Frequently asked questions
What does HVAC cover in a hotel?
HVAC stands for heating, ventilation and air conditioning. In a hotel that covers the heat pumps or boilers, the air handling units (AHU) with heat recovery, and the cooling plant — together the largest energy block in the building.
Why are HVAC and ventilation a hotel’s largest energy consumers?
Heating, ventilation and cooling run around the clock for rooms, corridors, conference and wellness areas. As a rough orientation, HVAC often accounts for about a third of a hotel’s energy use — with wide variation by property and climate.
What is a heat pump’s COP?
The COP states how much heat a heat pump delivers per kilowatt-hour of electricity used. COP 5 = five kWh of heat from one kWh of electricity — around 80 % less electricity than direct electric heating. In practice the band sits, depending on temperature, between 4 and 7.
What does heat recovery in the ventilation achieve?
The heat recovery (WRG) transfers heat from the exhaust air to the incoming fresh air. Modern units reach high recovery rates — around 63 % at a reference site —, so far less reheating or recooling is needed.
What does an AI see that the building management system does not?
The building management system only reports once a threshold is crossed. The AI detects a falling COP (icing, refrigerant loss, fouling), needless simultaneous heating and cooling, and demand peaks arising from the interplay of outdoor temperature, flow temperature, volume flow and power.
How does the AI cut the HVAC demand peak?
It shifts pre-cooling and pre-heating into hours with PV surplus or cheap power and prevents heat pumps, ventilation and refrigeration from ramping up at the same time. That lowers the highest quarter-hour load, which sets the
demand charge bestimmt.
Can the HVAC plant be coupled to the PV array?
Yes. If the heat pump runs preferentially while the sun shines, the PV power is used on site instead of bought expensively from the grid. The building then acts as a thermal store — pre-heated or pre-cooled during the cheap hours.
What is a digital twin of a hotel’s HVAC plant?
A live image built from the real sensors (flow temperature, outdoor temperature, volume flow, power, COP) that checks against learned target bands, detects faults such as a dropping COP early and explains in plain language what to do.
