Francisco Javier Barrera

Prof. Dr. Francisco Javier Barrera

orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

5Years (2022-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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3 August 2022 in Buildings
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
STS. G. Mengual Torres
S. G. Mengual Torres
Oscar May TzucOscar May Tzuc
Oscar May Tzuc
KCKarla María Aguilar Castro
Karla María Aguilar Castro
MTMARGARITA TÉLLEZ
MARGARITA TÉLLEZ
JSJ. Ovando Sierra
J. Ovando Sierra
FBFrancisco Javier Barrera
Francisco Javier Barrera
This study assessed the energy-use index and carbon-footprint performance of nine medium-category Mexican hotels (two–four stars) located in tropical-climate regions. The consumption of electrical and thermal energies of each hotel was collected during audits. Based on this, various scenarios of the partial replacement of the most energy-consuming devices were evaluated and synthesized in an expert model based on artificial neural networks. The artificial-intelligence model was designed to simultaneously associate the energy-consumption indicators, environmental impact, and economic savings of hotels based on their category, location, room number, number of existing electrical or thermal devices, and their percentage of substitution with more energy-efficient technologies. The model was used to compare the various partial-technology-substitution alternatives in each hotel that could reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions based on the current values reported by the energy-use and environmental-impact indicators. The results of the proposed approach showed that even without making total replacements of equipment such as interior and exterior lighting or air conditioners, it was possible to identify configurations that could reduce the hotels’ energy use per room-year by 9–12%. In the environmental case, using more efficient technologies could reduce environmental mitigation. The proposed methodology represents an attractive option to facilitate the analyses and the decision making of administrators according to the needs of the type of hotel to improve its performance, which also affects the reduction in operating costs.