Putting Back into the Community

from Australasian Leisure Management Issue 150 2022

High Energy

The Isis War Memorial Swimming Pool.

James Croll investigates how the Isis War Memorial Pool was converted from an outdoor seasonal pool to an indoor facility offering year-round swimming

The Isis War Memorial Swimming Pool has long been an important part of day-to-day life for the Childers community in Queensland’s Bundaberg Region. Possibly the last 33.3 metre pool in the state, the pool was opened in 1966 by the then Isis Shire Council having been financed partially by public subscription, backed by a subsidy from the Queensland Department of Education. Since that time, it has been an integral part of the family community.

However, from the turn of the millennium it became apparent that the pool needed bringing into the 21st century. It had not just dated as a venue intrinsically but was certainly far from profitable. The pool itself had no roof cover and was open to the elements while the existing heating was far from efficient.

Bundaberg Regional Council subsequently advertised a Request for Tender (RFT) for the construction of a solid shade structure and installation of an energy efficient heating system to cover and heat the existing pool. In essence, they wanted to convert what was essentially an outdoor seasonal pool to an indoor facility offering year-round swimming to its patrons. They also wanted a minimum swimming temperature of 27280C and a solar heating system. There would be an issue however in that any new solar heating system would be limited to a proposed new roof structure of 700-800m² and had to minimise whole of life costs of the installation.

While the RFT had its challenges, it turned out to be tailormade for one of Australia’s leading pool heating specialists, Supreme Heating. Established in 1990, Supreme Heating is Australian owned and specialises in innovative, energy efficient pool heating across Australasia. Anthony Denahy, Business Development Manager at Supreme Heating, explains “the Isis Memorial Pool RFT was a particularly exciting challenge for us. “The limitations of the roof structure along with the need to heat a fairly large pool of 700,000L called for a particularly sophisticated solution.” Assessing both the Council’s pool heating requirements and energy concerns, Supreme Heating proposed a two-in-one solution to meet the heating performance of the swimming pool together with responding to the facility’s energy needs, all while minimising rooftop surface requirements. Denahy explains “we designed a solution consisting of a 33.60kW

Heatseeker DualSun PV/T solar system coupled with a 216m² Heatseeker Plus traditional strip solar system and two 120kW inverter heat pumps to meet the heating requirements of the pool.

“With a combined renewable thermal output of 285kW per hour, the system provides ample capacity to off-set the reliance of the heat pumps to maintain the Council’s 700,000L indoor swimming pool to average temperatures of 280C throughout the swimming season.”

Supreme Heating’s Heatseeker DualSun solution has developed into one of the company’s flagship products. Twice winner of SPASA’s Product of the Year, the Heatseeker DualSun essentially unites in one single panel two technologies to utilise the sun’s energy: solar photovoltaics for electricity generation and solar thermal for heated water production.

Originally designed and manufactured in France, Heatseeker DualSun has received an overwhelmingly positive response from the Australian market, particularly among councils. The hybrid multi-energy panel is designed for maximum flexibility and is compatible with numerous systems covering an array of building energy requirements. The water circulation through the panel cools the photovoltaic cells which increase their efficiency. This in turn maximises the sun’s energy.

In addition to providing a solution for the required temperatures, Supreme’s Heatseeker DualSun system provided the added capability to generate electricity at an average of 133kW per hour per day, thus significantly reducing the operational expenditure of the pool heating system including the heat pumps.

Denahy concludes “with average energy savings of $31,266 per annum, the Council can expect their Heatseeker DualSun system to pay for itself within just six years based on current energy prices.

“It’s highly innovative technology, not only aimed at reducing fossil fuel dependency but also offsetting the operational expenditure. This allows budgets to be placed back into community programs, extending the value of the facility, and reducing carbon emissions.” James Croll manages client and partner relations for Australasian Leisure Management.