Crowne Plaza Melbourne increases energy efficiency

Crowne Plaza Melbourne is a 4.5 star hotel which is now recognised internationally with ‘Green Globe Bronze’, a worldwide benchmarking and certification program which facilitates sustainable management and operations. Green Globe certification standards cover: environment and energy (70%), conservation (10%) and corporate social responsibility (20%). The hotel is now working to achieve ‘Green Globe Silver’ status.

Three years ago, Crowne Plaza Melbourne was invited to participate in the Melbourne City Council ‘Savings in the City’ Waste Wise program. The hotel worked with mySmart Hotel, a subsidiary of mySmart Pty Ltd, to implement energy-efficient systems that complemented its water reduction and waste management initiatives.

Prior to installation, mySmart installed model rooms within the hotel, using the Inncom Hotel Room Management System, to test the potential savings that could be achieved using this system. The savings calculated were in the vicinity of 30%.

As a result, an Inncom e4 528 Smart Digital Thermostat was installed in each guest room. This unit allows guests to control the air temperature of their room. Using the ecoMODE setting, guests can participate in the sustainability program by enabling additional energy savings over and above those achieved through the pre-programmed installed solutions.

“The user interface is easy to understand and simple to operate, giving guests the option to make their own decisions regarding their comfort and reduce their individual impact,” said Robin Power, Engineering Manager Victoria at Crowne Plaza Melbourne.

The INNcontrol Central Management System software was also installed to allow hotel management to control temperature set-back when the guest is out of the room, or the room is not checked in. By ‘relaxing’ the target temperature bands, the room’s heating and cooling can run up to 60% more efficiently.

The combination of the two products creates an integrated management system which allows each room to function individually or to be managed from a central control. The smart technology of the digital thermostat detects when the room is in use and doors are open, adjusting the controls accordingly.

In three years, the hotel’s culture has been improved through education and action by Crowne Plaza Melbourne’s management and staff to now consider energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. With the energy solution making the most notable contribution, the complete sustainability approach now saves the hotel $50,000 in annual utility costs, bringing it to the forefront of energy-, water- and waste-efficient operation. These achievements have led to being awarded the Victorian state award for ‘Environmental Best Practice Hotel of the Year’ by the Australian Hotel Association.

Since 2006, the hotel has reduced its energy usage from 267.29 megajoules per guest night to 178.4 megajoules per guest night. The most significant results have been seen in waste production, with a decrease from 14 L per guest night to 3 L per guest night.