Dictionary

hotel load en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /həʊˈtɛl ləʊd/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /hoʊˈtɛl loʊd/ (General-American)
• (Australia) audio

Etymology

Possibly from the fact that this type of electrical load relates to the human occupancy aspects of a vehicle such as air conditioning and lighting, analogous to the features of a hotel.

Meanings

1. The electrical load caused by all systems on a vehicle (especially a marine vessel or a truck) other than propulsion.
   • Auxiliary power units provide electricity to all systems aboard a ship except main propulsion. These systems include hotel services (lighting, plumbing, and pumps for water), […] Cruise ships […] have big hotel loads; hence, quiet, unobtrusive fuel cell auxiliary power units may be particularly suited for this type of ship. 1986 February, Office of Technology Assessment, United States Congress, “Other Transportation Applications”, in Marine Applications for Fuel Cell Technology: A Technical Memorandum, Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 29, column 1:
   • The "hotel load" (i.e., the electricity required for people), in watts per square foot, was multiplied by the module area[…]. 1997 May, “Appendix C: Environmental Impacts Analysis Methods”, in Final Waste Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Managing Treatment, Storage, and Disposal of Radioactive and Hazardous Waste (DOE/EIS-0200-F), volume III of V, Washington, D.C.: Office of Environmental Management, United States Department of Energy, →OCLC, page C-17:
   • As well as providing the propulsive power, the batteries also have to provide power for the operation of sensors, weapons and auxiliary machinery and those for habitability, ventilation and air-conditioning of the crew. They constitute a steady drain on the batteries, governed by the length of time submerged, and together are termed the Hotel Load. 1994, Roy Burcher, Louis J. Rydill, Concepts in Submarine Design (Cambridge Ocean Technology Series; 2), Cambridge; New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, pages 125–126:
   • Here the total electrical power consumed by the vehicle, P, is equal to the sum of the propulsion power, P#95;#123;prop#125; and hotel load, H. Hotel load is simply the power consumed by all subsystems other than propulsion. 2009, J. G. Bellingham, “Platforms: Autonomous Underwater Vehicles”, in Steve A. Thorpe, editor, Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences: Measurement Techniques, Platforms and Sensors, London; Burlington, Mass.; San Diego, Calif.: Academic Press, →ISBN, page 164, column 1:
   • [I]n heavy-duty, long haul trucking as much as 40 percent of engine run time is spent idling to provide auxiliary (nonmotive) power. Many of these energy demands are "hotel" loads, for example, heating or cooling a sleeping/living compartment, refrigerators, stoves, entertainment systems, and so forth. 2003?, Kenneth S. Kurani, Daniel Sperling, “Introduction to the VIII Biennial Asilomar Conference on Transportation, Energy, and Environmental Policy: Managing Transitions”, in Dan Sperling, Ken Kurani, editors, Transportation, Energy, and Environmental Policy: VIII Biennial Asilomar Conference, September 11–12, 2001, Washington, D.C.: Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, →ISBN, page 9:

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