You pay your electricity bill every month. But there’s a good chance you’re paying a second bill hiding inside the first one — and nobody ever told you about it.
Meet Your Demand Charge
Most hotel operators focus on kilowatt-hours — the total electricity consumed. But for commercial accounts, utilities also charge for peak demand: the highest amount of power you draw at any single 15-minute window during the billing period. That peak — measured in kilowatts, not kilowatt-hours — triggers a demand charge that can represent 20–40% of your total monthly electricity bill.
| ⚡ Energy Now Tip: Look at your electricity bill for a line that reads ‘Demand Charge,’ ‘KW Charge,’ or ‘Capacity Charge.’ If that number is higher than you expected, you’ve found your hidden tax. |
Why Hotels Are Especially Exposed
Hotels are demand-charge vulnerable by nature. Every morning, a wave of guests showers, the kitchen ramps up, and the HVAC system kicks on to meet the day — all within a short window. That simultaneous surge creates a sharp peak that your utility clocks and charges for, all month long, even if it only happened once.
| 40%of your electricity bill can be demand charges alone — most owners don’t know this number. |
The Multiplier Effect
Here’s what makes demand charges so punishing: a single bad morning — an unusually cold snap that kicks every HVAC unit to full output, or a weekend event that puts all kitchen equipment on simultaneously — can set your demand charge for the entire month. One 15-minute spike affects 720 hours of billing.
| ⚡ Energy Now Tip: HVAC staggered startup is the fastest fix. Instead of all units resuming at 6:00 AM simultaneously, program them to start in 10-minute intervals by floor or zone. This alone can shave 15–25% off your peak demand reading. |
Other Demand-Reduction Moves That Work
Beyond staggered startup: shift laundry and dishwashing cycles to overnight hours, install variable-frequency drives on large motors to prevent startup current spikes, and use your building automation system to enforce a demand target — automatically shedding non-critical loads if the 15-minute reading is trending toward a new peak.
How to Calculate What It’s Costing You
Pull your last 12 months of electricity bills. Find the demand charge line each month. Add them up. That annual number is what’s at stake — and demand management measures frequently reduce it by 15–30% without any guest-facing impact.
Demand charges are the part of your energy bill that responds fastest to smart management. Energy Now identifies demand reduction opportunities across your property and implements changes that lower your peak — and your bill — starting the very next billing cycle.
Navigating a brand energy mandate or upcoming PIP? Send us an email at info@energynow.online for more information.
