Climate Change and Tourism - UNEP - Division of Technology ...

Energy conservation and efficiency in buildings
UNWTO, 9 July 2008
Mitigation Policies and Measures
Energy use in the accommodation sector is usually a result of heating and cooling; i.e., hot water
supply, central heating, cooling for fridges and freezers, air conditioning, and lighting. In warm holiday
destinations, the single largest energy end-use is air conditioning. To address those key end-use areas,
mitigation measures can be carried out in the following areas:
Room temperature
The key is to keep temperatures in guestrooms at comfortable levels, ideally between 20–25° C. For
instance, the Hilton Seychelles has experimented with room temperatures, and the management reports
that 25° C are accepted without any complaints by guests. Building design, including positioning,
material and insulation can provide an important precondition for maintaining temperatures in the
desired range and considerably reduce overall energy use (Figure 12.4). In a comparison of Scandic and
Hilton hotels the differences in energy use between hotels may primarily be a result of hotel standard
and management, with a higher standard leading to higher resource consumption. The study also shows
that there are considerable options to reduce energy use through pro-environmental management,
which often lead to cost savings. 709
Figure 12.4 Air conditioning unit outside a tourist bungalow in Fiji *
Photo credit: Becken, S.
* The manager reported that because of the design (natural ventilation through windows) and the setting (ample of vegetation to
provide shade), tourists only rarely use the air conditioning.
Technical options to reduce energy use include for instance thermostats, combined with a system to
heat or cool rooms only shortly before they are used. Regarding air conditioning and heating, it is
crucial to have these in the right location to avoid inefficient use, or infiltration of hot air into cooled
space. Measures to increase efficiencies can be simple. For instance, the London Marriott County Hall
in the United Kingdom reduced its energy use in rooms by 37%. This was achieved by cleaning filters
in the air-conditioning units, as well as the coils. A side-effect was that optimal room temperatures
were reached faster. In addition, changes were made to the air conditioning and heating running times
in banquet rooms, resulting in significant energy savings. It is also possible to introduce systems to
shut down air conditioning automatically, for instance, when balcony doors are opened. Finally, the
Mariott’s air conditioning system was adjusted according to the season.
Restaurants
Many hotels have restaurants that can make substantial contributions to sustainability. Besides adapting
similar measures for mitigation as the hotel, restaurants can, through their choice of foods, heavily
influence the carbon-intensity of meals served. Food now accounts for approximately one third of
emissions caused by households in industrialized countries, and is thus an important factor in reducing
energy use. Generally, locally produced food will have a considerably smaller energy footprint. This
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