The ‘Sonia Village’ is a hotel resort in Chalkidiki, Greece built in 1999. It has 12 buildings which can accommodate 140 recently renovated rooms. Management and staff are highly trained with respect to the environment and sustainability.

The hotel has implemented the following energy efficiency measures, which helped to decrease energy consumption:

- Solar thermal systems for domestic hot water and 20 kW nominal power photovoltaic panels for electricity generation;

- Replacement of A/C split-type units by new class A+++ new (with inverter);

- Replacement of all incandescent light bulbs with new energy efficient fluorescent ‘PL’ type;

- Replacement of old boilers with new high-efficiency ones;

- Installation of magnetic card that saves up to 80 % of energy consumption in rooms;

- New ISO 9001: 2000 certified refrigerators with low power consumption;

- Water saving technology (new economy shower head nozzles);

- Installation of plastic wheeled recycling bins for glass, paper, plastic;

All of these efforts earned the resort a first prize in the RELACS 2013 Green Energy in Tourism awards, and led to significant savings:

- Primary energy savings: 13 TOE per year

- CO2 reduction: 54.76 tCO2 per year

- Cost savings/year: € 33 670