Australia’s first all-electric aquatic centre opens its doors
The opening of the Brimbank Aquatic and Wellness Centre in Melbourne’s western suburbs has been celebrated as Australia’s initial all-electric powered, renewable electricity aquatic centre.
Found in Keilor Downs, the $60 million facility aims to provide an energy-efficient blueprint to councils across Australia. According to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), leisure centres are among the most emissions-intensive buildings owned by regional governments, with gas boilers normally made use of to warmth huge amounts of drinking water for pools and showers.
The Brimbank centre makes use of an built-in approach to holding emissions down. A 500kW rooftop solar technique powers the site, and point out-of-the-art insulation aids maintain indoor temperatures.
A sophisticated four-pipe heat pump procedure can provide simultaneous heat and cooling for the centre – like drinking water-to-water heat restoration for optimum energy performance – and regulates the temperature of both water and air. The heat pump employs renewable strength from the onsite photo voltaic technique, and an 88,000-litre warm h2o storage device functions as a backup thermal battery.
Brimbank Town Council expended two a long time redeveloping the previous St Albans Leisure Centre and was awarded a $1.5 million grant from ARENA for the venture.
ARENA Information Sharing Officer Dr Lisa Randone says the centre is the “first all-electric powered aquatic centre in Australia”.
“The venture will supply precious insights on how to design, build and work a 100 per cent renewable electrical power powered aquatic and leisure centre,” claims Dr Randone. “Other councils will be ready to have access to a broad selection of details which includes fiscal design, emission reduction and other effectiveness metrics.
“I was pleased to see the community fully supportive of the initiative, with proud and loud acknowledgments of the sustainability facet of the venture.”
Graphic courtesy of ARENA.