Case Stories
Renewable Hot Water solution at Hyatt in Cape Town, South Africa
A very crowded city, with little open space, a lot of tourists and above all a lot of sun. In 2019 Hilton, (now called Hyatt) contacted Solarus to help them achieve their sustainability goals. Not a standard assignment, because there was not much roof surface and the available space was already largely taken up by air conditioning units and ventilation shafts. In addition, there was also a constant need for hot water. Hyatt wanted to get the maximum return from every square meter of roofing surface. With traditional solar panels, Hilton could generate barely 5% of the total energy requirement. And our solution? It covers no less than 75% of the annual hot water requirement.
Significant Decrease in Energy Consumption and CO2 Emissions
For the hotel, we reduced energy peaks and significantly reduced the energy bill for producing hot water. In addition, we ensured the highest possible CO2 reduction per square meter. In order not to experience any limitations from the existing installations on the roof, we constructed a 2 meter high frame on which the Solarus hybrid solar panels were placed over all obstacles, while the roof remained perfectly accessible.
Sixty-six (66) Solarus PVT panels in combination with 4 x 44 kW heat pumps provide the hot water in the 139 hotel rooms. The hybrid solar panels directly heat the water in the buffer tanks, and the heat pump jumps in when the sun goes down. The electricity generated by the PVT panels compensates for the consumption of the heat pumps. By combining both hot water and electrical output, a total of 265,604 kWh of green energy was supplied by the Solarus PVT panels.
Payback in 5 Years
The energy peaks that previously occurred for the production of hot water were drastically reduced by the integrated PVT solution from Solarus. A backup is always provided by the heat pumps and the storage. In addition to the other advantages, the PVT solar panels also reduce dependence on external energy sources. 262.949 kg of Co2 per year is reduced and the installation also pays back in just under 5 years.
Since the system was commissioned, the performance has exceeded expectations, the hotel has not had a single day of lack of hot water and there were not even any interruptions or other negative consequences for the guests during the installation.
