Energy monitoring in sport & leisure centres
The sports and leisure sector consumes approximately £700 million of energy per annum. Just by using 10% less energy, the UK leisure facilities could save up to £70 million each year and reduce carbon emissions by 100,000s of tonnes.
Source: CarbonTrust
In sports and leisure centres the main energy consuming systems are:
- Heating/hot water
- Fans and pumps
- Swimming pools (where applicable)
- Lighting
- Electricity (hairdryers, etc.)
As monitoring your energy consumption in your sports and leisure centre becomes more familiar you will start to build up a picture of what areas you can become energy efficient in and take corrective measures. For example, ventilation accounts for around 30% of heat loss in most commercial buildings (an estimated 25% in industrial buildings). Most companies could save a lot of money by making sure that their ventilation systems are not wasting heat. You can consider:
- Replacing filters at the manufacturer’s recommended intervals
- Keeping heat exchanger surfaces, grilles and vents clean to allow an unobstructed flow of air
- Using pool covers to reduce heat loss at night. This will significantly reduce electrical and heating energy
- Installing an energy efficient boilers for heating air and water
- Using humidity sensors in swimming pool halls to control the rate of ventilation and dehumidification according to the moisture content in the air
