Addressing Energy & Comfort in Ageing Leisure Centres · in Ageing Leisure Centres Luke...

Addressing Energy & Comfort in Ageing Leisure Centres

Luke Treadwell

Senior Engineer, Arup

Outline

• Background

• Brief review of Energy in Leisure Centres

• Comfort Conditions in Leisure Centres

• Energy – The Great Escape• Building Construction• Plant & Equipment• Building Operation & Controls

• What to do – Shopping list• Easy wins• Simple upgrades• Moderate upgrades• Bigger upgrades

• Case Study – Ascot Vale Leisure Centre

Background

• Boom in leisure centre construction in 1970’s

• Generally poor environmental design

• Over 500 aquatic facilities in Victoria, 55% local government

Background

High operating costs, carbon impact

Energy costs typically second only to labour costs

Indoor pools particularly energy intensive (maintain indoor conditions)

• Electricity Prices (AEMO) • Gas Prices (AEMO)

Brief Review of Energy

• Breakdown of energy consumption in typical leisure centres

45%

33%

10%

9%3%

Typical Pool Facility Energy Consumption(Trianti-Stourna et al)

Pool space heating & ventilation

Water heating

Heating & vent to remainder of building

Power & Lighting

Hot water (ie. showers)

Comfort Conditions in Leisure Centres

Comfort Conditions in Leisure Centres

• Pool hall

28-30°C

High vent rate

Comfort Conditions in Leisure Centres

• Pool hall

28-30°C

High vent rate

Comfort Conditions in Leisure Centres

• Exercise rooms (bikes, aerobics etc.)

18°C

Comfort Conditions in Leisure Centres

• Low activity rooms – Yoga, pilates, meditation

21-24°C

Energy – The Great Escape

• Main factors affecting energy loss in leisure centres:• Building Construction

• Plant & Equipment

• Building Operation & Controls

Building Construction

Building Construction

• Roof & Wall Conduction

Building Construction

• Roof & Wall Construction – Thermal Bridging

Building Construction

• Window Conduction

Building Construction

• Window Conduction

Building Construction

• Floor Conduction

Building Construction

• Ventilation & Air Infiltration

Building Construction

• Ventilation & Air Infiltration• Air locks on entrances

Building Construction

• Airtightness• Blower door test

Building Construction

• Airtightness• Fix leaks at construction joints, windows & doors

• Generally disruptive

Plant & Equipment

• Typical plant & energy savings

Plant & Internal Conditions

• Pool Hall AHUs

Plant & Equipment

• Exercise rooms & ‘yoga’ rooms

Plant & Equipment

• Other plant – Hot water heaters, pumps, refrigerant systems

Plant & Equipment

• A bit more on Boilers & Pumps…

Building Operation & Controls

• Automatic Controls – Building Management System (BMS)

Building Operation & Controls

• Automatic Controls – Building Management System

Building Operation & Controls

• Pool AHU• Time scheduling – ie. weekends

• Monitor/Control temp & humidity

• Reduce ventilation & temp overnight

• Schedule early warm-up (comfort)

• If pool can be opened to outside –link AHU operation to doors

Building Operation & Controls

• Exercise Rooms & ‘Yoga’ Rooms• Schedule plant for class times; or

• Have an ‘on’ button in room, with run-on timer – plant turns off

• Adjust temperature

• Test wider dead-band – improve energy consumption – careful of comfort

• Take advantage of free cooling

• Link operation to windows – reduce waste

Building Operation & Controls

• Lighting• Automatic ‘off’ after-hours, or when no-one

active for 30mins (occupant sensors)

• Occupant sensors for back of house areas

• Automatic dimming during good daylight

Building Operation & Controls

• Common building operation issues which impact energy/comfort• When energy is prioritised at expense of comfort

• Temperatures uncomfortably hot or cold to reduce energy

• Humidity too high due to ventilation rate being reduced

• When comfort is prioritised at expense of energy• Temperature set-points lower/higher than necessary

• Very close dead-bands - units always on

• Controls have been permanently modified or adjusted by building users

• Poor or irregular maintenance of plant

What to Do – Energy & Plant Assessments

• Energy modelling and benchmarking against other leisure centres

• Assessment of plant operation & identifying easy wins

• Create a ‘shopping list’ of improvements – set priorities & budget

What to Do - Easy wins

Improvements which don’t require upgrades:• Check AHUs, AC units and lights are switched off outside occupied hours• Match demand to supply

• Does everything need to come on at the same time?• Can some AC units switch off for parts of the day, when rooms unused?

• Check doors/windows closed during operation• Or use free cooling by opening windows & switching off AC• Check heating and cooling not operating at same time• If heat recovery present – check it’s working (particularly on pool AHUs)• Check thermostats are set to reasonable temperatures• Regular maintenance of plant to maintain efficiency• Monitor electricity and gas consumption monthly – know what is normal• Staff training & awareness – set targets & make them visible

What to Do - Simple Upgrades

Improvements involving simple upgrades:• Install a pool cover overnight – can cut pool energy by 10-30%, can allow to

turn off/turn down ventilation overnight without condensation• Replace light fittings with LEDs• Label light switches and encourage staff to switch off• Install occupant sensors to switch off lighting in back of house areas• Install time-clock controllers on plant and lighting (if not installing BMS)• If BMS or local controls are already installed

• Review temperature set-points and dead-bands – widen dead-bands where possible• If data available – check that plant is operating as expected

• Where practical, install 7 day timers on gym equipment (parasitic power)• Insulate hot water pipes where not insulated

What to Do - Moderate Upgrades

Improvements involving more moderate upgrades:

• Install simple BMS to control main plant (ie. AHUs, boilers, fans).

• Fit VSDs to pumps & fans where practical

• Refurbish AHU fans to high efficiency (ie. EC fans)

• Refurbish or install heat recovery systems if practical

• Assess whether solar water heating would be effective – free energy

• Install insulation to accessible roof and wall areas where insulation isn’t present (be careful with materials in humid areas)

What to Do - Bigger Upgrades

Bigger upgrades:

• Install full Building Management System, and connect AHUs, AC units, lighting etc.

• Make sure:• Space temperatures & dead-bands can be controlled centrally

• Plant and equipment can be time scheduled – consolidated table on BMS

• Energy saving features, ie. economy cycle operation, is clearly illustrated

• Data logging & graphing (ie. 12 months) so medium-term operation can be reviewed

• Connect electrical & gas meters where possible, for monitoring and logging

What to Do - Bigger Upgrades

Bigger upgrades:

• Where refurbishment works are already occurring, consider other disruptive upgrades:• Testing and improving airtightness of the building

• Replacing single glazing with double glazing – and frames with no thermal bridging

• Extensive replacement or installation of insulation

• Plant replacement• Replace pool AHU with heat recovery AHU, efficient EC fans

• Replace boilers where at the end of economic life

• Replace AC units in exercise rooms, gyms, yoga rooms etc. where at end of economic life

• Add economy cycle where possible for free cooling, and connect to BMS

Ascot Vale Leisure Centre

• 1970’s era leisure centre, near Flemington

• 25m indoor pool (6 lanes), learn to swim & warm water pools

• Much of the AC plant was original, or at end of economic life

Ascot Vale Leisure Centre

• Expansion to 8 lane pool & leisure pool

• HVAC refurbishment at same time

• Other areas of AVLC remained operational during works

Ascot Vale Leisure Centre

• HVAC works undertaken• Replacement of Pool AHU with heat recovery AHU

• Gym/fitness room roof AHUs replaced with high efficiency units

• Addition of BMS to monitor/control plant and AC units

• Inclusion of Economy cycle AC units where practical

Ascot Vale Leisure Centre

• Significant improvement in comfort conditions – humidity and temp

• Good control of plant operation & temperatures

• Data logging and central monitoring by building operator

Ascot Vale Leisure Centre

• Review currently underway of building operation

• Initial data over first 6 months – 10% reduction in gas, 5% reduction in electricity – before tuning

• Significant additional gains likely through tuning, including:• Re-scheduling AC operation to match occupancy

• Turn off plant early (without impacting comfort)

• Turn down pool AHU overnight

• Relaxing dead-bands in fitness rooms

• Tuning economy cycles of AHUs

• Work with operator & staff to get easy wins

Thank You

Questions - luke.treadwell@arup.com