Application of equivalent occupation method as a tool for energy management in hotel sector
At nowadays, the operational control of energy performance indicators based on the equivalent occupation method plays a fundamental role in the rational use of energy for the hotel sector, since it allows in a competitive way to comply with the quality of the service offered by the company in terms of the thermal comfort of the occupants, minimizing the environmental impact. Within the framework of the energy diagnosis and implementation of the program of efficient energy management under ISO 50001: 2011, based on the method of equivalent occupation for a hotel company on the Colombian Caribbean coast, the line base, target line by 2015, determining performance control indicators such as accumulative trend and base efficiency index 100, to identify potential savings. From the diagnosis, 9.11% of energy savings were obtained by operational control. Through the implementation of corrective action plans, such as the shutdown of unnecessary equipment in the company, installation of LED lighting modules, the configuration of thermostats, in addition to training and sensitization to staff, and reactive energy control in the hotel effective savings were achieved around 8% of primary energy consumption by 2016.