Energy Efficiency Guide: Leisure Centres and the Leisure Sector

Given the energy-consuming equipment and infrastructure required to keep a leisure centre running, it's easy to see why energy costs are so high in the sports and leisure sector. Swimming pools, electric gym equipment, and large gyms all consume a huge amount of energy, which often makes it difficult for business leaders to strike a balance between functionality and efficiency.

At SEFE Energy, we help small and large businesses to better manage their daily energy use, through practical solutions that fit the requirements of each individual business. We've compiled our experiences of helping UK businesses manage their energy needs, and put together a comprehensive guide that looks at some of the ways businesses in the sports and leisure sector can improve their energy consumption.

Ventilation and air conditioning

Both wet and dry leisure centres use air conditioning and ventilation systems to regulate their air temperature, which is often higher than average due to the extra heat generated by staff, customers, electrical equipment and lighting. This is especially true for wet centers where air conditioning is very important to ensure the optimal temperature in the pool hall and changing rooms.

Reporting by the Carbon Trust¹ finds that air conditioning and ventilation account for 39% of energy costs in a typical leisure centre with a swimming pool. It is therefore important to take advantage of opportunities to save on those costs.

Here are a few options to reduce the amount of energy required for air conditioning and ventilation systems:

• Use natural ventilation where possible. Using natural ventilation through doors and windows reduces the need for mechanical air circulation – ultimately saving money. Natural ventilation works best when air can flow between two entry points, cooling the air throughout the room. Of course, it is still necessary to consider the health and safety consequences before opening windows and doors.
• Close windows and doors if air conditioning is used. When warm, humid air is allowed to flow into a cooled room, most air conditioning systems will automatically turn on to cool the air again, resulting in energy waste. To keep the temperature constant and to ensure that the air conditioning does not turn on unnecessarily, doors and windows should be kept closed where possible; Also convince the staff of the usefulness of this.
• Enter a 'dead zone' on the thermostat. Heating and air conditioning should never be in operation at the same time, and this can easily be avoided by setting a 'dead zone' for the temperature. This is a predetermined zone of a number of degrees in which neither the heating nor the air conditioning can turn on. For example, heating should turn off when 20°C is reached, while the air conditioning only starts working when the temperature has risen to 24-25°C.
• Maintain installations on schedule. To ensure that air conditioning and ventilation systems work optimally, good maintenance is a requirement. If an air conditioning unit is not maintained regularly, it can start to consume almost 60% more energy than a well-maintained machine.
• Cool naturally at night. Fans can do a great job of cooling a leisure centre with natural air, without using the air conditioning unit. They can often run at night, which then results in 'night cooling'. Night cooling turns on the air conditioning later the next morning, saving a considerable amount of energy.

Heating

Statistics from Carbon Trust show that heating accounts for around 17% of leisure centres' energy consumption – a significant annual cost. Many leisure and recreation centres think that in order to keep customers and staff happy, the heating should be on constantly. However, this is not always the case and often the heating can be turned off completely without causing any complaints.

In order to save on heating costs, insight is needed into which temperature is appropriate for which department within the relaxation centre. For example, a sports hall, where a lot of physical activity takes place, should be considerably cooler than the reception area or seating area. Below we provide a guideline for some recommended temperature settings for different zones in sports and recreation centres.

Lighting

Adequate lighting is essential for the comfort and safety of a well-appointed leisure centre with a bright and welcoming appearance. But given that lighting accounts for around 20% of total energy costs in sports and leisure centres, it's important to find ways to reduce energy consumption and lighting costs without neglecting customers' sense of comfort and satisfaction.

Below are some essential tips to save on lighting costs.

Find out what kind of lighting is needed where

Sports, swimming and recreation areas, as well as the reception and customer-related areas, benefit from bright lighting, but this certainly does not apply to other areas, such as corridors and pantries. Identifying which areas in a building need bright lighting and which do not can already result in significant energy savings, in particular by replacing expensive, energy-intensive incandescent bulbs in certain parts of the centre with energy-efficient alternatives.

When deciding on the most effective lighting plan for sports and recreation centres, it is very useful to look very carefully at which light source is used in which environment. In changing rooms, balanced lighting is important, with bright lighting around the mirrors, and lighting that can be dimmed in showers, toilets and changing cubicles. The same applies to the sports halls and the associated spectator areas, where the play and activity areas need a lot of light, and the seating area can do with much less light.

Creating different lighting zones in a recreation centre, depending on the use of each specific space, can save you a decent sum of money on the annual electricity bill.

Put labels on light switches

Leisure centres often have complex lighting systems, with rooms sometimes having an impressive number of light switches. To avoid confusion about which button does what, it's a good idea to put labels on the buttons to avoid the risk of wasting energy by turning on the wrong lights. With many staff walking around a centre at different times, chances are that not everyone is aware of the correct use of all facilities, which is why labelling light switches is an excellent way to avoid wasting energy.

Install occupancy sensors

It's not very likely that every space in a facility is in constant use, so why waste money by lighting empty spaces? Install occupancy sensors in non-essential areas such as hallways, toilets, and pantries, and the light will only come on when someone enters the room. That way, you have more control over your own lighting costs.

Use energy efficient lighting

Energy efficiency does not always mean less light output. Investing in energy efficient light sources can allow you to adequately illuminate spaces while saving a significant amount of money. You can replace old tungsten incandescent bulbs with CFL bulbs, which last eight times longer and consume a quarter of the energy, or replace old fluorescent tubes with triphosphor tube lamps that are extremely bright and use only a fraction of the energy.

Swimming pools

Among the biggest energy guzzlers in water recreation centres are the maintenance and heating of swimming pools, with filtering, pumping and loss of water temperature due to evaporation being the biggest culprits.

A simple way to ensure the energy management of a pool is to train the staff on how to keep the temperature of both the pool and the space around it optimal. Teach them to use the control points of the pool effectively so that the water temperature remains constant, limiting evaporation. The temperature of the entire room must also be closely monitored, and must be exactly 1°C warmer than the water temperature to prevent evaporation of the water at the surface.

The temperature of bathing water should be between 25°C (for training purposes and competition pools) and 40°C (for specialized spas and hydrotherapy pools). If the water of a particular type of pool is above or below the recommended temperature, the energy may not be being used efficiently.

Electrical equipment and fitness equipment

Sports, leisure and recreation facilities use a lot of electrical equipment, particularly in gyms and fitness clubs. Energy-intensive training equipment in use on a daily basis can take a huge amount of energy, with electricity expenditure accounting for as much as 30% of the entire energy bill per year.

Here are a few simple tips on how to reduce the energy impact of electric fitness equipment.

• Turn off the equipment during off-peak hours. Even on standby, gym equipment uses a lot of energy, so it's better to turn off appliances when they're not in use. This is especially true during off-peak hours, when appliances consume energy while not being used. One of the simplest ways to do this is to invest in programmable weekly timers that can turn the devices on and off at pre-programmed times.
• Perform maintenance on a regular basis. Make sure that moving parts do not become contaminated or blocked, causing them to run incorrectly and consume more energy than necessary. The maintenance schedule of each part of the equipment should be included in the factory manual.
• Purchase the most energy-efficient equipment available. Fitness equipment with a low purchase price can be very expensive in terms of energy consumption. Cheap equipment could end up costing you more than an energy-efficient model, so it is useful to factor energy costs into your purchase decision. Pay attention to the energy efficiency label to ensure that you are not caught out.

Encouraging energy efficiency

Even when budgets for energy saving measures are small, costs can be saved by encouraging energy efficient behaviours. Here are some tips to better manage your daily energy needs.

• Track energy consumption. By actively tracking where energy is being used within the centre, you can easily find savings opportunities and create a plan to reduce usage.
• Determine how and where you want to save energy. Once you start keeping a close eye on how much energy is being used where, it is easier to set savings goals. A good benchmark to start with is 5 to 10% savings in the first year, and then try to build on that even further in following years.
• Involve your staff in the energy saving process. Since employees do not pay the energy bill, they may not be inclined to be very active in that area as a default. Offering simple training sessions to encourage energy conscious behaviour (such as turning off unnecessary lighting, closing doors, or avoiding thermostat changes) can provide quick wins. You can even consider rewarding staff for energy efficient behaviour by awarding bonuses if a certain energy goal has indeed been achieved.

¹ Carbon Trust – “Sports and Leisure: Introducing energy saving opportunities for business” (CTV006)