Hotels aren’t just properties open to tired travellers in the country. They’re also a good place to go for those facing multi-day blackouts in their area. That means that these establishments have to fully function at all times of day and all days of the year. Hotel generator installation can be a fundamental investment for management because many things could go wrong without power. Without a generator, in instances of a blackout, your guests and employees are at risk because they could very well trip and fall while navigating in the dark. Let’s not forget those all-important security and reservations systems that would go down, which not only leaves the building vulnerable but also threatens potential business. For these reasons and more, hotel generators are extremely important installations.
Why do hotels need a backup generator?
Hotels, as commercial properties for temporary residence, have many regulations to comply with to protect their guests. That includes things like clean and sanitised facilities, security protected premises and even in some cases, 24/7 room service. Regardless of the customer guarantee on offer, a lot of these systems require electricity to deliver on them. Not only that, but they also need consistent power to continually provide proper hotel facilities. While other commercial buildings can shut up shop at the sign of an outage, hotels do not have the same luxury because people rely on them for 24/7 support. One bad experience could cost them guest support forever and that is a big no-no in the world of customer service. This can also affect the hotel’s reviews online. One bad experience will carry over to bad reviews of your hotel and this can spread to word of mouth, which is going to damage your brand reputation in one way or another.
You may learn that the management teams already have an emergency protocol for power outages and it includes the use of generator servicing in Brisbane to keep it intact. This plan is in place to make sure that everything still works as it should for every single guest, even in the event of a power outage. Australia’s power grid isn’t what it used to be because of the growing population and increasingly extreme weather events. There have been more frequent blackouts and often for longer than what we are used to. Locals in parts of the country that experience severe storm seasons are already accustomed to this. The power supply isn’t always consistent or full-proof and that means that hotels must have generators installed to protect them from this.
What kind of generators do hotels use?
There are many different generators to choose from for hotel buildings because there is a lot to consider. Your unique power needs, the fuel type or even choosing the right generator brand. After you have made the important choices towards finding the perfect installation for you, there are certain requirements that your generator will have to deliver on. The standard features must be designed to function effectively in an emergency. Here are a few more requirements:
- Generators that have a robust design to withstand the power needs of a large number of people all at the same time
- Generators that can continue running effectively for as long as they are the only available source of energy.
- Hotel generators must offer good pricing to performance ratio. Whatever is put into the unit must be comparable to how well it performs. This may be the case with diesel generators, which are more expensive but more efficient.
- Hotel generators need to have good noise conditions because these units may very well be in direct contact with people
What size generator is needed for a hotel?
It will help if you start by calculating the requirements to keep everything powering on during a power outage. Start by making a list of everything you plan to power, from emergency facilities to miscellaneous customer facilities like the vending machine. This will change based on the size of your property and the typical clientele you usually service. So, don’t mistake glossing over this step too quickly. Hotels will need to keep certain terminals, lights, security systems and mission-critical data servers working and that needs to be taken into consideration. Hotels also offer their customers Wi-Fi and telecommunications facilities, and business centres will also need electricity in outages. The areas where food is cooked and served will also need to factor into calculations.
No matter the size of your hotel, you should go ahead, and start listing every application that needs generator power. Now you know which items you need to power with your generator, you have a fundamental estimation of your business’s power consumption at peak usage. Once you have this figure, you can look into generators that supply this kVA of power. The average required size for hotels is set at 150kW, but this is a very general estimation and can vary case by case.
What a generator needs to power in a hotel?
Hotels are similar to other commercial premises of residence, like apartment buildings, therefore they must power certain facilities at all times. Some of the facilities explained below are also reasons why apartment buildings need backup generators. Hotels will need a generator to power three main areas during a power outage:
Emergency facilities
These are all the areas with emergency lighting, exit pathways and alert installations. This includes the following:
- Egress path lights
- Exit lights
- Stairwell lighting
- Fire pumps and alarms
- Entrance and exit points
- Security systems
- Emergency doors
- Other critical facilities like first aid related equipment
Basic function facilities
- Elevators to avoid customers travelling up and down flights of stairs
- Data & communication systems
- Smoke and ventilation equipment
- Front desk and back-office equipment outlets
Operational facilities
- Food storage & processing
- Electrical sockets
- Wi-fi
Call us for effective hotel power solutions
Give us a call and we can guarantee that you’ll enjoy service that cannot be beaten when it comes to your hotel generator installation. There are many factors to consider when installing the right generator for your hotel, but we can help you navigate these. No matter what we settle on, you can trust that we will prioritize the safety and comfort of all your guests. We know that the best thing for your generator is routine and thorough servicing. Call us on (07) 3710 8212, and we’ll not only install your generator, but we’ll also set a servicing schedule to keep it running smoothly. Our team is available to customers in Brisbane, Toowoomba, the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, and Ipswich.
