Premier Inn is leading the hospitality industry to become more sustainable with the opening of another green hotel and restaurant at Camborne in Cornwall.The 65-bedroom hotel and 210-cover restaurant is the tenth sustainable purpose-built hotel developed by Whitbread and features an array of sustainable technologies including 10 kW solar photovoltaic panels mounted onto the hotel roof to offset four electric car charging ports at the site – a major innovation for a budget hotel chain.
Chris George, Head of Energy and Environment for Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants, said: “Camborne is a clear example of Whitbread using its expertise to lead the UK hospitality industry to become more sustainable. Our intention with the project was to learn from our existing sustainable hotels at Burgess Hill in West Sussex and Tamworth in Staffordshire and design an even more impressive and sustainable product. We have done that and demonstrated, once again, that green hotel design is possible within the mainstream market and does not have to mean ‘boutique’ or ‘expensive’.
The sustainable Premier Inn at Camborne incorporates the following energy and water saving features:
– Earth’s natural energy – ground source heat pumps use the earth’s natural energy to cool and heat rooms and provide hot water throughout the hotel. 70% of the hotels hot water, heating and cooling will be provided in this way
– Grey water –lowflow showerheads have been installed in the guest bathrooms and the toilets are flushed with recycled water from showers and baths to cut down on freshwater use
– Clever lighting – very low energy LED lighting is used in the hotel reception, bars and restaurant areas. Corridor and stairwell lighting is controlled by presence detectors and energy saving key card switches are provided in the guest bedrooms to prevent energy wastage
– Building that breathes – fresh air is delivered to each room, capturing the energy from the air it replaces
– High levels of insulation – manufactured from naturally occurring and recycled materials are used in the walls to create exceptionally efficient thermal and acoustic insulation
– Timber flooring – sustainable-sourced certified timber used as a replacement for concrete ground floors. This method saved over 100 tonnes of concrete compared to a similarly sized building constructed to current industry standards
– High efficiency kitchen equipment – has been installed to reduce energy wasted during cooking and refrigeration
– Turning natural light into energy – 10 kW photovoltaic cells located on the hotel roof that offset four electric car charging points located in the car park
