Premier Inn Launches Battery Powered Hotel

Premier Inn launches the first battery-powered hotel in the UK.

10:28 18 January 2019

Whitbread-owned Premier Inn has launched The Gyle, a battery-powered hotel In Glasgow - the first in the United Kingdom. The 200-room hotel in Edinburgh uses a new 100kW lithium-ion battery to help the establishment better manage its energy consumption. The battery, which functions by drawing power from the National Grid during off-peak periods, is three metres square in size and weighs approximately five tonnes. 

 

The battery, which takes two hours to fully charge, now powers the entire hotel, including its bar and grill restaurant. E.ON, which supplied and installed the battery technology, will be responsible for remotely managing the battery's workload and efficiency from its energy management centre in Glasgow. 

 

The Gyle at Edinbrugh Park was chosen for the project because Scotland is a large producer of renewable energy, such as wind power, which can be prone to volatility. 

 

Aside from reducing the demand from the National Grid, the battery also allows the Premier Inn site to avoid increased peak-time costs, which is expected to save the hotel £20,000 per year. 

 

Cian Hatton, Whitbread head of energy and environment, commented: “Batteries are of course everyday items, more commonly associated with powering small household goods, like the TV remote control, so it’s incredibly excited to launch the UK’s first battery-powered hotel as an innovation which will save money, ensure security of supply and support the transition to a more flexible grid.”