In May 2023, the global hospitality industry gathered for the annual Hotel and Hospitality Show, an event where industry professionals from around the world converge to share the latest innovations, build long-lasting connections, and discover solutions to elevate their businesses and better serve their customers.
Among the luminaries in attendance were representatives from Solarus – the industry’s frontrunner in green and renewable energy solutions.
The Solarus team – Hugo Vermeulen, Michael Boyce, and Izelle van der Spek – took the stage to showcase how Solarus’ solution can fortify the hospitality industry against the rising costs and uncertainties of traditional energy sources and the crisis closest to home: load-shedding.
Meet the Team Behind Solarus’ Hybrid Solar Solution
Solarus’ skilled Hot Water Specialists are dedicated to revolutionising the industry through sustainable energy solutions.
- Hugo Vermeulen, the company’s leading renewable Hot Water Specialist, brings a distinctly positive and results-oriented approach to the team. His dedication to a sustainable world is evidenced in his role at Solarus, where he uses his management skills to foster innovative projects and strategic partnerships.
Vermeulen’s responsibility is to connect Solarus with companies ready to embrace change and transition to 100% sustainable hot water solutions.
- For Michael Boyce, the excitement lies in sustainability and innovation – something he’s incredibly passionate about. Always looking for ways to improve the company’s products and services, he collaborates closely with clients from hotels, hospitals, breweries and food processing plants to design and implement solar-powered systems that reduce their dependence on the unstable power grid and lower their carbon footprint.
“I really believe that there isn’t a more efficient product on the market which delivers the results we do. At the Hotel and Hospitality Show, I saw a need for business owners in various industries to put more focus on their energy issues and take back control of their businesses.”
– Michael Boyce, Hot Water Specialist
- Izelle van der Spek, another Renewable Hot Water Specialist, completes this trio of visionaries. She aims to help businesses achieve a zero-energy bill for hot water with the latest solar technologies that guarantee high yield, effectiveness, and sustainability.
She’s passionate about empowering businesses to grow. Whether clients need an all-encompassing, fully-integrated, sustainable hot water solution that shows the highest CO2 savings at the lowest cost per kilowatt hour, or simply wants to reduce their carbon footprint and go green, Izelle takes pride in the fact that Solarus can help them achieve exponential growth.
Meet The Ground-Breaking Solution Presented at The Hotel and Hospitality Show
The audience seated at the Hotel and Hospitality Show glimpsed a greener future when the Solarus team introduced their solution. Operating globally and specialising in the hospitality sector, Solarus’ cutting-edge technology harnesses the sun’s power to deliver hot water and electricity.
The company’s future-proof hot water and electricity solution meets the needs of hotels unlike any other solar power giant on the planet.
“Our solar panels, designed, developed and manufactured by Abora Solar in Spain, are the world’s most cost-effective solar panel with an efficiency of 89%, achieving a certified world record.”
– Izelle van der Spek, Hot Water Specialist
The company’s flagship product is a high-end, hybrid photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) panel. Unlike regular solar PV panels, which only convert about 20% of the sun’s heat into electricity and lose 80% as waste heat, Solarus’ hybrid PVT panels can harness a significant portion of this heat loss.
The result is an impressive efficiency of 89%, comprising 20% from PV and 69% from thermal absorption.
The Benefits of Solarus’ Solution for the Hospitality Industry
The hospitality industry is not immune to the increasing environmental stress and demand for the earth’s natural resources. However, the sector also relies on the same natural environment – idyllic landscapes, sandy beaches, turquoise oceans, glaciers, waterfalls, coral reefs, and clean air – to attract tourists and grow their businesses.
Is it possible to leave the natural world untouched and also use energy to power your establishment? Yes.
Solarus is uniquely positioned to meet the needs of an industry grappling with depleted natural resources and load-shedding, thanks to its advanced technology and eco-friendly mission.
“We believe that our integrated, renewable hot water solutions, with the highest CO2 savings at the lowest costs per kilowatt hour, can make a difference in the world by moving towards a zero-energy bill for hot water.”
– Michael Boyce, Hot Water Specialist
Benefit #1: Saves Money
The hospitality industry, including hotels, restaurants, and resorts, is heavily reliant on energy for operations like lighting, heating, cooling, and powering appliances. Unfortunately, this leaves them with massive energy bills.
The good news: Solarus’ high-efficiency photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) panels enable establishments to reduce their energy costs significantly.
Benefit #2: Offers Limitless Supply of Hot Water
The hospitality industry needs consistent and reliable energy sources to ensure uninterrupted service. Power outages can severely affect business operations and customer satisfaction.
Solarus’ solution allows your hotel to become more energy-independent – less reliant on grid supply and better equipped to handle power disruptions. You can also guarantee a limitless hot water supply for your customers.
Benefit #3: Supports Flexible Growth
The demands of a small bed-and-breakfast in Hermanus are vastly different to the demands of a luxurious 5-star hotel on the French Riveria. Solarus anticipates that. The scalable and flexible nature of Solarus’ solutions enables them to be tailored to meet the specific needs of each business, whether it’s a small inn or a large resort.
This flexibility ensures that you only pay for what you need.
Benefit #4: Showcases Environmental Responsibility
Today’s travellers are increasingly conscious about their environmental footprint. Thus, they tend to favour hospitality businesses that are committed to sustainability.
Solar energy is clean, green, and reduces your dependence on fossil fuels; this lowers your hotel’s carbon footprint and helps you win over customers. By using Solarus’ renewable energy solutions, you can showcase your establishment’s dedication to environmentally-friendly practices.
Benefit #5: Optimises Space
In the hospitality industry, where space is valuable, maximising its utilisation becomes paramount. With Solarus’ PVT panels, you can rest assured that your roof will generate the highest energy output per square meter compared to conventional Solar PV panels. Our solution optimises your hotel’s roof, transforming it into the most lucrative space within your hotel, ensuring you harness the maximum energy potential from the available area.
Benefit #6: Boosts Brand Reputation
Adopting Solarus’ green energy solution can enhance your business’s brand image. If you promote using sustainable energy sources, you can attract eco-conscious consumers and gain a competitive edge.
Sustainability is a powerful marketing tool; Solarus provides a straightforward and efficient way to incorporate it into your business’s strategy.
Success Stories in the Hospitality Industry
From the coast of Costa Adeje to Cape Town’s own Hyatt Regency Hotel, Solarus has driven success and saved money for hospitality companies worldwide. For example, every year, the Iberostar Bouganville Playa Hotel avoids 86,544 kilograms of CO2 emissions while its guests enjoy uninterrupted hot water.
Dozens of other companies have felt the positive impact of Solarus’ solution, too:
“Our PVT installation at Windtown Lagoon Hotel provides uninterrupted hot water for this boutique hotel in the Western Cape, solely powered by renewable energy. Not only are we ensuring that guests have a comfortable stay through load shedding, but we have saved this establishment huge amounts on their monthly electricity bill by taking away the dependence on electric geysers.”
– Michael Boyce, Hot Water Specialist
The Future of Sustainable Energy in the Hospitality Industry
Picture this: a future where the physical footprint of hotels, resorts, and restaurants are transformed into hubs of clean energy, setting new standards in energy efficiency.
These spaces are now self-sufficient, converting the abundant solar energy into hot water and electricity that caters to the round-the-clock needs of local and international guests. Imagine rooms that are consistently heated or cooled depending on the season, pools with perfectly maintained water temperatures, and a never-ending hot water supply.
But that’s not all.
Watch to see an uplift in the hospitality sector’s corporate social responsibility profile. By adopting Solarus’ green energy solutions, your industry sets a precedent for sustainable operations. Guests can now make more environmentally conscious decisions about their accommodations, knowing that their stay contributes to less carbon emissions.
“We are currently at a very exciting time where we are now beginning to look at more sustainable approaches to energy. We foresee the future still holding unlimited opportunities to successfully create technology that yields high amounts of renewable energy.”
– Solarus
Lead the Way to a Greener Future
Solarus’ solution uses 89% efficiency technology to improve your corporate sustainability goals and save your business huge amounts of money. But that’s just the beginning. Hotels, resorts, and restaurants operating with Solarus’ solutions no longer just provide hospitality services; they become symbols of a new, sustainable world where business and the environment can coexist harmoniously.
“Sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
– Gro Harlem Brundtland, Former Prime Minister of Norway
As of today, Solarus has initiated over 250 successful projects in 25 countries. Together, we can pave the way for a greater and greener future – one hotel at a time.