A regional NSW council wanted its gas-heated indoor aquatic centre off gas but had no capital to do it. Paul developed the electrification concept, with heat pump plant serving both pool water and pool hall heating, variable speed drives on every pump, upgraded air handling controls, and rooftop solar with battery storage sized so the site's electrical supply didn't need to grow, and wrote the Community Energy Upgrades Fund application that secured $2.5 million in federal funding for the works.
at a glance.
Client: Regional NSW council, via head consultant
Facility: Indoor aquatic and leisure centre with gas pool and water heating
Plant removed: Natural gas boilers
Plant installed: Heat pump plant serving pool water and pool hall heating; VSDs on all pumps; air handling plant controls upgrade; 272 kW rooftop solar PV; 50 kW / 100 kWh battery
Electrical supply: No upgrade required
Projected outcome, pool electrification: 808,000 kWh a year of gas energy avoided; 154 tCO2e a year
Projected outcome, solar and battery: 397,000 kWh a year generated; 75 tCO2e a year
Funding secured: $2.5 million, Community Energy Upgrades Fund Round 2
Role: Concept design and grant application (Paul Sykes, as subconsultant, prior to Design Better)
Year: 2025
the constraint.
Aquatic centres are the hardest council buildings to electrify: pool heating runs all year, hot water demand is continuous, and the gas load is large relative to the site's electrical supply, so a straight boiler-to-heat-pump swap can triggers a supply upgrade the council can't afford. On top of that there was limited capital for the works, so the concept had to be designed to win a competitive federal grant as much as to work on site.
what we did.
Before sizing any plant, every system interaction on the site was reviewed to take load out: variable speed drives on all pool and hydronic pumps, and a controls upgrade on the air handling plant so the pool hall is heated and dehumidified to demand rather than to a fixed schedule. With the load reduced, a heat pump plant was sized to serve both pool water and pool hall heating. A 272 kW rooftop solar array and a 50 kW / 100 kWh battery were then sized against the new electrical load profile so that the site's existing supply could carry the electrified centre without an upgrade. The concept, its energy and emissions modelling and its cost plan were written up as the council's Community Energy Upgrades Fund application, which was successful: $2.5 million awarded in Round 2.
outcome.
The council has a fully funded pathway to an all-electric aquatic centre with no network supply upgrade. The pool electrification is projected to avoid 808,000 kWh of gas energy and 154 tCO2e a year; the solar and battery add 397,000 kWh and 75 tCO2e. Together, 229 tCO2e a year from one facility.
lesson.
Review all the system interactions and optimise them before sizing plant. The pumps, air handling and controls took enough load out that the heat pumps were smaller, and the solar and battery then did the rest: that's what let the site avoid an electrical supply upgrade, and that's what made the grant application stack up.
