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From spa facilities to guest bathrooms – SCHELL solutions for drinking water hygiene in hotels

9-minute read

Drinking water hygiene – especially in guest bathrooms – is of fundamental importance for hotels and other lodging establishments. Cost-effective and efficient solutions for ensuring good-quality drinking water are needed here. Faced with rising utility bills for water and energy, facility managers in the hotel industry are looking for new ways to boost operational efficiency. Another point of focus here is solutions for maintaining drinking water hygiene to legal standards in guest bathrooms. As part of its campaign on energy use, DEHOGA offers comprehensive recommendations for action on saving energy and water. With checklists and guidance available on specific topics, this German industry association also recommends taking specific action for sanitary facilities and building automation systems in hotels and lodging establishments.

One of the first steps recommended by DEHOGA is the installation of economical fittings for wash basins and showers. Saving water and good drinking water hygiene can go hand in hand: in this article, we introduce you to some ideal solutions from the SCHELL portfolio.

DEHOGA recommendation: sensor taps for wash basins

SCHELL maintains a broad-based portfolio of water-saving fittings for professional use, including a wide variety of contactless sensor taps for wash basins. Compared with conventional single-lever mixers, contactless taps can cut water use by up to 70 percent. Typically, they can also be installed without extensive renovations – a significant advantage for busy hotel managers. Electronic sensor taps from SCHELL can also execute stagnation flushes automatically and therefore help to maintain drinking water hygiene.

Many of the contactless taps from the SCHELL portfolio can be networked with the SCHELL SWS Water Management System and therefore also execute centrally controlled, automated stagnation flushes. Once taps are networked with SCHELL SWS, they can be placed into groups, to use automated, simultaneous stagnation flushes for the purpose of simulating the specified normal operation of the building.

A group of this kind could include all of the fittings in a hotel room (wash basin, shower, WC), for example, so that unused rooms could be flushed in an automatic and targeted manner. The ability to form groups is also very useful in cases where parts of hotel buildings remain unoccupied during renovations. In cases where individual parts of the building are only partially occupied – by daytime visitors or during the off-peak season – fitting groups can also be defined and efficiently managed for automated flushes. SWS provides access to entire drinking water installations, single groups of fittings and even to each individual fitting in a guest bathroom. Thanks to the great flexibility of water management with SWS, flushes can be easily scheduled at any time without inconveniencing hotel guests.

Sensor fittings can also help to prevent the excessive spread of Legionella in the pipe system. A major advantage of this approach is that, even following seasonal interruptions in use or a temporary closure, no recommissioning is required, because the simulation means no ‘interruption’ of normal hotel operations has actually occurred.

The ideal choice for guest bathrooms – XERIS series wash basin taps

In the hotel and hospitality sector, fittings from SCHELL’s XERIS series are an excellent choice, especially the contactless XERIS E and XERIS E-T sensor taps. In both models, the flow of water is triggered by an infrared sensor once a hand moves into the sensor range. This type of triggering helps to improve user hygiene – such as in areas of the hotel typically used by many different kinds of users. This is because the risk of contact infections is minimised by avoiding contact with the fitting. Once hands are no longer present within the detection range, the flow of water stops automatically. So, water flows only when it is truly needed. This also finally puts an end to the increased rates of water usage that result from running taps that absent-minded guests have forgotten to shut off.

The detection range for the infrared sensor can be adjusted easily at the specific wash basin. The electronics in both the XERIS E and XERIS E-T models allow the tap parameters to be set using short-range reflex. The taps are also suitable for parameter setting using the SSC Bluetooth® module and for networking together with the SCHELL SWS Water Management System. Networking with SWS also offers further potential savings to ensure the especially hygienic and efficient operation of the drinking water installation. XERIS fittings are designed to minimise water consumption. Optionally, they can also be equipped with highly economical LEED flow regulators, which contribute to meeting ecological building certification requirements.

DEHOGA recommendation: water-saving shower fittings

DEHOGA also recommends that hotel owners install water-saving shower fittings, noting the importance of fittings with automated closing mechanisms in particular. Premium SCHELL self-closing fittings are also ideal for use in hotel bathrooms.

Ideal for hotel bathrooms: LINUS series self-closing shower fittings

Shower fittings from SCHELL’s LINUS series are an excellent choice for bathrooms in lodging establishments. Fine-grained flow time adjustment means that they offer economical water usage anywhere in the hotel building. They are also especially easy to use for hotel guests. Key features of the LINUS D-C-T and LINUS D-C-M fittings include the CVD touch electronics developed by SCHELL. This is a pressure-sensitive actuation control for use in electronic fittings. Superior water and energy efficiency is also helped by the start-stop function. The flow of water stops automatically after the pre-configured time or can be shut off earlier by pressing the button again, to ensure greater water savings. LINUS D-C-T and LINUS D-C-M are suitable for networking with the efficient SCHELL SWS Water Management System, and thereby help to maintain drinking water hygiene in hotel buildings. Their timeless design also blends seamlessly with the decor in any hotel bathroom. Depending on fit-out requirements, the LINUS series shower fittings can be operated using the durable COMFORT Flex shower head or with the convenient hand showers from SCHELL.

Comfort in guest bathrooms – shower fittings from the VITUS series

All shower fittings in the VITUS series have been built around a single base body and offer many variants to match the structural situation in the hotel bathroom. The exposed VITUS VD-SC-T shower fitting is especially easy to use: its self-closing mechanism means it has to be operated only once before showering. It is an ideal choice for use in hotels, thanks to its easy-to-clean, smooth chrome surfaces plus union nuts concealed behind the rosette. The water flow time for a single use can be chosen from between 5 and 30 seconds by the facility manager. As with other VITUS fittings, the VITUS VD-SC-T also has a noise class I rating – a welcome feature for guests looking to enjoy some peace and quiet. The ThermoProtect thermostat also offers reliable anti-scalding protection. All parameters can be set via Single Control SSC and the fitting is also suitable for networking with SWS. A matching shower kit is the ideal addition to SCHELL shower fittings from the VITUS series: with the VITUS hand shower, hotel guests can enjoy a pleasant shower with a soft stream, a powerful massage jet or a combination of the two.

DEHOGA recommendation: sensor fittings for WCs and urinals

SCHELL fittings can also offer effective support for hotel drinking water hygiene when it comes to WCs and urinals. In its energy saving factsheet no. 20, ‘Other hotel operations’, DEHOGA also recommends installing sensor-controlled urinal fittings in male toilets. SCHELL also has the perfect solution for this scenario: the contactless EDITION E and EDITION E Manual WC controls combine saving water with hygiene in guest bathrooms. In fitness areas or suites, the EDITION E contactless concealed urinal control meets the most stringent hygiene requirements.

EDITION E and EDITION E Manual contactless WC control

SCHELL’s EDITION E and EDITION E Manual WC controls are triggered by an infrared sensor, offering an especially hygienic and water-efficient solution. The EDITION E Manual version, which is also triggered by an IR sensor, has an additional emergency trigger that means the WC flush push button can be operated manually for a flush in the event of a power failure. The rugged stainless steel front panel is ideal for use in the busy sanitary facilities operated by lodging establishments. Parameters for the EDITION E and EDITION E Manual WC controls can be set using SCHELL Single Control SSC, and the fittings can be networked with the SWS SCHELL Water Management System.

WC cistern modules – MONTUS Flow and MONTUS Flow H

The easy-to-install MONTUS Flow and MONTUS Flow H modules – the ‘H’ variant being designed for accessible sanitary facilities – complement the SCHELL portfolio, and are compatible with both SSC and SWS. Both models also offer the option of automatic stagnation flushes. MONTUS Flow and MONTUS Flow H can be combined with any SCHELL MONTUS operating panel – such as the MONTUS FIELD H, for example, which features a contactless operating panel.

EDITION E contactless concealed urinal control

The EDITION E urinal control meets the very highest hygiene standards and perfectly complements EDITION series WC controls. In any guest bathroom, sanitary facility or fitness area, EDITION E ensures economical operation and optimum user hygiene, thanks to its contactless triggering: its infrared sensor detects the user’s presence and releases the pre-set flush volume once the user has left the sensor’s detection range, without any contact being needed. The EDITION E urinal control can also be adjusted using SCHELL Single Control SSC and networked with SWS, so as to help maintain drinking water hygiene in the hotel building with stagnation flushes.

Improving energy efficiency in buildings: SCHELL SWS Water Management System

The SCHELL SWS Water Management System is a useful instrument for improving energy efficiency in buildings. SWS can be used to implement many of DEHOGA’s recommended measures and can also output calculated water consumption figures, for example. SWS can either be used as a standalone solution or integrated into the central building control system by means of gateways. SWS also offers a great degree of flexibility for accessing networked fittings. Hotel operators can adjust parameters to their requirements while distinguishing between occupied and unoccupied hotel rooms. If two rooms are currently occupied, with an unoccupied room between them that should be flushed automatically, SWS can control the affected fittings individually. Accordingly, guests in their hotel rooms are not disturbed by a flushing operation that is required in the unoccupied room.

In 2023, a brand-new version of the German Drinking Water Ordinance (TrinkW) was published. This law’s Legionella provisions can be used to identify specific actions to take by building operators. In 2023, a brand-new version of the German Drinking Water Ordinance was published. This law’s Legionella provisions can be used to identify specific actions to take by building operators. Alongside reactive measures for tackling cases of Legionella, much greater importance is now attached to prevention. Hotel operators can take this opportunity to design their drinking water installations for low-cost energy efficiency and incorporate SWS to improve drinking water hygiene on their premises. SWS helps hotel managers to operate their drinking water installation hygienically while logging all activities taken to maintain drinking water quality as required by law, especially during seasonal fluctuations in capacity utilisation.

SWS ensures all SCHELL fittings in a hotel are networked, controlled and managed – and even offers remote access at any time, thanks to its browser-based add-in, the SMART.SWS online service. SWS uses automated stagnation flushes to help maintain drinking water quality. By grouping fittings together and therefore ensuring concurrencies, these flushes can also simulate the specified normal operation of a drinking water installation. With the option of assigning fittings to groups, stagnation flushes can be triggered across multiple fittings at the same, preconfigured point in time, simulating normal operation of the installation. Thanks to SWS, stagnation flushes can also be logged, and predictive maintenance – also in guest bedrooms – planned easily and effectively.

If needed, settings can even be adjusted for each fitting individually. These automated processes save time and cut costs, and offer hotel owners valuable support for keeping their drinking water installation operations legally compliant. The use of SWS has a decisively positive impact on water and energy consumption, and therefore also on building efficiency.

Summary

For hotel management, the comfort and well-being of their guests is a top priority. Rising utility bills, maintaining drinking water quality and supporting user hygiene present hotels with additional challenges. SCHELL works as a partner to help hotel owners meet these challenges, drawing on its long-standing expertise in professional fittings and solutions for maintaining drinking water quality. SCHELL solutions can help hotel owners to save energy efficiently anywhere and everywhere in their properties – even in guest bathrooms, thanks to water-saving taps and fittings. Once networked with SWS, electronic fittings from SCHELL can help to maintain drinking water hygiene throughout the hotel while making it easier for hotel management to operate the installation according to the relevant regulations. Depending on local circumstances, SCHELL fittings can often be installed without major conversion work, with many models also compatible for use with LEED flow regulators. Alongside savings, electronic taps and fittings from SCHELL also help promote good user hygiene while offering a high level of user comfort. With a combination of the most suitable SCHELL products, the potential savings for a specific building can be identified, optimised and fully utilised.

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