Sustainable energy optimisation at the moun10 youth hostel in Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Energy optimisation plays an important role in all buildings, and youth hostels are no exception. We therefore made an appointment with Kevin Kirschke, hostel manager at moun10 Jugendherberge, to discuss the topics of sustainability, energy management and the intelligent room control system better.energy.

Kevin Kirschke has been hostel manager of the youth hostel, which is operated by the German Youth Hostel Association of Bavaria, since 2021. The building was newly constructed in 2018 and subsequently leased from the Bavarian Youth Hostel Association. In addition to the classic offer of bed and breakfast, the team does not offer hot meals, which is a slightly different concept to what we are supposedly used to from youth hostels.

Thanks to the central location in the Alpine town, guests will find plenty of choice of restaurants, bistros and snack bars. Instead, they prefer to focus on a sustainable business concept, which is reflected in many details.

Sustainability as a key factor in youth hostels

“Sustainability has always played an important role in the philosophy of youth hostels and is firmly anchored in our concept,” says Kirschke. He and his team attach great importance to climate protection and sustainability. The sustainable use of energy, environmentally friendly catering and the preservation of the building are particularly important to them. A major goal is to make energy consumption as efficient as possible. However, this is often easier said than done.

Using energy as efficiently as possible

“It’s important for us to use the energy we consume as efficiently as possible and to reduce our energy consumption. So far, we have only been able to control the energy consumption for the operation of our youth hostel. We had no influence on the energy consumption caused by our guests. This is now different with the energy management solution better.energy. We now use the smart software to directly optimise the energy consumption caused by our guests,” explains Kirschke.

Creating greater awareness of climate change

Climate change is real and the team at the youth hostel moun10 is aware of this. Therefore, one of the first objectives with better.energy was to reduce energy consumption and cushion the high energy prices. In addition, guests should also be sensitised. This was also achieved with better.energy. In conjunction with the LoRaWAN window contacts, the software recognises when windows are opened and reduces the heating output accordingly.

The young people and all other guests are warned that the room will get cold if they leave the window open. “In this way, we can educate and sensitise our guests to pay more attention to their energy consumption. With better.energy, we create more awareness for the sensible use of energy,” explains Kevin Kirschke.

Cooperation with Betterspace

The decision to work with Betterspace was an easy one for Kirschke and his team. “We came across Betterspace very quickly when we were looking for an energy management system,” says Kirschke.

“The simple installations, the connection to our PMS system and Betterspace’s wealth of experience convinced us. We quickly realised that they really understood our problems and challenges and that, with better.energy, they offered a solution that suited us perfectly. The collaboration with Betterspace went smoothly. The staff were always helpful, the delivery was reliable, and we are very satisfied,” adds Kirschke.

More convenience and improved operating processes

Thanks to the connection to the PMS system, the rooms are now air-conditioned automatically. This significantly improves the youth hostel’s energy balance and also reduces the workload for staff. Another decisive advantage quickly became apparent after the installation. Previously, a member of staff always had to go into each room and turn up the heating before arrival. The software now does this automatically.

“In the past, we usually turned up the heating in our conference room the day before we wanted to use it so that it was warm. Now it happens automatically. And if someone forgets to enter the occupancy, we can also access better.energy from home or while travelling via the web access. That’s really great,” says Kirschke happily.

The intelligent energy management system also ensures cosy temperatures in the common rooms and relieves employees of work. “Especially in large rooms, such as our lounges, it was difficult to maintain the temperature when there were always a lot of guests and then fewer again. Then an employee always had to turn the thermostats on or off. If you didn’t have time, it was quickly too hot or too cold. This is no longer necessary with better.energy and has noticeably improved operations,” says Kirschke.

Quick and easy installation

The network-independent integration of better.energy made implementation much easier, as no complicated network security measures were necessary. “We were able to install better.energy quickly and easily in our youth hostel. Our two caretakers simply replaced the LoRaWAN thermostats during operation,” says Kirschke. This made it possible to act quickly and effectively.

better.energy ensures positive results at the youth hostel

The moun10 youth hostel is heated with district heating. As district heating heats both the water and the radiators, it is very difficult to quantify the exact savings. Nevertheless, the potential for energy savings through better.energy convinced Kirschke and his team.

“We had a new calculation of the connected load carried out by an engineering firm and were then able to have this throttled by the energy supplier. The evaluation of energy consumption, taking room utilisation into account, showed that better.energy has reduced our peak loads,” explains Kirschke.

The system automatically adjusts the temperatures in the lounges, conference rooms and guest rooms to the number of people present, which increases comfort and reduces the workload for employees.

Great potential for further development and a constant stream of new functions

The moun10 youth hostel impressively demonstrates how sustainable energy optimisation and increased comfort have been achieved through the use of the better.energy energy management solution. Kevin Kirschke and his team are setting new standards with their sustainable business concept and demonstrating that environmental awareness and guest satisfaction can complement each other perfectly.

“We are very happy to have found a great partner in Betterspace when it comes to energy management. The system is stable and does exactly what it is supposed to do. Betterspace is also constantly developing the solution further, which absolutely convinces us of the future viability of better.energy. One example of this is the new mode settings. In summer, I can switch off all thermostats at the touch of a button. You can tell that a lot of thought has gone into this and that the problems in the accommodation industry have been understood,” concludes Kirschke.