{"id":72092,"date":"2016-06-25T12:53:15","date_gmt":"2016-06-25T10:53:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/troyeville-hotel-saves-rands-on-their-energy-bill\/"},"modified":"2016-06-25T12:53:15","modified_gmt":"2016-06-25T10:53:15","slug":"troyeville-hotel-saves-rands-on-their-energy-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/troyeville-hotel-saves-rands-on-their-energy-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"Troyeville Hotel saves Rands on their energy bill"},"content":{"rendered":"

Troyeville Hotel saves Rands on their energy bill<\/a>: <\/p>\n

\u201cMy hotel\u2019s heat pump paid for itself in just over two months! <\/strong><\/p>\n

Located in the Johannesburg inner-city suburb of the same name and just up the hill from the Ellis Park stadium, the Troyeville hotel remains something of a legend with a loyal following across Johannesburg.<\/p>\n

Opened in 1939 as a male boarding house, the two-storey Troyeville Hotel (generally just called \u201cthe Troyeville\u201d) has eight rooms which are occupied by long-term guests plus three recently renovated upmarket rooms, including a suite. The hotel also has a small fully-equipped conference room and a bar \u2013 a very popular hangout in Johannesburg. The restaurants and specifically its Portuguese food are a firm favourite with Johannesburgers.<\/p>\n

Co-owner (and well-known restaurateur) Laurence Jones recalls that he convinced a group of friends to buy the hotel with him 11 years ago because \u2013 when he heard it was on the market \u2013 he was particularly concerned about missing out on his favourite Portuguese lunch. More than a decade later most of the kitchen staff are still at the Troyeville but nowadays they\u2019re working harder than ever \u2013 preparing up to 150 meals a day.<\/p>\n

Trimming the water heating bill<\/strong><\/p>\n

As is the case in any hard-working kitchen, hot water is essential to the Troyeville\u2019s everyday operations. It\u2019s used for the accommodation and for washing plates and equipment and preparing food. But, of course, hot water costs money which, with energy prices rising all the time, is only becoming more expensive. And so, a year ago, Jones decided to investigate alternative energy sources to supply the kitchen with hot water.<\/p>\n

\u201cUp to a year ago we had a gas boiler which was supplied by piped natural gas,\u201d says Jones. \u201cIt was pretty old and kept breaking down. Plus I wanted to know if we could save money using alternative technology. I decided to make some enquiries and the upshot was that we installed a heat pump which has been working fantastically ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Jones the hotel\u2019s gas bill used to average R26\u00a0000 a month, which was spent on the boiler, gas cookers and on heaters located throughout the hotel. (Had the boiler been heated using electricity its monthly cost would probably have been similar to that of natural gas although that cost would almost certainly have climbed faster than the gas price.)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe spent R12 000 on a 7kW heat pump and installation cost us another R2 000,\u201d explains Jones.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe simply used the existing 2 000 litre water tank and the switchover was so quick and easy that we didn\u2019t have to warn anyone \u2013 guests or even staff \u2013 to expect any disruptions because there weren\u2019t any.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Troyeville\u2019s compact heat pump is located on the roof of the hotel next to the old boiler and hot water is piped directly downstairs to the main kitchen. According to Jones his in-house handyman is responsible for maintenance \u2013 little more than rinsing a single filter every two months or so and giving the unit the occasional bit of cleaning.<\/p>\n

The heat pump heats water to 50\u00b0C \u2013 quite sufficient for the kitchen\u2019s needs. Jones is well aware that a big reason why hotels turn to heat pumps is the added benefit that they produce cool air. \u201cIf we were a bigger establishment with, say 50 rooms or more, we probably would have installed a bigger unit which would have given us much more cold air, which we might have pumped for cooling, but the 7kW unit we have is perfect for our needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

So how much money has the Troyeville saved from installing its first heat pump and what has been the payback period? \u201cOur gas bill used to be R26 000 a month and, as soon as we installed the heat pump, it came down by R6 000 a month. So, yes, it\u2019s been a brilliant investment.\u201d<\/p>\n

So what exactly is a heat pump? In the broadest terms, a heat pump is similar to an air conditioner or refrigerator except that, instead of pumping heat out of a fridge or air conditioner into the surrounding air, it pumps the heat from the outside air into the water to be heated.<\/p>\n

A heat pump can be up to three times more efficient than a traditional electric element geyser because it uses one unit of electricity and two units of low-temperature air to produce three units of hot water whereas a traditional geyser uses three units of electricity or gas<\/p>\n

Advisory service<\/strong><\/p>\n

Eskom’s national Advisory Service can help you to locate heat pump suppliers. The team can also advise hotels on:<\/p>\n