The Gyle Premier Inn at Edinburgh Park claims it is the first UK hotel to operate on battery power.
The property has installed a five-tonne battery that will be charged from the national grid during off-peak times and will power the 200-room hotel for several hours a day.
According to reports, the battery can power the hotel and its restaurant for three hours after charging for two hours.
Premier Inn parent company Whitbread claims the lithium ion battery will save the hotel about £20,000 a year on its energy bill. The firm also says the move will help its commitment to halving its carbon emissions by 2025.
Cian Hatton, head of energy and environment at Whitbread, said: “Batteries are of course everyday items, more commonly associated with powering small household goods like the TV remote control, so it’s incredibly exciting to launch the UK’s first battery-powered hotel – an innovation which will save money, ensure security of supply and support the transition to a more flexible grid.”
Electricity company E.ON has installed the technology and will remotely control the battery’s workload and efficiency from its energy management centre in Glasgow.
Richard Oakley, customer accounts director at E.ON, commented: “The Gyle at Edinburgh Park is already an energy efficient hotel thanks to the remote monitoring and management of its systems from our control centre in Glasgow.
“By adding the flexibility of battery storage, we can also help Whitbread to upgrade to the full-board option of drawing electricity from the grid when prices are low, storing that energy for use at peak times and having the ability to sell it back to the grid to help balance supply and demand on the network.
“Premier Inn is showing how hotel chains and large power users can further save money, reduce their carbon footprint and support the development of a lower-carbon, smarter energy grid in the UK.”
premierinn.com