Hotel hot water from heat pumps
How a 100-room hotel can make all its 60 °C bathroom, kitchen and laundry hot water with heat pumps, and what it saves against an LPG-fired hot water boiler.
▶Video: Sanitary and commercial hot water
V14 · 2–2.5 minHotels, hospitals, kitchens and laundries
Video coming soon01Problem statement
- Peaks at fixed times. Guests shower in a two-hour morning peak. Without enough stored hot water, the boiler must be oversized for that peak.
- Long pipe runs. Hot water circulates through risers to every floor around the clock, and the loop loses heat continuously.
- Gas cylinders on site. LPG banks need storage space, licensing and regular deliveries.
- Losses between fuel and process. Burning LPG in a boiler or heater and distributing the heat loses a quarter or more of the fuel's energy before it reaches the process.
- Compliance, safety and handling. Fired equipment brings boiler inspections, fuel storage and unloading, flue emissions and an attendant on every shift.
02Use case
The reference building is a 100-room business hotel with a restaurant and in-house laundry, at about 75% average occupancy. The same design applies to hospitals, hostels, gyms, offices and housing societies, scaled to their daily hot water use.
| Heat user | Process temp. | Basis | Heat, kWh/day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guest bathrooms | 25 → 60 °C | 100 rooms × 75% × 1.6 guests × 100 L at 60 °C | 488 |
| Kitchen and restaurant | 25 → 60 °C | 3,000 L/day, 25 → 60 °C | 122 |
| Laundry | 25 → 60 °C | 300 kg linen × 13 L/kg, 25 → 60 °C | 163 |
| Hot water circulation loop losses | 55 °C loop | 400 m insulated pipe × 10 W/m × 24 h | 96 |
| Storage and pipework standing losses | – | about 5% | 43 |
| Total useful heat | 912 | ||
Averaged over 16 running hours, the heat pumps need about 57 kW.
03P&ID
Tags: HP heat pump, TK tank, SG steam generator, P pump, PHE plate heat exchanger, TCV temperature control valve, TIC temperature indicating controller (panel), TT temperature transmitter, MT moisture transmitter, PT pressure transmitter, LT level transmitter, FS flow switch, NC normally closed. Process fluids are heated through their own exchanger, coil or jacket.
04Solution
System description
- 4 × SE-SHT-16C (64 kW total) (SE-SHT cascade heat pump) delivering 60 °C, covering the day's 912 kWh in about 14.2 running hours.
- A 2,000 L insulated storage tank decouples the heat pumps from the process peaks.
- The LPG-fired hot water boiler stays connected behind a normally closed valve as standby.
- Heat pumps on the roof charge insulated storage tanks sized to cover the morning peak, so the heat pumps run steadily through the day and night.
- The tanks feed the existing hot water risers and circulation loop, with the return taken back to the tank bottom.
- Kitchen and laundry are fed from the same tanks. In hospitals and hostels the same layout serves wards, kitchens and laundries; in gyms and offices it serves showers and pantries.
- Off-peak running can be scheduled to suit time-of-day tariffs.
Selected equipment
| Model | SE-SHT-16C × 4 |
|---|---|
| Heating capacity | 16 kW each, 64 kW total |
| COP | 2.7 at A20 °C / W90 °C (data sheet T1) |
| Power input | about 23.8 kW total at rated conditions |
| Rating | cascade R410A + R515B, rated 90 °C, 95 °C maximum |
| Supply temperature | 60 °C |
| Storage | 2,000 L insulated tank |
Ratings from the Sunniva TDS 2026 data sheets.
Control philosophy
TT-101 at the top of the tank starts the heat pumps below 55 °C and stops them at 60 °C. TT-102 at the bottom starts an extra unit before the morning peak. A weekly cycle lifts the tank to 60 °C throughout for legionella control. The existing boiler stays as standby.
05Energy saving and ROI
Change any input to match a customer's site. Defaults are typical Indian prices for October 2026. The installed cost is a placeholder; replace it with the actual quotation.
| Existing | Heat pump | |
|---|---|---|
| Daily consumption | – | – |
| Annual energy cost | – | – |
| Cost per occupied room-night | – | – |
| CO₂ per year | – | – |
06Benefits
Hot water at every tap
Stored hot water meets the morning peak without guests waiting.
No gas bank
LPG storage and deliveries for hot water are no longer needed.
Heat pumps also cool and dry
Units placed in plant rooms or laundries give useful cooling and dehumidification as a side effect.
Lower energy cost
Each kWh of electricity delivers about 2.7 kWh of heat at the required temperature, against well under one kWh of useful heat per kWh of fuel burnt.
No flame on site
No burner, flue or fuel tank for this duty, and no fuel deliveries to schedule.
Built-in redundancy
Several machines share the load. If one is serviced, the others and the storage carry most of the day, with the existing heater in reserve.
07Engineering pointers
Site data to collect
- Number of rooms or beds and average occupancy
- Daily hot water use or fuel bills
- Kitchen and laundry hot water use
- Existing tank and boiler sizes
- Roof or plant room space
- Present fuel or electricity use and monthly bill
- Sanctioned electrical load and spare capacity
- Space for the heat pumps and storage, with service access
- Winter minimum ambient at site
Design notes
- Legionella. Store at 60 °C, keep the circulation return above 50 °C and avoid dead legs. Thermostatic mixing valves at outlets protect users from scalding.
- Water hardness. Hard water scales tanks and heat exchangers. Soften water above about 150 ppm hardness.
- Peak sizing. Size storage for the largest two-hour peak and the heat pumps for the daily total.
- Electrical. About 24 kW of heat pump input at rated conditions, plus pumps and fans. Check spare sanctioned load before ordering.
- Winter output. The SE-SHT cascade gives about 80% of rated output at 7 °C ambient and still runs at −20 °C. Size on the coldest design day for northern sites.
- Water quality. Scale forms quickly above 60 °C. Use softened make-up and keep the heat pump loop closed, with process fluids on the far side of an exchanger or coil.
Service and warranty
Sunniva has supplied 5,000+ heat pumps since 2012, with nine service technicians across India, including remote sites such as Leh. All components carry a one-year warranty.
Talk to us
Hotel hot water from heat pumps
How a 100-room hotel can make all its 60 °C bathroom, kitchen and laundry hot water with heat pumps, and what it saves against an LPG-fired hot water boiler.
▶Video: Sanitary and commercial hot water
V14 · 2–2.5 minHotels, hospitals, kitchens and laundries
Video coming soon01Problem statement
- Peaks at fixed times. Guests shower in a two-hour morning peak. Without enough stored hot water, the boiler must be oversized for that peak.
- Long pipe runs. Hot water circulates through risers to every floor around the clock, and the loop loses heat continuously.
- Gas cylinders on site. LPG banks need storage space, licensing and regular deliveries.
- Losses between fuel and process. Burning LPG in a boiler or heater and distributing the heat loses a quarter or more of the fuel's energy before it reaches the process.
- Compliance, safety and handling. Fired equipment brings boiler inspections, fuel storage and unloading, flue emissions and an attendant on every shift.
02Use case
The reference building is a 100-room business hotel with a restaurant and in-house laundry, at about 75% average occupancy. The same design applies to hospitals, hostels, gyms, offices and housing societies, scaled to their daily hot water use.
| Heat user | Process temp. | Basis | Heat, kWh/day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guest bathrooms | 25 → 60 °C | 100 rooms × 75% × 1.6 guests × 100 L at 60 °C | 488 |
| Kitchen and restaurant | 25 → 60 °C | 3,000 L/day, 25 → 60 °C | 122 |
| Laundry | 25 → 60 °C | 300 kg linen × 13 L/kg, 25 → 60 °C | 163 |
| Hot water circulation loop losses | 55 °C loop | 400 m insulated pipe × 10 W/m × 24 h | 96 |
| Storage and pipework standing losses | – | about 5% | 43 |
| Total useful heat | 912 | ||
Averaged over 16 running hours, the heat pumps need about 57 kW.
03P&ID
Tags: HP heat pump, TK tank, SG steam generator, P pump, PHE plate heat exchanger, TCV temperature control valve, TIC temperature indicating controller (panel), TT temperature transmitter, MT moisture transmitter, PT pressure transmitter, LT level transmitter, FS flow switch, NC normally closed. Process fluids are heated through their own exchanger, coil or jacket.
04Solution
System description
- 4 × SE-SHT-16C (64 kW total) (SE-SHT cascade heat pump) delivering 60 °C, covering the day's 912 kWh in about 14.2 running hours.
- A 2,000 L insulated storage tank decouples the heat pumps from the process peaks.
- The LPG-fired hot water boiler stays connected behind a normally closed valve as standby.
- Heat pumps on the roof charge insulated storage tanks sized to cover the morning peak, so the heat pumps run steadily through the day and night.
- The tanks feed the existing hot water risers and circulation loop, with the return taken back to the tank bottom.
- Kitchen and laundry are fed from the same tanks. In hospitals and hostels the same layout serves wards, kitchens and laundries; in gyms and offices it serves showers and pantries.
- Off-peak running can be scheduled to suit time-of-day tariffs.
Selected equipment
| Model | SE-SHT-16C × 4 |
|---|---|
| Heating capacity | 16 kW each, 64 kW total |
| COP | 2.7 at A20 °C / W90 °C (data sheet T1) |
| Power input | about 23.8 kW total at rated conditions |
| Rating | cascade R410A + R515B, rated 90 °C, 95 °C maximum |
| Supply temperature | 60 °C |
| Storage | 2,000 L insulated tank |
Ratings from the Sunniva TDS 2026 data sheets.
Control philosophy
TT-101 at the top of the tank starts the heat pumps below 55 °C and stops them at 60 °C. TT-102 at the bottom starts an extra unit before the morning peak. A weekly cycle lifts the tank to 60 °C throughout for legionella control. The existing boiler stays as standby.
05Energy saving and ROI
Change any input to match a customer's site. Defaults are typical Indian prices for October 2026. The installed cost is a placeholder; replace it with the actual quotation.
| Existing | Heat pump | |
|---|---|---|
| Daily consumption | – | – |
| Annual energy cost | – | – |
| Cost per occupied room-night | – | – |
| CO₂ per year | – | – |
06Benefits
Hot water at every tap
Stored hot water meets the morning peak without guests waiting.
No gas bank
LPG storage and deliveries for hot water are no longer needed.
Heat pumps also cool and dry
Units placed in plant rooms or laundries give useful cooling and dehumidification as a side effect.
Lower energy cost
Each kWh of electricity delivers about 2.7 kWh of heat at the required temperature, against well under one kWh of useful heat per kWh of fuel burnt.
No flame on site
No burner, flue or fuel tank for this duty, and no fuel deliveries to schedule.
Built-in redundancy
Several machines share the load. If one is serviced, the others and the storage carry most of the day, with the existing heater in reserve.
07Engineering pointers
Site data to collect
- Number of rooms or beds and average occupancy
- Daily hot water use or fuel bills
- Kitchen and laundry hot water use
- Existing tank and boiler sizes
- Roof or plant room space
- Present fuel or electricity use and monthly bill
- Sanctioned electrical load and spare capacity
- Space for the heat pumps and storage, with service access
- Winter minimum ambient at site
Design notes
- Legionella. Store at 60 °C, keep the circulation return above 50 °C and avoid dead legs. Thermostatic mixing valves at outlets protect users from scalding.
- Water hardness. Hard water scales tanks and heat exchangers. Soften water above about 150 ppm hardness.
- Peak sizing. Size storage for the largest two-hour peak and the heat pumps for the daily total.
- Electrical. About 24 kW of heat pump input at rated conditions, plus pumps and fans. Check spare sanctioned load before ordering.
- Winter output. The SE-SHT cascade gives about 80% of rated output at 7 °C ambient and still runs at −20 °C. Size on the coldest design day for northern sites.
- Water quality. Scale forms quickly above 60 °C. Use softened make-up and keep the heat pump loop closed, with process fluids on the far side of an exchanger or coil.
Service and warranty
Sunniva has supplied 5,000+ heat pumps since 2012, with nine service technicians across India, including remote sites such as Leh. All components carry a one-year warranty.