Hotel MiniBars Vs My new Eco system

Hi everyone,

Its great to have found this site at that point in my research..

I am looking into a new form of eco friendly novel minibars system for hotels. I plan to use ice or chill packs, which does still use energy but i think much less energy than individual minibars in each room. The plan would be to have deep freezers on each level to freeze the ice and this would then refill the mini bar each day(imagine a beehive filled freezer).

After doing some basic energy and electricity research i think that a hotel with 300 mini bars would save energy if it used freezers on each level instead.

Obviously it depends how much ice i freeze, but im wondering if it has plausability and if you have any other research into energy used to freeze ice etc

Many thanks and i hope this to be my home for the next 7months so all replies and help welcome.

Your knowledge is vital to me!!

pynnster

Waste of time.;)

Mini bars are always empty these days.

:D

Welcome to the fray, by the way.

they are always full in the top hotels in the uk, are you aware of the new bartech minibar system

welcome to the dragons den.

well i for one won't be investing -i'm OUT

cheers

richard

this is my final yr project at uni so i am stuck with it rich any info u have would be greatly appreciated

Well, if it's a project then you had better get the books and calculator out to check your energy sums and labour costings.

Firstly, does anyone make a freezer that makes ice in useable sizes?
How are the staff going to transport the ice from freezer to room?
Will the freezer be able to constantly produce ice as the rooms will need servicing at different times of the day.
How labour intensive is it? -- Staff walk down corridor to end room to service it, mini-bar needs ice, staff walks back down corridor to collect more ice, ice transfer equipment not available due to other member of staff having. Walk back to room and service room. - Sod ice I'm done for the day.........

Why not investigate having a pack system serving a cold plate in each mini-bar?

Good luck with your endeavours.

hey,

there are some valid points you have made and for that i thankyou. Some peoples previous comments have missed the concept.

I have ben looking into chill packs as a more efficient way to chill the drinks. Lets also not forget im not trying to make millions here just gain a degree.

This is a concept for people who are staying in Eco friendly hotels for a reason, so with reference to managers keeping customers happy this concept would.

If i used ice then the run off water would be stored in the bathroom of the room beneith and used to flush the toilet.

let me know your thoughts

cheers

Hi Pynnster

Have you thought of this idea and drop electricity altogether, not sure this is any good but hey.

Absorbtion mini bars use electrical heaters to process the refrigeration cycle, but if your close to the bathroom area why not use the constant hot water supply they always have in bathrooms to replace the electrical side of the system.(you will need a flowing loop though)

If thats any good i would like to state my claim for royalties.

Regards
LRAC

A water cooled minibar would enable you to regain the heat for sanitary purposes or else.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LRAC

Hi Pynnster

Have you thought of this idea and drop electricity altogether, not sure this is any good but hey.

Absorbtion mini bars use electrical heaters to process the refrigeration cycle, but if your close to the bathroom area why not use the constant hot water supply they always have in bathrooms to replace the electrical side of the system.(you will need a flowing loop though)

If thats any good i would like to state my claim for royalties.

Regards
LRAC

---

You would need the water temp quite high for Absorbtion cycle (90C) which would mean using heat from the heating system, not the hot water system. But this still wouldn't be of any use because Absorbtion machines have a low COP - around 0.6 : 1 and the energy used to fire the boilers and pumps would be much more than a small vapour compression mini bar would use.

I agree with Frank, until the room needs to be heated....

If the heat rejection from the absorption system can be applied to the room space, the absorption unit makes some sense but not a useful by product if the hotel's in the Carribean.

Why not try a eutectic freezer at each level? Then you won't have to be concerned about the room below's disposition or the guests using the ice IN their drinks...

I suppose that's cultural as well, but...

Maybe it would be possible to incorporate it with a chilled water a/c system. flow and return from and to the water circuits, connect with washer hoses or the likes, stat controlling a water solenoid and a fan blowing over the coil inside. Just a thought. It may be flawed for many reasons but it is your project and it's only chilling beer.

solar water heaters as the heat source, indirect through a buffer and all the mini bars drawing off from it, you could even use underfloor heating manifolds.

may cause flooding etc and all the mini bars will go down at the same time but hey, they are all empty anyways!

Hello friends,

ı want to learn how amonia absorption work and ı want to learn amonia consantiration in refrigerant of hotel type minibar.

Many thanks and i hope, you help me

Stayed at several Hotels in Japan over the years. No mini bars no fridges in room. But have on each floor a room with vending machines and an ice maker. Pay as you go, no hassles sorting minibar bills in the morning.
magoo

You need to check you refrig fundementals, ice makers run at a lower SST than fridge, thus lower COP,
plus you increase thermal losses, you have you bar fridge plus the box that stores the ice, plus losses in moving from one place to another, so this option would be less eco freindly!
The only way to balance the equation, is to recover the heat for water heating, this would be aviable option due to the heat being concentrated in a single point, recovering energy from a hotel bar fridge waste of time, a load profile is required, from this point comparissions can be made
Mad

To undertake you load profile certain factors need to be considered
Occupency
"a" A heated room, actual thermal loss are zero as fridge is in the room, the only consideration is electrical power, comparision need sto be made between fridge energy input verses energy input for room heating, if heating is electrical then there is no in- efficiency
"b" Cooled room thermal loss zero,
electrical power in plus the cost removing the electrical energy, for example COP of air cond is 3, so total cost of running bar fidge is electrical power *1.33
Mad

Just seen the date of the original question, I wonder if pynnster got his degree for his "new system"?