Webinar to explain energy-saving benefits of heat pumps in aquatic centres

With growing interest in the energy saving potential of heat pumps in aquatic centres, Sustainability Victoria and the Australian Alliance for Energy Productivity (A2EP) will be hosting a webinar on Wednesday 14th September to share pathways for implementation of heat pumps, as well as best practice guidelines.

As high consumers of energy and with energy prices rising, aquatic centres have been identified as a focus area for supporting electrification.

Studies have shown Victoria has around 400 aquatic centres using a combine 3.5PJ/year of natural gas. Electric heat pumps represent are a high-efficient alternative for water-heating and providing other thermal services within aquatic centres, with the added bonus of being able to utilise on-site solar PV generation.

Being held on Zoom on Wednesday 14th September 2022, 2:30 to 4:30 pm (AEST), the webinar will include insights from technical experts and from centres which have already implemented heat pumps or are in the process of doing so.

Information on financial support from the Victorian Energy Upgrades program will also be provided.

Energy Challenges for Aquatic Centres
Aquatic centres are often the highest energy-consuming assets for local councils, with the heating and cooling needs for large pools and aquatic centres representing a huge cost to councils, schools and other private operators - as well as a major source of emissions.

Energy is consumed in heating water for the pool and for showers, heating and cooling the indoor areas to maintain a comfortable temperature, powering pool filtration pumps, lighting for indoor and outdoor areas and electrical appliances and equipment, enormous amounts of hot humid air leaving the building and being replaced by outdoor air that must be heated or cooled, solar gain through the building fabric in hot weather, heat from the active people using the facility and the accumulation of hot humid air and resulting condensation.

Heat pumps are seen as an alternative to traditional boilers, also offering heat recovery and comfort gains for facilities.

Heat Pump Technology
A heat pump is a device that uses a low amount of energy to move thermal energy, or heat, from one place to another, using compressors, condensers and evaporators. 

Depending on the direction of the process and set-up, a heat pump can either provide cooling by removing heat or heat a space or liquid. It can even provide heating and cooling at the same time, at even higher efficiency. 

Heat pumps are found in almost everyone home and business, in the form of refrigerators and split-system air conditioners. At a commercial or industrial scale, heat pumps can heat large spaces and volumes of water, utilising waste heat in the process.

Using Heat Pumps for Aquatic Centres
As energy audits consistently show, there are a number of things aquatic centre managers can do to make their facilities more efficient, including optimising pool pumps, upgrading lighting and increasing the understanding capacity of the people operating the facility. However, improving the efficiency and productivity of the pool water heating and of heating and cooling the facility will offer the greatest benefits for long term cost savings and also offer a transition path for councils and facilities wishing to move away from gas use as part of emission targets.

Heat pumps operate using electricity, so they facilitate a move away from using gas and to fully utilising on-site renewable energy generation and through the purchase of renewable energy, for example through power purchase agreements (PPAs).

Webinar: Best practices for heat pumps in aquatic centres
Wednesday 14th September 2022, 2:30 to 4:30 pm (AEST).
Click here to attend.

Click here for more information on A2EP.