Florian Hotel: How do you run a hotel without enough power?

The availability of sufficient electricity is a relatively new concern for hotel owners. Not so long ago, it was a matter of connecting, taking power and paying. However, the electricity grid is full. Grid operators regularly have to simply sell no to requests for new or larger connections. Does this mean that building or expanding a hotel is no longer possible? At least not for hotelier Tony Chu. He has found a solution for his hotel, The Florian in Hoofddorp.

Grid congestion is almost everywhere in the Netherlands because of growing electrification. We are using more electricity for cars, heating and industry. At the same time, more and more electricity is entering the grid locally through solar panels and wind farms. Grid operators invest some €5 billion a year in expanding the power grid. That is not yet enough to keep up with the demand for electricity in the coming years. Companies are put on a waiting list and can only be connected when space becomes available again.

By becoming more energy-efficient and flexible in their use of the grid, with less pressure at peak times, companies can help solve grid congestion. What does that look like? Tony Chu, owner of The Florian in Hoofddorp, demonstrates. His hotel is housed in a former office building from the 1990s that was completely renovated by Workshop of Wonders. The former office's contracted power was far from sufficient to supply the hotel with the energy it needed. Chu applied to the grid operator for a significantly larger connection, almost double what the office building consumed. "We got 'no' in reply, because only a maximum of 137kW could be supplied. That was quite a shock. We really needed more power to operate the hotel profitably."

Reverting to fossil alternatives such as gas-fired plants or diesel generators was not what the hotel owner wanted. "From the construction to the reception of guests, sustainability is paramount." The Florian now has the Green Key Silver certificate, the second highest level of this international quality mark for sustainable businesses in the leisure and recreation sector. At the time, the main question was how to get sufficient capital. 

Through his installer, Chu got in touch with power management company Eaton. It suggested installing a local energy network, a so-called local grid. Within such a local grid, self-generated renewable energy is stored and used at times when not enough is available through the regular grid. The solar panels on the hotel's roof and the battery energy storage system in the basement, in combination with the existing grid connection, provide sufficient electricity, even during times of peak usage. Because that's where the problem was most acute. In the morning rush hour, when guests are showering and blow-drying and the kitchen is running at full speed for breakfast, and in the evening rush hour, when all the lights and air conditioners are on, cars are charging and the kitchen is in operation for dinner. 

Eaton's solution is called Buildings-as-a-Grid, its own building as an energy hub. In this solution, an energy management system (Building Energy Management Software) ensures that power is readily available where it is needed most. Energy from batteries is used during peak times in the hotel's electricity demand ('peak shaving'). This keeps the total electricity consumption at those times neatly within the contract with the grid operator. The Building Energy Management Software continuously analyses the hotel's energy consumption trends and in the future can even include things like weather forecasts. As a result, the cheaper and more sustainable energy from the solar panels can be maximised. This saves on costs and keeps the hotel's carbon footprint as small as possible. 

For The Florian, this proved to be the ideal solution. Chu: "We now stay within the limits of our grid connection. If we hadn't, we might have had to close down. Besides, the system helps us control our energy costs and reduce our carbon emissions. Win-win-win in other words!"