The Merrion Hotel Leads with Innovative Energy Savings

The Merrion Hotel is a luxury resort located in Dublin, Ireland. The hotel has 123 guest rooms, 19 suites, event spaces, a spa, two bars, and two restaurants. Back-of-house includes two full kitchens that operate 24/7, 365 days per year. To help mitigate potential ventilation issues and to help control operating costs, the hotel decided to install a demand control kitchen ventilation system in one of the kitchens.

Thus, an ENERGY STAR-rated Intelli-Hood kitchen hood controls system was installed by EFTECH, Melink's distributor in Ireland.

The Intelli-Hood system controls the ventilation fan speed, depending on the current conditions of the kitchen hoods. Temperature and optic sensors are used to detect heat and steam, and these sensors will change the fan speed accordingly. This saves, in the case of The Merrion Hotel, 38% of ventilation fan energy consumption. Reducing the fans from running 24 hours per day not only saves energy consumption from the extract and supply fans but also creates considerable heating and cooling savings.

Savings Breakdown:

• Reduced fan speed by 38%, saving 36,785 kWh yearly
• Utility savings surpass €7,221 annually
• Decreases CO2 emissions by 49,292 lbs each year

The Merrion Hotel experienced a strong return on its Intelli-Hood investment: less than an 18-month payback, based on the recorded data. This further supports the case that 90% of lodging with on-site commercial kitchens can benefit from Intelli-Hood. The hotel was not only able to reduce its immediate energy consumption by 48% but is also able to use the technology to continually monitor usage and adjust as necessary.