Hotels have very dynamic operations that affect energy consumption. The lack of building management has cost U.S. hotels approximately $45 million annually in wasted energy.

Hotel operators are generally unaware of how and where energy is used throughout their hotels and what effect their operating policies have on their consumption and cost. Hotel management accounts on a daily basis for labor cost, food cost, rooms revenue, and restaurant revenue. It does not account for energy and maintenance, which can be 20% of the operating cost.

The installation of computer-based electronic controis provides not only for operation but also for monitoring of the spaces. This has provided a management tool by which the operator can determine when spaces will be occupied and conditioning required.

Further monitoring of consumption through primary and secondary metering of electric and thermal energy is another important feature. This allows the operator to have real-time information and a reporting system from which management can assess the quality of the operation.

This paper discusses the virtues associated with an electronic computer-managed system.