Leading hotel company Maistra wanted to prepare a sustainable future, as well as improve guest satisfaction and water circulation efficiency at one of its 3-star resorts. Upon deciding to renovate the DHW system to stabilize water temperatures, Maistra turned to Danfoss for support.
The hotel has 228 rooms throughout 4 buildings, each with 16 DHW branches. To heat water, the hotel was reliant on an oil burner to heat hot water storage tanks, but there were large distances between the hot water distribution system and the tapping points, resulting in long wait times for hot water and high water consumption.
Danfoss recommended that the system be fitted with the MTCV (Multifunctional Thermostatic Circulation Valve) to reduce waiting times in the circulation system.
MTCV creates a thermal balanced system by enabling constant temperatures in every circulation pipe, optimizing performance, and ensuring hot water is available when and where it is needed.
A thermal balanced system is recommended compared to alternative methods. For example, hotels will often try to increase the temperature at the source in order to reach the required temperature of 50°C at the furthest tapping point and reduce waiting times. However, this is not a sustainable solution.
Since renovating the DHW system, Maistra found that it had shortened the wait times for hot water at the taps and was able to reduce energy consumption by 17.4% compared to the method of running the system at maximum temperatures (not recommended).
The hotel has reduced its burner oil use, saving €9,435 per year (based on a burning oil price of €1.10 per liter). This has resulted in a return on investment (ROI) of just 2 years.
The CCR2+ electronic controller was also added to digitalize temperature monitoring and enable automated disinfection. The minimum temperature of 50°C is maintained consistently and corresponding historic and actual temperature data can easily be shown to health inspectors.
Following the renovation, Maistra decided to implement the same solution in some of its other hotels, as well as in sanitary units on its camp sites, all in the Istria region in Croatia.
As well as centralizing hotel DHW temperature data for easier access, Maistra has since worked with a system integrator to create an app that allows technicians to monitor and control the systems remotely.
MTCV Thermal balancing valves provide a dynamic, temperature based, balancing solution for drinking water applications. Combined with the CCR2+ a smart and energy-efficient electronic control solution for monitoring and disinfecting DHW systems is established.