Eli5: How does a hotel always have hot water for every occupant?
In: 1975
It is actually much easier for a hotel than for a home. The average hot water need for a family of five is probably one shower + one sink + one appliance (dishwasher or laundry) in a 1 hr stretch. Of course, sometimes three people might be in the shower, with two sinks running, and two appliances running, all within an hour. So the hot water needs to be sized for that brief peak demand, which might be 275% of average.
In a hotel, the peak demand is much closer to the average demand. Say a hotel of 300 guests averages 25 showers per hour during morning/evening rush (say 6-10am + 4-10pm). Even if 1/3 of the hotel needs to shower after an early concert (100 ppl from 8-10pm) that’s only an extra 25 people/hour = 200% of average.
In operations theory, this is called “pooled capacity.”
Of course, the larger scale also enables more efficient hot water production and storage.
Also, the hotel isn’t always full so often runs below peak.
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