SF-86-07-3 -- How Much Sense Do Room Occupancy Sensor Controls Make?

Hotel operators are faced with a confusing array of both remote and local guest control room energy devices. A wide variety of decentralized electronic room controllers, each with its own control logic and vendor claims are in competition with remote front desk microprocessor conrols which are essentially "blind" to actual occupancy. To add to the quandary, operational philosophies vary markedly. On one extreme the criteria is "the guest is king of his environment, as long as he has the key to his room". On the other extreme the dictum is, "Energy economy is a major priority, limited only by management's degree of acceptance of guest inconvenience or complaint ." This paper is a review of the chararcteristics of various controllers, their behaviour with different in-room environmental equipment, and guest reactions to the potpourri of available devices.

Units: I-P