Smart climate control cuts energy costs and takes guest experience to next level

How Mitsubishi Electric and Vecolux help hotels become more sustainable

As a hotel manager, energy prices and sustainability are high on your agenda. At the same time, you want to offer your guests maximum comfort. By combining Mitsubishi Electric's energy-efficient HVRF systems and Vecolux's intuitive Zennio thermostats, you no longer have to choose: lower costs, simplicity in management and guests who feel welcome in their own language. This partnership has been making hotels and holiday parks more energy-efficient and user-friendly for years, without expensive customised projects or complex IT links.

Local connection, less complexity

A major difference from classic solutions is that the link between the Zennio thermostat and Mitsubishi Electric's system is done at room level. There is no central building management system (BMS) or LAN network involved. “Each ME unit has its own local communication port,” explains Rudy Gielen, Manager Corporate Sales at Mitsubishi Electric Belgium. “We connect directly to that. So you avoid expensive custom software and are much less prone to failure. For hotels with dozens or hundreds of rooms, this saves a lot in delivery costs.”

Since all rooms of the same type have exactly the same programming, implementation is fast and error-free. “For new extensions or renovations, we can repeat the same approach. A big plus point,” Gielen points out.

Substantial energy gains

The smart coupling not only ensures simplicity, but above all a considerable energy gain. For instance, the Zennio GRMS system can temporarily limit peak consumption at critical times. “Compare it to controlling charging currents for electric cars,” says Gielen. “When the kitchen is running at full capacity, the hotel can temper the air conditioning for a while. This keeps costs under control without the guest noticing.” For many hotel managers, this is a decisive factor, especially with rising energy prices.

No more card switches

Another advantage is the automatic link with the Property Management System (PMS), the software you use to manage reservations and check-ins. Through presence detection and PMS data, the Zennio thermostat can automatically adjust the requested temperature.

“This makes the classic card switch at the door redundant,” says Michael Vandermeerschen, Technical Sales Advisor Hotels & Projects at Vecolux. “The system knows when the guest checks in and when he is in the room, and adjusts accordingly. Today, we can already offer standard interfacing with 108 PMS suppliers. The comfort for the guest increases, while you save energy. Double win, in other words.” Housekeeping also reaps the benefits: they immediately see which rooms are free or need cleaning.

Compact and multilingual

The Zennio hotel thermostat is not just any thermostat. It is a compact touchscreen in the guest's language. “We support up to six languages directly from the PMS information,” says Vandermeerschen. “In addition, we can add extra pages for, for example, room service (such as ‘do not disturb’ or ‘make up room’), lighting and shading controls. The system grows with future needs, without additional cabling.” This makes it an interesting solution for hotels and holiday parks looking to preserve and modernise their infrastructure.

Close cooperation

Technology is one thing, but the long-standing cooperation between Mitsubishi Electric, Vecolux and Zennio makes all the difference. “Our technical teams work together every day,” says Gielen. “From engineering to support: we tackle problems immediately and roll out new features smoothly.”

“This collaboration is not only a strong match commercially, behind the scenes we are also one team. This strong foundation gives hotel managers the assurance that everything works, today and in the future,” Vandermeerschen concludes.