Energy savings from occupancy based control of the fan coil unit speeds: a case study

Abstract

The guest spends a considerable time out of the hotel room but he usually keeps working the highest speeds of the fan coil unit. These units are frequently overlooked as a potential source of energy savings. On the other hand, with real time occupancy measurements and simple control algorithms high degree of energy saving is possible t obtain. In this work was analyzed the guest behavior towards the fan coil unit speed. The possible energy saving to obtain, if during the absence of the guest the 2nd or the 3rd speed of the fan coil unit is switched to the 1st, was calculated. The selected fan coil speed is proposed as an indicator of guest comfort. An occupancy based control that acts over the fan coil unit speed, when the guest is not in the room, is recommended for hotel rooms.

Keywords

• energy savings; occupancy based control; fan coil unit; hotel; hvac.