Within the next 20
years, our planet could reach the peak regarding oil consumption. What’s more
worrying is that the demand for oil continues to grow year upon year as the
global production of oil appears to decrease.

This ever-growing
problem will impact the way that hotels are constructed in the future, and how
eco-friendly strategies can benefit hotels in terms of their cost-efficiency.

When constructing new
hotels, most of the machinery used, if not all are powered by fossil fuels and
crude oils. The reason for this, is that without them, the construction process
would not be able to function in its current form. This is however, having a
detrimental impact on greenhouse gas emissions. Within the UK, 50% of carbon emissions are accounted for by the construction industry
and machinery within the production process.  

In the light of this,
the awareness off how pollution is starting to impact our planet, is finally
being realised and as result, attitudes are beginning to change. Within the
construction industry, Eco-friendly practices have been growing, and although
the US market have estimated revenues of $245 billion, UK firms could also take
advantage of these environmentally friendly practices.

Providers of container hire and waste management
solutions, Reconomy explain further on how eco-friendly practices can be
implemented within the construction of hotels and other buildings, and once
they’re built, can help tackle climate change.

When constructing a
new hotel, the UK government are instructing construction firms to use green
processes by passing legislation. Post-construction, firms are also encouraged
to incorporate green technologies within the build to benefit the environment
once construction is complete.

Building an eco-friendly hotel
There are three core principles that need to be taken in account during the
construction of a hotel so that’s ecologically beneficial to and within the
environment:

1. What needs
   to be established, is whether energy is being wasted during construction.
   During the production process machines can more than often be overused. This
   leads to energy that is wasted that can never be used again. So that a motor
   isn’t overworked, electric vehicles or machines with hybrid-engines should be
   used so that when a motor is overworked – electric engines can help power and
   support the overall load.
2. Once the
   building of the hotel is complete, what energy is being generated within it,
   and is it being wasted?
3. Furthermore,
   assess whether materials for the construction of the hotel have been locally
   sourced – if they haven’t, a decision has to be made on whether they can be
   recycled in the future.

For the roofing of the
hotel, recycled paper can be utilised instead of new insulation that’s often
expensive. By using cheap and practical alternatives – insulation that is
produced for individual roofs will be more cost effective when using
pre-existing materials. By using timbers that are sourced from sustainably managed
forests within the local areas, this avoids when to chop down trees that will
not be replanted.

Ecological hotel structures and their design
Based on making the most out of the hotel structure, these eco-friendly
techniques can help to save costs, and energy within the hotel design.

• Drainage systems and water filtration. When biological waste is treated safely, water
  can be re-used within a hotel. Rainwater can also be utilised and collected
  into specific drains that recycle it, so it can be re-used instead of water
  from a tap and also used in outdoor spaces such as gardens and courtyard spaces
  for plants
• Low-energy lighting. Low energy lighting can last twice as long as
  regular lightbulbs, which accounts for an energy saving of 100%
• Solar energy panels. Solar energy is fast in becoming a cheaper
  alternative as opposed to other forms of commercial power. When using them
  within a hotel’s power supply, this can account for a significant saving in
  energy costs. A hotel also covers a large surface area, which means that many
  solar panels can be used, maximising the amount of electricity that can be
  generated in this energy efficient way. 

Benefitting from environmentally friendly construction
The day-to-day running of a hotel can account for 80% of hotel’s overall cost,
which can be expensive. Reducing the total running costs of a hotel by one
third, introducing green initiatives can help reduce these costs to 53.3% of
overall costs.

When it comes to the hotel’s
architectural design, daylight should always be considered. This is because
daylight helps to save on artificial lighting costs. Furthermore, it is
considered by many that the ‘indoor environment quality’ of a hotel can be
improved when natural light is abundant – this is because it creates the
illusion of more space within a more natural feeling environment, benefitting
the health of occupants that are present within the building.

Once the construction
part of hotel begins, long-lasting materials that can be recycle should always
be utilised. This means that fewer new materials will be used during
construction, helping to reduce the overall cost of the build whilst less
energy is consumed in order to produce the new structure.

To tackle climate
change, construction firms will have to use these materials and techniques
within their construction processes. By producing hotels that are greener, more
environmentally efficient and conceptualised with the long-term future of the
planet in mind, this will ensure that buildings are constructed in a
sustainable way for generations to come.