High Energy Nigel Benton looks at the challenges to maximising the energy efficiency of Australian aquatic facilities
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ising energy costs and, in particular, the recent surge in the price of gas, has the potential to dramatically increase the cost of aquatic centre operations, highlighting the need for facilities to consider switching to electric appliances and increase their use of renewables. In a way, as local governments look to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, the current price rises are bringing a sharp focus to the challenges faced by the owners and operators of aquatic assets. With Australian aquatic facilities traditionally being highly energy inefficient, Derek Harbison, Director at Negawatt Projects, suggests that aquatic facilities consume up to 15 times more energy per floor area compared to an average commercial office building. Harbison advises “aquatic centres in Australia currently use too much energy and these next price rises are going to push that over the top for some centres. “After the last price rise for gas in Victoria the aquatic centre industry had a wakeup call and now they are looking down the barrel of severe financial pressure if no action is taken.” For many operators and businesses the immediate shortterm impacts of surging gas or electricity prices may be tempered by longer-term 12-to-24-month power purchasing agreements. However, that gain may only be short term, with Paolo Bevilacqua, General Manager at Frasers Property Australia’s wholly-owned behind-the meter energy retailing business Real Utilities, explaining “if you locked into an energy contract 12 or 24 months ago and you’re about to come out of that, let’s say over this winter, you’re potentially going to see a 50% cost increase.” Harbison urges the Australian aquatic industry to look at best
practice in energy use intensity (EUI - kWh energy consumption per square metre per year), a measure that shows many facilities performing poorly. He also urges aquatic facility owners, designers and operators to consider measures to reduce energy costs including looking for insulation opportunities for walls, ceiling and glazing; moving to electricity for air and water heating; recovering heat wherever possible and using thermal and electrical storage where possible. He also suggests the introduction of LED lights, pool blankets, solar heating and other technologies, all of which can be retrofitted. In recent years, to reduce energy consumption there has been a lot of focus on plant and plant upgrades (driven, in part, by the availability of grants, rebates and innovative capital deferring options) as well as on facility design. With design, architects and many current facilities are aspiring to achieve the Green Building Council of Australia’s Green Star rating, but Harbison questions whether that really is a true measure of a building’s energy efficiency, commenting that EUI “is a better gauge of the efficiency of facilities and is commonly used in measuring European centres”. Anecdotal evidence suggests that Australian facilities lag far behind international best practice in energy efficiency. However, among emerging examples of best practice is the Pimpama Sports Hub on the Gold Coast, one of Australia’s first sports and community hubs designed to be 100% energy self-sufficient. The precinct’s 1924 solar panels generate enough renewable energy to power the site, backed by 444 kilowatts of battery storage. It also includes cogeneration power systems to assist with heating the pool that can be used as a backup in the event of a power outage or grid failure. Australasian Leisure Management Issue 150 39
