Heat recovery system increases seasonal efficiency

Four-star hotel Bommeljé in the Zeeland seaside resort of Domburg underwent an extensive renovation in winter 2022. The family-run business invested heavily in sustainability, with an emphasis on energy efficiency. Daikin - a manufacturer of heating, air conditioning, cooling/freezing and ventilation systems for 100 years - ensured much more efficient energy management in the hotel with its indoor climate solution. "The overall comfort and quality of the indoor climate in the rooms have also improved significantly," says hotel owner Peter Bommeljé.

Partly due to the growing influence of legislation - such as the European Green Deal with its CSRD reporting that requires larger hotels in particular to be transparent about the impact of their operations on people and the environment - making hotels more sustainable is currently high on everyone's agenda. "But sometimes hotel operators can no longer see the wood for the trees," says Erik Alleman, corporate account manager at Daikin. "Especially when a hotel building needs to be as energy-neutral as possible, many different disciplines - including air-conditioning, heating, cooling/freezing and ventilation systems - come together. Daikin has all these disciplines in-house, which is why we are supporting more and more hotel companies with our latest technological developments."

In the case of hotel Bommeljé, Daikin, in collaboration with installation company DWT from Goes, recommended, among other things, installing a so-called VRV heat recovery system. "VRV" stands for "Variable Refrigerant Volume", or in other words a technology invented by Daikin in 1982 in which, by means of a refrigerant, the energy flows within the building are constantly optimally distributed. Other manufacturers have since also adopted the technology," says Alleman. "Today, Daikin already offers the fifth generation of proven, reliable VRV systems. With the VRV heat recovery system, it is possible to heat or cool each hotel room individually, depending on the desire of the hotel guest. This alone is a huge step forward in the guest experience."

Thanks to Daikin's VRV heat recovery, residual heat from the hotel rooms being cooled is reused for the energy-efficient production of hot tap water and also to heat other rooms of the hotel if necessary. "This heat therefore does not need to be created in any other way and thus provides additional direct energy savings," Alleman continued. "All in all, this improves seasonal efficiency by as much as 28 per cent at hotel Bommeljé."

Replacing the traditional air conditioning and central heating in Hotel Bommeljé with a modern climate system did involve some challenges. These were solved thanks to the craftsmanship of the installer: ductwork for air treatment, pipes for water, electricity and the climate system - this in combination with different (low) ceiling heights and intermediate steps. Peter Bommeljé, scion of the second generation of the family business, shows great satisfaction with the final result. "Making our hotel more sustainable was also really necessary. Even for hotel guests, the sustainability factor is increasingly important when selecting their accommodation. After the renovation was finished, we received many positive reactions from our guests. The overall comfort and quality of the indoor climate, both in the hotel rooms and in the general areas, improved significantly. Guests also hardly notice that the Daikin system is running and providing hot water. Actually, that is the biggest compliment for us."

According to Alleman, the future-proof solution realised in the four-star Domburg hotel also stands out because it is a textbook example in the field of digital monitoring of the HVAC systems. "This allows the climate control in the hotel rooms to be operated from one central point at reception. It is even possible to make maintenance predictions, as it were, based on 'abnormal behaviour' of an installation. So much so that a malfunction can be remedied in advance; this helps prevent unnecessary energy consumption and disappointed guests. And because you can see a possible malfunction coming long in advance, so to speak, any repairs are much more plannable. Which is nice at a time when there is a growing shortage of technical staff."