The Royal Hotel welcomes quick switch from oil to LPG

The Royal Hotel in Ullapool, Scotland has upgraded its fuel supply to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Calor for its heating and hot water needs, delivering significant energy efficiencies, cost-savings and peace of mind for the business.

Overlooking Loch Broom in Ullapool, the 55-room hotel dates back to the 1890s, originally operating as a coaching inn. Today, it offers all the comforts and amenities of a modern resort, including on-demand hot water and central heating for guests.

Located off the mains gas grid, the Royal Hotel had previously been using two oil-fired boilers for its heating needs, which – at over 20 years old – were proving to be inefficient and costly. Looking for a reliable and cost-effective alternative, the hotel approached Calor about implementing a new, high-performance heating solution.

Franco Calistri, Managing Director of the Royal Hotel, explains: “The customers are the livelihood of the hotel. Therefore we want them to have a pleasant stay, with plenty of central heating and hot water to cover our guest rooms. The old boilers were not providing us with the efficiency expected for a hotel of this size.”

The answer was LPG. Since having new LPG boilers installed, the Royal Hotel has seen a vast improvement in the efficiency of its fuel supply, as well as lower fuel bills. LPG is supplied from four bulk tanks, positioned discretely outside the hotel.

The new boilers have also dramatically cut carbon emissions. With LPG currently the lowest off-mains carbon emitting fuel available on the market, emitting 20 per cent less CO2 per kWh than oil, this offers a significant improvement on the hotel’s previous oil-fuelled boilers.

“I changed to Calor gas from oil because it’s a much more efficient fuel, much cleaner and more reliable, and far better for the environment,” says Franco.

Another critical reason behind the Royal Hotel selecting Calor LPG was its reliability as a fuel source. As the hotel is running 24/7, maintaining a constant supply of fuel is critical to help keep customers happy.

Each of the four tanks is fitted with intelligent automatic top-up technology, which alerts Calor when a tank is beginning to run low on fuel. A delivery is then automatically scheduled, so the Royal Hotel never runs short.

“Having the automatic top-up technology means we don’t ever have to worry about running out of fuel, which is a big bonus for us,” adds Franco.

“I would certainly recommend Calor to other businesses looking for a reliable fuel solution. Calor were very quick to contact me and my local Calor representative was on site within a couple of days. They have been very responsive and really easy to deal with from start to finish.”