Brothers Scott and Glenn Squires are happy with the decision they made seven years ago to make their business more energy efficient, especially now they have paid off their loan and are enjoying the benefits of the savings.
The boys look after the day-to-day running of the family’s Ardlui Hotel, Marina & Holiday Home Park that sits on the northern shores of Loch Lomond.
The property was built in the early 19th century as the hunting residence of the Colquhoun family before opening as a hotel in 1886. The main building has been extended over the years with east and west wings added at the turn of the 20th century.
The Squires family took ownership of the Ardlui in 1978 with the brothers the third generation to run it. As well as the hotel, they also own an adjoining caravan park, marina and self-catering lodges.
They approached our team for independent advice on making their business more energy efficient. At the time, electricity was being used for kitchen equipment, lighting, extraction fans, heating pumps, campsite pitches and the effluent treatment plant. LPG fuelled the central heating boiler, campsite tumbler drier, campsite hot water and additional kitchen equipment.
Their annual energy bills were more than £60,000 with carbon emissions reaching almost 300 tonnes.
The report they received had several recommendations, including installing a biomass boiler, insulating loft space, metering electricity for all caravans, optimising voltage on some appliances and introducing an energy management policy. The cost for all changes was estimated at £107,000.
But the projected savings were just under £40,000 and it was estimated that the carbon output would be brought down by 113 tonnes each year, a 39% improvement.
With a payback period of just over four years, and the benefit of a Scottish Government interest-free SME Loan, it was a no-brainer for the two brothers who implemented all the suggested changes, as well as continuing their programme of switching all lighting to LEDs.
Scott said:
“Their help was invaluable and we wouldn’t have been able to do it without them.”
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