Historic hotel. . .sustainable heating - Naked Energy's latest innovation for Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London
Our partners Naked Energy have delivered new solar heating projects to an iconic British institution, accelerating their transition to greater sustainability and proving that energy can be an asset that supports UK businesses
Our partners at Naked Energy continue to lead the charge with their ground-breaking solar technology – completing installations at the prestigious Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hyde Park, testament to their commitment to innovation, and how sustainability can be a real asset to British business.
The iconic Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park partnered with Naked Energy to install its world-leading VirtuHOT solar heat technology on the roof of the central London hotel to decarbonise their heating.
One of the city’s most recognisable hotels with a 120-year history,
Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park reopened in 2019 following an extensive multi-million pound restoration. The unique low-profile design of Naked Energy’s collectors offers minimal disruption to the building’s architecture, circumventing an ongoing challenge for the buildings surrounding Hyde Park.
The 120 solar collectors across the roof space, installed by SHEco, will provide hot water for the hotel’s 181 luxury rooms and suites, award-winning restaurants and spa.
As Torsten van Dullemen, General Manager of Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, says: “We’re designing a cutting-edge hotel experience that is built for the future we want to live in. We hope this installation serves as a blueprint to inspire other hoteliers in London to prioritise their renewable goals and join us in creating a cleaner, more sustainable tomorrow.”
It is estimated nearly 70% of a hotel’s energy consumption is spent on heating and hot water. Naked Energy’s technology is expected to cut the building’s carbon emissions by 7.3 tonnes each year and will also generate 39.7 MWh of energy per year, reducing demand for natural gas around the hotel.
Naked Energy’s solar Virtu product range converts the sun’s energy into heat and electricity from the same collector and is said to be the world’s highest energy density solar technology – generating more energy per square metre than any other solar technology and proven to be up to four times more impactful at offsetting CO2 emissions than conventional solar PV panels.
E.ON first began its relationship with the Crawley-based company back in 2023 and recently led a second funding round to help the company with global expansion plans. That involvement was initiated by E.ON Group Innovation through its global accelerator programme Free Electrons. Our Energy Infrastructure Solutions business offers the innovative Virtu product range to commercial and industrial customers through a heat-as-a-service model. The two companies are already working on a pipeline of projects across multiple territories.
In just one year, the relationship progressed from scouting and assessing capabilities to a test installation at E.ON’s Silicon Valley Garage and now a strategic partnership with significant potential for our business customers.
E.ON is one of Europe's largest operators of energy networks and energy infrastructure and a provider of innovative solutions for customers at home, in business and across whole communities.
As a playmaker in the energy transition, we use worldwide innovation programmes like Free Electrons to find, test and scale new technology solutions to drive forward new technologies and solutions.