According to a recent news report, top level executives of major hotels in India have been given an Herculean ordeal to perform – in the form of cutting down energy costs by as much as 8% of the total operational costs of the hotels, within the next three financial years. Even the incentives of some of them are now directly linked to the energy costs of the branches of the hotel that they work in. The step might seem a little excessive at first, but it was necessary nonetheless. Energy costs of the hotels have increased to around 15%-16% of their total operational costs in the last year. Unless it is trimmed down to more manageable levels, it will soon start eating its way into the profits made by the hotels.

Renewable energy sources offer a sliver of hope for the hotels

There are several ways of reducing the energy expenses of the hotels, and not surprisingly, all of those are based on the adoption of renewable sources of energy. Be it using piped gas instead of diesel for boilers, or installing solar modules on the roofs of the buildings to generate significant percentage of the electricity required keep the entire building functional, sustainable energy sources are the best trump cards for the hotels, at this point of time.

Solar energy is likely to be the best solution, though

True, there are several renewable energy sources that the hotels can switch to. However, solar energy stands apart for its simplicity and reliability. First off, most hotels have large roofs, which offer lots of available space, where solar PV modules can be installed. Secondly, most hotels have enough space available for storage of solar batteries, which would hold the energy generated during the day. Finally, considering the rate of energy consumption of the hotels (an ordinary hotel with 100 rooms can consume somewhere around 3,500 units of energy every day), it should not be long before they are able to recover most of their investments on the solar energy system.

India is on the verge of a major business boom in the hospitality sector, and application of solar modules for  optimizing energy usage is likely to help the businesses here focus more on counting profits than worrying about energy expenses. And who knows - in the coming years, this might indeed lend a helping hand to the National Solar Mission, as well.