Hotel · Ventilation
Ventilation in hotel: what the SRI measures
Ventilation is about demand-controlled ventilation: more air when more people are present or CO2 rises, less when a room is empty. Heat recovery, free cooling with outdoor air and air-quality reporting count as well.
In short
- 1This page shows how ventilation counts towards the Smart Readiness Indicator of a hotel.
- 2Demand-controlled ventilation based on room occupancy and air quality determines a large part of the score.
- 3The Ventilation domain weighs 2 of the 3 points for a hotel, more than for many other building types.
Weight of this domain for this building type
Which services count
| Service | Lowest level | Highest level | Advice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supply air flow control at the room level V-1a · A · 5 levels | No ventilation system or manual control | Local Demand Control based on air quality sensors (CO2, VOC, ...) with local flow from/to the zone regulated by dampers | level 2 or higher |
| Air flow or pressure control at the air handler level V-1c · 5 levels | No automatic control: Continuously supplies of air flow for a maximum load of all rooms | Automatic flow or pressure control with pressure reset: Load dependent supplies of air flow for the demand of all connected rooms (for variable air volume systems with VFD) | – |
| Heat recovery control: prevention of overheating V-2c · 3 levels | Without overheating control | Modulate or bypass heat recovery based on multiple room temperature sensors or predictive control | – |
| Supply air temperature control at the air handling unit level V-2d · 4 levels | No automatic control | Variable set point with load dependant compensation. A control loop enables to control the supply air temperature. The setpoint is defined as a function of the loads in the room | – |
| Free cooling with mechanical ventilation system V-3 · 4 levels | No automatic control | H,x-directed control: The amount of outside air and recirculation air are modulated during all periods of time to minimize the amount of mechanical cooling. Calculation is performed on the basis of temperatures and humidity (enthalpy) | – |
| Reporting information regarding IAQ V-6 · A · 4 levels | None | Real time monitoring & historical information of IAQ available to occupants + warning on maintenance needs or occupant actions (e.g. window opening) | level 2 or higher |
Worked example
If everything in this domain is at level 0, the domain contributes nothing. At the highest level for all services, the indicative total score for this building type rises by about 10 percentage points (from 31 to 41 percent, with all other domains at level 1).
Why does ventilation carry such heavy weight in a hotel?
The Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) measures how well a building uses smart technology across nine domains. For a hotel, the Ventilation domain weighs 2 of the 3 points assigned to this building type. This is because occupancy per room varies greatly and demand-controlled regulation has significant impact here.
In a hotel, the reservation system is often known before a guest enters the room. When this system is linked to ventilation, air supply can automatically adjust with check-in, check-out and occupancy.
Which smart-ready services are assessed?
Within the Ventilation domain, six smart-ready services are tested. Each service has functionality levels from 0 (no automatic control) to 4 (the most advanced, demand-controlled form).
- V-1a: control of air flow per room, for example based on presence detection or CO2 sensors.
- V-1c: control of air flow or pressure at the level of the air handling unit.
- V-2c: control of heat recovery to prevent overheating.
- V-2d: control of supply air temperature, from constant setpoint to load-dependent compensation.
- V-3: free cooling with mechanical ventilation, such as night cooling or a humidity and temperature controlled regulation.
- V-6: reporting of air quality to users, with or without maintenance alerts.
V-1a and V-6 also fall under method A, a simplified version of the SRI methodology with 27 instead of 54 services.
What does this mean for a hotel's score?
A hotel with only time-schedule control and no air quality sensors scores low on this domain. A hotel where room control is linked to the reservation system and CO2 sensors drive ventilation locally scores considerably higher.
Because hot water peaks in the morning and guests expect individual control, the score in practice depends on choices across multiple domains at once, not ventilation alone.
What this means for you
- Owner
- Have ventilation linked to your reservation system and consider CO2 control per room, as this domain carries significant weight in a hotel's SRI score. A higher score can be a distinguishing argument at property sale or lease, even though the SRI is currently voluntary.
- Tenant
- As a guest you will notice demand-controlled ventilation mainly through fresher air in your room at arrival and less unnecessary noise from installations when the room is empty. Smart air quality control works in the background but contributes to comfort during your stay.
- Advisor
- When assessing, check whether room-level control (V-1a) is actually linked to occupancy data from the reservation or building management system, not just a time schedule. Also note the presence of heat recovery and free cooling, as these services have noticeable effect on the final outcome in the hotel weighting of 2 out of 3.
Next step
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