
Fo u r B i n Th eo ry :
T he g ar bag e ge ner at ed b y t he ho t e ls ar e se gr eg at ed i nt o fo ur co lo u r e d bi n
as per t he ir cat e go r y

 G reen B i n fo r r ec yc la b le wa st e
 Red B i n fo r no n- r ec yc la b le w a st e,
 Wh i t e B i n fo r dr y w a st e
 B la c k B i n fo r b io - d eg r a da b le a nd o r ga n ic w a st e.

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Re cy c li n g W a st e :
Dr y wa st e a nd r e c yc la b le wa st e s uc h a s pap er , p la st ic, met a l a nd g la s s ar e
se nt o ut fo r t h ir d - par t y r ec yc l ing . T he in - ho u s e ver m i- c u lt ur e u n it
ut il iz e d t he fo o d w a st e t hat is ge ne r at e d, t hu s co nver t ing t he fo o d wa st e
i nt o ver m ico mpo st . T his o r ga n ic ma nur e is t he n us ed fo r i nt e r na l
gar d e n ing a nd o r ga n ic far m ing .
S oap Re cy c l i n g :
T he ho t e l pr o vid e s gu e st - us ed so ap s t o d if fe r e nt N GO 's fo r r e c yc l i ng.
T he se t e st ed, r epr o c e s se d a nd r e c yc le d so ap s ar e d is t r ibut ed fo r fr e e t o
c hi ld r e n a nd wo me n at t he r ur a l a r ea s t o pr o mo t ed go o d hyg ie ne
pr a ct ic es.

COM P OSTIN G

Composting not only reduces the cost of disposal by significantly reducing the volume for
collection, it also produces an end product that can be used to improve soil quality in hotel
grounds or gardens, thus doubly ensuring environmental sustainability. There are various
types of composting:

 In-vessel composting refers to the enclosed equipment, such as a drum, silo or

concrete-lined trench, where the organic material is placed, mixed, shredded and
aerated. Some systems are fully automated with sensors to monitor temperature,
moisture and oxygen, and biofilters to reduce or eliminate odours. They can process
large amounts of waste, take virtually any organic waste, including raw meat, fish
and grease, and the composting process can take as little as a few weeks.

 Biomass energy and anaerobic digestion (AD) Biomass refers to organic

materials, such as food, which can be used to generate electricity, heat and power.
The energy from biomass can be released by conversion processes, such as
combustion and fermentation. Anaerobic digestion is another way of converting
biomass. This a process that breaks down organic waste in an oxygen-free
environment under controlled conditions in order to produce a biogas that can be
burned as a renewable energy to produce electricity and heat, or used as a fuel. This
method also produces solid and liquid digestate, which is nutrient rich and can
potentially be used as a soil conditioner.

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 Worm-composting uses earthworms to speed up the process of breaking down

kitchen and garden waste, but cannot accept meat or dairy products.

 Aerated static pile arranges waste in long rows and is aerated either mechanically
or automatically. This system can take large quantities but cannot accommodate
large amounts of meat or grease without frequent turning and careful temperature
and moisture control.

 Un-aerated static pile relies on organic waste being mixed with bulking material.
This method cannot take meat or grease and is best suited for small businesses.

Me d ia Co ver ag e

CSR Activit ies

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