Exercising Energy Efficiency
Westpark Fitness, a gym with almost 5,000 members in Tallaght, Co. Dublin, has gone through the EXEED grant process and implemented energy and cost saving initiatives.
Results
-
€45,400
annual cost savings -
288
tonnes CO2 reduction annually -
1,034,500 kWh
total primary energy savings annually
The project
With almost 5,000 members and 35 staff, the EXEED Certified programme gave the team at Westpark Fitness the opportunity to identify and make long-term sustainable changes. They followed the EXEED process and were eligible for grant support from SEAI.
They carried out a major energy upgrade project to replace the existing gas boiler system, which provides space heating, hot water, and heats the swimming pool. A heat pump solution was identified through EXEED as a viable approach to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. This solution allows waste heat produced in the fitness areas to be recovered and reused for pool heating.
Measures included:
- A new air-handling unit with heat recovery and new fan coil units suitable for use with the heat pumps to deliver space heating.
- New domestic hot water heat exchangers and a stainless-steel cylinder to complement the heat pumps to deliver water heating.
- Intelligent building management software and energy metering provides control and monitoring of all energy use in the facility.
All of these changes have led to an annual cost saving of €45,400, which translates into 1,034,500kWh total primary energy savings and reduction of 288 tonnes CO2 per year.
“I would highly recommend the EXEED process to any company that is looking to go down this road of being more energy efficient. It led us to making some fabulous changes to our club, which we’re very proud of,” – Kevin Doyle, General Manager, Westpark Fitness.
What's next?
After the energy efficiency measures they’ve put in place, the Westpark team wants to see what else they can do and continue to reap big savings from small changes.