Sector
Hospitality
MEP design for hotels, restaurants and leisure, including guest comfort, commercial kitchens and high hot water demand.
OVERVIEW
Hospitality buildings run continuously, have very uneven demand profiles, and are judged by occupants on exactly the things building services determine: temperature, noise, water pressure and how quickly hot water arrives.
Hot water demand in a hotel peaks hard and briefly, and sizing generation and storage for that peak without oversizing for the other twenty-two hours is the characteristic public health problem of the sector.
DESIGN
What drives the design
Guest room acoustics
Services noise in a bedroom is the most common source of complaint that building services can cause. Terminal unit selection, duct velocity and cross-talk attenuation all have to be resolved at design stage.
Commercial kitchen services
Extract rate, make-up air, gas provision, interlocks and grease management, coordinated with the kitchen designer and with the fire strategy.
Hot water peak demand
Morning peaks in a hotel are severe. Storage and generation are sized against a demand profile rather than an average, with legionella control designed into the layout.
REGULATION
Statutory and guidance documents
Scotland and England take different statutory routes. Where a document applies to one and not the other, it says so.
- CIBSE Guide GPublic Health and Plumbing EngineeringUK-wide
- ACOP L8Control of legionella bacteria in water systemsUK-wide
- BS 5839-1:2025Fire detection and fire alarm systemsUK-wide
- BS 5266-1:2025Emergency lighting — three hour duration for sleeping accommodationUK-wide
- DW/172Specification for kitchen ventilation systemsUK-wide
SCOPE
Typical scope in this sector
- Guest room services and acoustic design
- Commercial kitchen ventilation and services
- Hot water generation and storage sizing
- Back of house and plant design
- Leisure and pool hall services where present
QUESTIONS
Common questions
How is hotel hot water demand calculated?
Hotel hot water is sized against a demand profile rather than an average daily figure, because the morning peak is short and severe. CIBSE Guide G gives peak demand data by building type, and generation and storage are selected together so that the peak is met without leaving water stored and stagnant for the rest of the day.
SERVICES