Save3: Saving water and electricity

According to a UNWTO report, hotel facilities rank among the top five in terms of energy consumption in the tertiary building sector. Most hotels, besides being big power guzzlers, are also huge on water consumption. According to reports, a single five star hotel consumes electricity enough to fulfill the requirements of 600 households and water sufficient for 1000 households.

Furthermore, market trends suggest that the global demand for energy sources is forecasted to grow by 57 per cent in the next 25 years, which may lead to a dramatic increase in energy prices and severe water shortage. This poses a great threat considering the projections of growth of the hospitality industry.

Hotel resource consumption is influenced by both physical and operational parameters. An important operational parameter is the behaviour of guests towards resource consumption. As the charges for a hotel room include the water and electricity costs, guests are often less cautious and tend to overuse these resources.

Often out of carelessness, little or no concern for resource conservation and sometimes simply out of thinking that they have already paid for it. However, people, even if not particularly concerned about the depletion of natural resources, are always very cautious about saving their money. Save3 takes advantage of this inherent behavioural tendency. It is designed as a system that subtly encourages guests to save water and electricity.

Save3 is a visual feedback system designed for hotel rooms. Comprising a set of smart objects, this system subtly encourages guests to save water and electricity by monitoring consumption and by providing incentive to conserve.

The Save3 system comprises of the Keycard, the Switch and wireless monitoring devices. The Keycard and Switch are Smart Objects with extended capabilities – besides accessing the room and regulating the electrical services, they are also routed in the electricity and water supply. Both the main water-inlet and electrical metres of each room are wirelessly enabled. This connectivity allows information about water and electricity usage to be recorded, visibly transmitted and stored when the Save3 Keycard is inserted into the Save3 Switch.

When a guest enters the hotel room and inserts the Keycard in the Switch for the first time, the indicator bars are at a maximum, indicating the estimated maximum resource usage provision for the period that the room is booked. The indicator gradually shortens as water and electricity are consumed, and this feedback is continuously updated on the front panel of the switch.

At the time of check-out, the Save3 Keycard carries this information entitling the guest for a part-refund on the cost of the room, depending on the length of the indicator bars remaining.

Information regarding water and electricity usage is transmitted wirelessly to the Save3 Switch. The main water-inlet and electrical meter for each room are both wirelessly enabled and connect with the Save3 Switch. This connectivity amplifies the capabilities of these smart objects and the information is made visible when the Save3 Keycard is inserted in the switch.

The Internet of Things allows these Smart, Connected Products to enhance their existing capabilities and translates the information gathered into valuable feedback that can help conserve resources for the planet.