The original topic was posted in the Portugese-speaking Community Center by @Leonardo798 and we have translated it below.
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Airbnb is a platform that has allowed me to make my dreams come true all over the world. As soon as the opportunity arose, I registered one of my residences and became a host.
Along the way I discovered that the market is very competitive and I needed to come up with some ideas to make my business more sustainable, so that I could do my bit, provide a more pleasant environment for guests, and reduce my electricity and water costs.
I outlined a plan in stages, the first would be to reduce the flow of water from all taps in the house and automate the air conditioning to prevent guests from leaving it on unnecessarily.
For the taps, I bought a flow reducer and a nozzle that injected air into the water outlet, so the volume of water was reduced, but it gave the impression that there was a lot of water. Then with the air conditioner, as it doesn't have a Wi-Fi function, I bought a Tuya circuit breaker and linked it to various events to determine when it would switch off automatically.
Initially, I had a hard time knowing if there was actually someone in the house or not, so I opted to have it turn itself off after 12 hours and to always turn off at 10 a.m. I also left a note next to it saying that it was on a timer and if it turned off, guests could simply turn it back on again.
Unlike a hotel room, it wouldn't be possible to associate a key or card with the presence of someone in the house, since some of the guests may leave while the others stay inside the house.
Just these measures for the air conditioning and taps have already achieved a reduction in the water bill of around 15% and 20% in the electricity bill. After all, there are 7 taps and 2 air conditioners.
Following the success of this first stage, I decided to automate everything I could in the house to make it a more sustainable environment, and that's where I started to invest in the pool because it was my biggest expense.
My pool has 4 pumps (whirlpool, waterfall, filter and heating), so I needed a system that managed the use of these resources in order to minimize their use without displeasing guests. Therefore, I installed a controller to improve the efficiency of the solar heating, where I can schedule it according to the weather (clear sky, cloudy, rainy, summer, winter, etc). I also installed a timer for the hydromassage and waterfall pumps and a system that links the filtering system to the pH, chlorine, and volume control. This lets me know the best time to fill the pool and add the chlorine to minimise waste without bothering guests.
After finishing the swimming pool stage, I invested in an automated irrigation system that waters the more than 30 plant pots scattered around the house, as well as the front and inside garden at dawn in order to minimise evaporation.
The last stage was to install sensors in all external lights so they could be turned on or off by a timer or the presence of someone, and sensors that turn off some of the higher consumption appliances.
These extra sensors help when the guest finishes their stay, so I can turn off the freezer, filter, lights, fans and other appliances as soon as they leave, cutting electrical costs and avoiding the need for an employee to travel to the location.
All together, I managed to reduce water and electricity consumption by 30% to 40% a month, which, over 12 months, will allow us to recover the cost of purchasing and installing the sensors, as well as contributing to a more sustainable stay.
The next step will be to invest in a system for generating my own electric energy using photovoltaic panels, since my residence is located in a region of intense solar rays during most of the year.
