Zhou, Jingfeng; (2025) Characterising England and Wales Hotel Stock for Energy Saving and Decarbonisation Strategies. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

Text Jingfeng Zhou_PhD Thesis.pdf - Accepted Version Access restricted to UCL open access staff until 1 November 2026. Download (11MB)

Abstract

This thesis develops a holistic, data-driven framework for analysing energy performance and decarbonisation pathways in the hotel sector of England and Wales, serving as an exemplar for non-domestic building stock research. Addressing the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions and energy consumption in buildings, the study summarises the distinctive characteristics of hotels, including their continuous operation and multiple, highly serviced spaces. To overcome longstanding obstacles associated with data scarcity and fragmented information, the thesis combines diverse public datasets, supplemented by machine-learning approaches that fill critical knowledge gaps, such as construction age and geometry parameters. Building on this enhanced data foundation, a novel percentage-based thermal zoning method is introduced to capture the varied functional layouts commonly found in hotel buildings. This refined zoning protocol improves simulation accuracy and reliability when compared with conventional core–perimeter or single-zone models. Subsequently, a large-scale building-by-building dynamic simulation framework is implemented to generate detailed estimates of energy demand for thousands of hotels across England and Wales. Verification against aggregated government benchmarks ensures the reliability of the model outputs. Finally, the thesis evaluates multiple retrofit and decarbonisation scenarios, measuring their potential to reduce energy use and carbon emissions under evolving grid conditions. The results demonstrate that combining different technological upgrades, such as advanced building envelopes and heat pump systems, can significantly accelerate the transition to a low-carbon hotel stock. Beyond guiding energy policy decisions for the hospitality sector, the methodological innovations presented offer a transferable blueprint for broader non-domestic building stock analysis worldwide.

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