Rosewood Phuket

Type of Project: Hotel
Location: Phuket, Thailand

Services: Building Simulations

About the project

Rosewood Resort Phuket is a low-rise luxury resort featuring 71 pavilions and villas. It is one of the first LEED BD+C Gold Certified resorts in Thailand. Our goal was to create an energy model for this project. Over 13 months, from May 2019 to June 2020, we collected energy performance data and developed a calibrated energy model for LEED BD+C. This model was calibrated with a baseline in line with ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2007.

Innovative features include extensive natural lighting—78% of interiors benefit from sunlight—reducing the need for artificial lighting. Rooftop gardens cover over 30% of the building roofs, helping to cool the buildings and enhance ocean views. The resort also follows energy-efficient design principles with insulated roofs, aerated walls, dual-pane windows, LED lighting, and motion sensors.

Upon creating the energy model, we developed recommendations aimed at improving overall energy efficiency and system performance. These include optimizing air conditioner use by preventing operation with open windows, adjusting swimming pool pump schedules, and addressing issues with domestic hot water systems.

Further recommendations involve lowering hot water temperature settings, installing heat recovery units, and enhancing monitoring of solar hot water systems. Additionally, we suggest submetering lighting and kitchen loads separately and upgrading pumps with Variable Speed Drives (VSDs) for better energy management.

Upon creating the energy model and implementing the recommendations, we analyzed the improvements in energy savings and found the following reductions:

Villas: 22% average reduction
Back-of-House Area: 4% reduction
Beachside: 23% reduction
SPA: 15% reduction

Rosewood Phuket boasts the largest solar energy system in Phuket, generating 113,000 kWh annually and providing hot water. The energy-efficient design saves an estimated 1,520,000 kWh per year, with renewable energy contributing 150,000 kWh. Water conservation measures save 7,000 m³ annually and reduces the resort’s carbon footprint by 223 metric tons of CO2 per year.