SEAI's Community Grant boosts Edmondstown Golf Club's energy credentials
Edmondstown Golf Club in County Dublin boosted its energy credentials from a series of energy upgrades thanks to SEAI’s Community Grant, which included solar panels, EV charging points and more.
Situated at the foothills of the Dublin Mountains in Rathfarnham, South County Dublin, Edmondstown Golf Club is a parkland golf course in South Dublin and has over 1,100 members currently across all different golfing categories.
In 2022, with rising energy costs and their fixed heating rate for the club premises coming to an end, the management team at Edmondstown were faced with a decision. Either upgrade the club or face increased energy costs. They decided to upgrade the club!
That year, they applied to SEAI’s Community Grant programme and collaborated with an SEAI-registered Project Co-Ordinator to manage the installation of a series of energy upgrades. SEAI supports energy efficiency community projects through capital funding, partnerships and technical support.
The intention behind the upgrades was to make Edmondstown Golf Club more energy efficient and shift their reliance on fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. This would ultimately lead to reduced energy bills and added comfort for Club members.
The Energy Upgrades
Edmondstown golf club installed 14 kilowatts of solar panels, a new heating control system called Genius Hub and two electric vehicle charge points.
"Our solar panels have already generated 1.7 gigawatts of electricity, which is going to have a huge impact.” Generating their own electricity will cut energy bills significantly.
The new heating control system can be controlled remotely via an interactive dashboard on a tablet touchpad. You can easily adjust the temperatures in the different rooms or zones within the club premises so only using heat in rooms where it is needed.
The Process and Project Coordinator
FutureFit, one of SEAI’s Community Grant coordinators, managed the project from start to finish. They carried out the energy upgrades and managed the grant application process.
John Harrington, Director of FutureFit, described the process as “quick, painless and enjoyable” for all parties concerned.
“At the client level, we help them select the energy upgrades and new technologies that will have the biggest impact on their bills and comfort. We put them in a format that meets SEAI criteria, and we submit the grant application. When we get SEAI approval, we manage the delivery of those projects all the way through to inspection and receipt of grant payment.”
The Benefits
- The greatest benefit seen to date is the reduction in energy costs.
- The other key benefit cited by the team include the reduction of Edmondstown’s carbon footprint, which Mark points out is becoming more and more important for the club’s members.
- Thirdly, the EV charge points are a huge benefit to the club members who drive and electric vehicle and can charge up here while they play golf.
Mark Lynch, former Manager at Edmondstown Golf Club during the time of the energy upgrade, highly recommends the SEAI Community Grant programme to other aspiring businesses and organisations,
“It is to me, a no-brainer – it saves you money, it saves on your carbon footprint and you will not regret it.”