Good influence

The Sandman Signature hotel at London Gatwick has long demonstrated its commitment to sustainability. In 2024 it became the first hotel in Crawley to achieve Green Key status – the eco-label and standard of excellence for tourism facilities.

As part of its ongoing environmental efforts, the hotel has now installed new Showerkap technology in 20 bedrooms as part of a groundbreaking trial.

Designed to enable organisations such as hotels and universities to monitor and manage water remotely, the system nudges users to make more eco-friendly decisions and supports the operational team with real-time reports – analysing and improving water use and efficiency, and highlighting any potential safety risks and waste.

The system not only tracks and analyses usage, but also measures CO₂, detects abnormalities such as leaks and maintains water safety.

“We are continually looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint and to give our guests the best stay possible,” says Gints Skieris, hotel general manager. “We know many guests now favour a hotel with a sustainable ethos. Empowering people to play a part in that is critical to its success.

“This technology will enable users to monitor and reduce water usage and empower people to make more eco-friendly decisions. We look forward to providing guests with the chance to be part of a unique initiative, which is kinder to the planet and which we hope the hospitality industry will collectively embrace.”

Substantial savings

The UN ranks water scarcity as one of its top five global risks. By 2030, it is predicted that we will have a 40% global shortfall in water supply if we do not change our consumption. The hospitality industry is one of the planet’s biggest consumers of water. According to the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, a hotel can use an average of 1,500 litres per room per day – and tourists can use up to eight times more water than locals.

The average shower uses between 6 litres (electric) and 15 litres (power/ mixer) per minute. Extra demand from tourists not only exacerbates water shortages but also has a significant impact on CO₂ production due to the energy needed to heat the water.

“As a hotel we believe we should operate as sustainably as possible and we would like others to join us by also introducing this technology,” says Skieris. “Already, we can see the potential reductions, which will help us to run our business in a greener way. We look forward to taking this trial to the next level, to bring about significant water savings.”

Showerkap estimates that a hotel with 100 rooms could save over two million litres of water and 13,500kg of carbon annually. Costs are also significantly reduced, saving around £6,500 on water and £15,000 on electricity.

“Every day in the UK, we send two billion litres of shower water down the drain,” says Steve Harding, founder of Showerkap. "But we can change that using engineering innovation and the power of behavioural science to reward guests for taking shorter showers."

Smart approach

At the same time, the valve smartbox relays the captured usage data to a cloud-based platform, and a web app provides users with detailed analytics, such as total water usage, costs and CO₂ emissions. The system also offers a suite of sophisticated leak detection tools and alerts.

The data forms the basis of the system’s unique set of behavioural nudge tools. Aligned with users’ preferences – in future projects guests will be able to connect directly with the smart devices – these personalised nudges encourage people to make more sustainable water and energy decisions.

Easy installation

Each of the 20 hotel rooms was equipped with a pair of flow sensors installed within a riser to capture the total volume of water entering the bathroom. The Nexus valve that also houses the smart box was installed on the hot supply to the shower. A cold feed was introduced to the Nexus valve – just as when installing a standard blending valve – to enable the fade technology to slowly decrease the delivery temperature to the shower.

“The delivery temperatures are set by the hotel or by the guest themselves via a web or mobile app (currently in development),” explains Hardling. “Each riser requires a single power supply that powers two low-voltage Nexus valves via the supplied buddy lead.

“For connectivity, a preconfigured LTE router with SIM is installed in the most convenient place for power and signal. Our IoT Nexus devices work on a mesh network, meaning they use one another to transfer data back to the border router. This data is then sent to our cloud for processing via the router.”

Each site undergoes a full survey prior to any work being undertaken to draw up a list of materials required and to assist with installation, such as identifying the preferred location of the router.

“The products can be installed by any qualified plumber with no additional training required,” adds Harding. “They are equipped with standard fittings that can easily be adapted for any global pipe size. We provide an easy-to-follow installation guide, plus contact details for our technical team in case support is needed.”

The data from the sensors is sent to a centralised cloud system and mobile app, enabling the hotel to remotely monitor and manage water temperature and safety, as well as see how much water and energy is being used.

“Working closely with hotel staff, the Showerkap team will help to raise guest awareness about water scarcity and the importance of shorter showers to help conserve water,” adds Harding.

System benefits

The platform not only allows the hotel’s management team to view detailed statistics on consumption of water and energy waste, but also highlights any leaks or safety alerts, including Legionella. The system isolates specific rooms so in the case of Legionella, rather than having to run all the taps on a floor, only the taps in the unused room have to be run, saving additional water.

“The Showerkap team delivers personalised reports from captured data and makes recommendations to help reduce waste and improve efficiency,” adds Harding.

“For example, the system has been able to identify guests who have not had delivery of hot water due to other guests over consuming, trends in peak use, plus we have been able to suggest ways to bring these factors under control."

“At this stage, we are still evaluating the results of the current trial and assessing various factors, including operational impact, guest feedback and long-term sustainability outcomes,” explains Skieris.

“We’re encouraged by the early indicators and remain open to the possibility of a full rollout, but no final decision has been made yet. We want to ensure that any broader implementation is fully informed and delivers the best value for both our guests and the environment.”

• For more information, visit showerkap.co.uk