MH Controls Corner: Hotel Room Lighting Controls to Meet Energy Code

Previous Clint’s Controls Corner articles have discussed the requirements of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) versions 2015 and 2018. This article offers additional details about the specific requirements for lighting controls in hotel rooms, and how to implement controls to meet these requirements.

Section C405.2.4 of the IECC 2015 covers “hotel and motel sleeping units and guest suites” with the requirement that all lights and switched outlets must turn off within 20 minutes of all occupants leaving the space. In the 2018 version of the IECC, the requirement is the same, but further definition on what constitutes the room type has been added. Hotel and motel sleeping units have been changed to sleeping units. In the definitions of the 2018 IECC, there are dwelling units and sleeping units. Dwelling units have all permanent provisions for cooking and sanitation. Sleeping units have permanent provisions for cooking OR sanitation, but not both.

To meet this code requirement, each sleeping room will need to have devices to automatically turn off the lights and receptacles, and may also need contactors if there is more than one circuit in the room. In order to avoid the need for contactors in every room, it is advised to power each room with a single circuit, feeding both lights and controlled receptacles.

In general, there are two ways to meet the requirement. The first is to use vacancy sensors. For most spaces, this will require a wall sensor in the restroom, and an additional wall or ceiling sensor in the guest room. It is important to note that with ceiling sensors, a low voltage switch must be used so that the sensor operates in vacancy mode. With this approach, each room may have at least one wall sensor, a celling sensor, a low voltage switch, and a power pack. The cost of all these devices quickly adds up when they are used in every room in the hotel.

A second approach is to use a key card switch, such as the HS Series from Wattstopper. The way this system works is the key card used to unlock the hotel room door is placed into the switch to hold the lights on. When the occupant leaves, the key card is removed, and the lights turn off after a short egress time delay. These devices can come in line voltage to control a single circuit to a room, or low voltage to control the coil of a contactor. The advantage of this approach is that the requirement can be met with a single device, at a much lower per-room cost than would be seen using occupancy sensors. The disadvantage of this approach is that if a key card is left in the switch when the occupant leaves the space, the lights will not turn off.

As with all other requirements of the energy code, it is crucial to consider different approaches to compliance early in the design process to avoid unnecessary added cost. For hotel rooms, having a single circuit feeding all controlled outlets and lights will create savings by not having to use a contactor. Combining this with a key card switch will create code compliance at the lowest cost.

As always, don’t hesitate to contact the controls team at MH for further information about how to meet energy codes for hotel room lighting controls. And remember, whenever you have a technical controls question, on any project or application, simply email controls@mhlighting.com. This email address is monitored by our entire controls team. During our normal business hours, we are committed to a four-hour response time for all emails sent to this email address!

This article was written by Mike Bogomolov, our Controls Engineering Supervisor. Mike can be reached at 720.904.8537 or mike@mhlighting.com.