Yorkshire Dales hotel adds EV charging point service for its guests

Company

• End Client: Stone House Hotel, Wensleydale, Yorkshire Dales
• Installer: DDR Solar Ltd

End Market/ Industry Sector

• Hospitality sector

Products

• Rolec Autocharge 16amp dual charge pedestal

Timeline

• Installation over 4 days in July 2015

Rexel’s added value

• Rexel helps installers acquire the knowledge they need to enter the EV charging market, assisting them in achieving OLEV accreditation to access grant funding for installations across a vast range of products in the commercial and domestic sectors
• Rigorous due diligence carried out on all suppliers and products.

The Challenge

The Stone House Hotel in Wensleydale is situated in the picturesque Yorkshire Dales and holds not only a Gold Award for Quality in Tourism, but was recently awarded a coveted Silver Award Green Tourism Award in recognition of their efforts to operate their business sustainably. Hotel Directors Chris Taplin and Peter Westwood have initiated a number of Eco Projects at the hotel to improve their green credentials and demonstrate their commitment to sustainability, including PV solar, a biomass boiler, LED lighting, and water-saving shower heads, and were taking the next logical step by considering electric vehicle charging for their guests. They recognised the growing demand from electric vehicle owners for charge points, particularly in remote areas where range anxiety is high. However, in an area of such outstanding natural beauty, the solution had to be functional, but also sympathetic to the surroundings. They had researched the availability of charge points in the vicinity, and at the time, they would be the first hotel in the Dales to provide the service, with no other charge points within a 20 mile radius, thus providing a great benefit for their guests.

The Project

Rexel customer, DDR Solar Ltd was selected as the installer for the project. Steve Geater of DDR had undergone NIC training and was fully OLEV accredited, and had also installed PV solar systems on both Chris Taplin’s and Peter Westwood’s houses. He had a good understanding of the hotel’s green strategy and was keen to be part of their new initiative to bring EV to the Dales. He presented a number of options to the hotel, taking into consideration whether the guests would pay for the service, be issued with tokens, how long the charging periods should be, and whether the charge point would be made available to guests only or to the general public. There are now a wide variety of options to suit all businesses and locations and Rexel and its installers can provide impartial advice to ensure an informed decision can be made.

The Solution

It was decided that guests and visitors to the hotel would be prepared to pay a nominal fee to charge their vehicles, so a charge point with a token mechanism was selected. A dual charge point was chosen to allow 2 vehicles to be charged simultaneously. Users would have the option of purchasing a single or multiple tokens that would provide a 2 hour charge per token, so overnight guests for example could opt for 4 tokens for a full 8 hour charge. An area adjacent to the bike sheds offered a suitable segregated area for parking the electric vehicles, and power could be run from that location fairly easily. The charge point itself was mounted on a plinth with natural stone tiles that matched the dry stone walling in the car park for aesthetic reasons, and signage ensured that the designated area was kept free for EV users only.

The Results

The hotel guests are extremely appreciative of the additional service, and it will undoubtedly encourage more EV owners to venture into the Dales for leisure and business, safe in the knowledge that they can re-charge their vehicle quickly and easily at Stone House. The combination of a number of green technologies in the property not only helps reduce their energy bills and carbon footprint, but also satisfies growing public demand for services that are respectful of the environment. The biomass boiler for example is located in a building accessible to guests, and a keen interest is taken in a screen showing exactly how the system is performing and generating energy for use in the hotel. The boiler uses wood pellets from sustainable forests, and the hotel no longer requires any oil for heating and hot water. Stone House is a perfect example of how a building over 100 years old can be successfully repurposed, embracing all the latest energy saving and sustainable technologies without compromising any of its character or architectural integrity, proving that old and new can work successfully together.