Tralee Leisure Centre
LPG energy solution for large sports and leisure centre
The Challenge
The Tralee Regional Sports and Leisure Centre is the largest sports complex in Kerry with almost 400,000 visitors annually. Facilities include a 25m pool, 12.5m teaching pool, steam room and sauna; a large sports hall with seating capacity for over 1,000 as well as squash, racquetball and handball courts, a state of the art gym, outdoor playing pitches and floodlit astroturf pitches.
Energy bills account for much of its overall running costs so any improvements in energy efficiency was likely to yield substantial savings. Tim McSwiney, Senior Executive Engineer with Tralee Town Council and Willie Moynihan, Chief Energy Officer with Kerry County Council, whose backgrounds in energy efficiency are well known in local authority circles, were interested in the possibility of installing a combined heat and power (CHP) unit at the Centre.
The Flogas Solution
Brian Murphy, Technical Services Engineer with Flogas, visited the site and concluded that in addition to the savings achievable by using CHP, further significant savings could be made by replacing older, inefficient heating equipment with modern alternatives.
Changeover Process
Flogas enlisted the expertise of CHP specialist Tony Lyons who duly supplied an ENER-G 75P unit based around a Mercedes LPG -fired engine and which simultaneously generates 75kW of electricity and 140kW of heat.
“The main advantage of this type of unit is that, during the day, the vast majority of electricity used in the complex is generated on-site instead of being imported from the grid. This fact, along with the very competitive LPG tariff from Flogas, will lead to massive reductions in electricity bills,” commented Tony
The Flogas solution also saw the installation of two 115 kW, LPG fired condensing boilers to replace the Centre’s out- dated main oil boiler. The remaining boiler had its oil burner replaced with an LPG burner and now serves as a backup to the main system during maintenance. The hot water system for the showers and sinks had its existing calorifier replaced with a highly efficient rapid recovery model from ACV. The tank-in-tank design of this unit offers far more surface area for heat exchange, enabling large volumes of hot water supply from a small volume of storage. This minimises the heat losses associated with hot water storage and increases savings further.
Results
- Substantial savings of over 60% reduction in bills per month
- Full control over energy usage as it is easily monitored
- Large volumes of hot water supply from a small volume of storage
“Since the CHP unit was installed, which is powered by LPG, our electricity bills have been reduced by a massive 60% per month. I would estimate that, by the end of a full year in operation, the Centre will have made a savings equivalent to two additional jobs which is good news in this economic climate. Another very significant change is that we now have much more control over our energy usage because we are able to monitor it constantly”
- Liam Bohan, Centre Manager
If your current system is not providing you with the level of service you require and contributing to high bills, call Flogas for your free on-site survey and quotation. We will analyse your existing energy costs and outline the savings and benefits you’ll enjoy by converting to Flogas LPG.
