by Lyda Durango
On August 11, the first solar collector system in the Nicaraguan hospitality industry came into operation. A fact that alone does not mean much but that becomes relevant when it begins to become an example of energy resource management and in turn outlines the new task of hotel managers.
This has been understood for some years by Neville Cross, administrative manager of the Hotel Mansión Teodolinda, in Managua, Nicaragua. Having been a radio amateur for a long time has allowed him not only to fully understand the technical issues but also to value the management of energy sources. The result is an interesting approach to renewable energy sources.
A great idea in a small market
The Hotel Mansión Teodolinda is a hotel fruit of a family business. It was the parents of Neville and María Elsa Cross who founded the hotel that has gradually become a symbol of what a hotel can do with renewable energies in a market as limited as the Nicaraguan one. The projection of administrative management has been the key piece of the transformation.
"On many occasions a barrier is created between the technical and administrative staff and in this case I think that my hobbies in the technical area have allowed me to build that bridge between the two points," says Mr. Cross with satisfaction. Important support has been provided by institutions dedicated to helping companies find solutions to their energy problems.
One of these entities is the Cleaner Production Center in Nicaragua and since 2004 Mansión Teodolinda is participating with this institution understanding what are the energy efficiency options for the hotel. Part of this search has been motivated by a fact that for Mr. Cross has worked as a great engine: "We have the most expensive energy in Central America," says Neville.
Contact with the real world
But the cost of installing solar energy is also not something that can be despised. Aware of this, Neville would begin a journey through a list of opportunities and threats. "After an exhaustive evolution of energy saving opportunities, several options were made to work on," Neville recalls. One of those options was the installation of solar collectors to heat water and replace water heating tanks based on electrical heating elements.
But plans were constrained by market conditions. "In Nicaragua the technology is not very widespread and companies dedicated to renewable energies are working mainly on rural projects and small-scale projects," he explains. "This made it difficult to obtain implementation proposals for this recommendation." Given the high cost offered by national and foreign suppliers, the project was postponed.
Meanwhile Neville took on the task that few managers take on: getting out of their offices and establishing contact with the community. "I was in rural areas looking at different renewable energy schemes, solar ovens, fruit dryers and electricity panels," he recalls. "This was a first-hand experience to continue getting involved in the subject as a reinforcement to the formal part that we had already begun to develop," he adds.
Constancy wins
The Austrian Cooperation Center would be the entity that would allow the co-financing of the project and the Nicaraguan company Tecnosol would be the supplier chosen for the installation. The solar water heating system began to be installed in February 2007. "Part of the execution of it lies in my enthusiasm for alternative energies and energy efficiency," he explains.
The installation of two solar collector systems in non-profit institutions by the Cleaner Production Center allowed Neville to obtain statistics on consumption and demand, thanks to which better decisions were made for the installation of the system in the hotel. With the information at hand, the administrative management actively involved the hotel staff. "Not only were we receiving the information, but we were working on a function of it," recalls Mr. Cross.
With an excellent formula that combines technical knowledge with management, Neville Cross has been creating complementary elements to the monitoring system that the solar collector control team has. "For example, we have reflow collector vessels of the system, if we have losses due to excess pressure in the system, this water does not go to the drain simply, there is a part in a container with siphons, so if the reflux is a lot the siphons evacuate the water to the drain but we always have evidence of the problem, " Explains.
Time is money
It will take about 20 months to recover the investment of the solar collector system, in operation since August 11, 2007. However, Neville is aware that an environmentally friendly hotel impacts the way he markets the hotel. Therefore, it wants to maintain that active and aggressive position in the face of the environmental issue that has characterized it and in the process give a lesson in new administrative management at a time when managers seek to be accountable to their investors and owners. Therefore, its next goal will be the application of solar energy in the hotel's cooling system. That "ice factory", as he himself calls the hotel, needs another urgent solution and hand in hand with his curiosity and administrative success he is close to achieving it.
