OSPREY LEISURE CENTRE has saved over £120,000 on energy costs over the past three years by working closely with energy experts. Due to the success of the Osprey Leisure Centre, it has been recognised by Wessex FM and awarded the GOING GREEN BUSINESS AWARD sponsored by Danmoor Lodge Residental Home.
In 2010 the management team at Osprey Leisure realised that if they did not invest in reducing energy costs that the centre would not survive, so the team joined forces with two experts Wendy Carmichael a consultant who advises in improving resource efficiency and Dr Bob Hardwick of Lean Energy who is an expert in energy conservation. The utility bill at Osprey in 2010 was around £120,000 pa. and now in less than 3 years with the help of a loan from the Carbon Trust the energy bill for the centre in 2014 will be £60,000 which represents over a 50% saving.
Wendy Carmichael said” What impressed me about the Osprey project was that from challenging beginnings the management set their ambitions high, but with a forward thinking manager in Nigel Williams and the help of Dr Hardwick the team embraced new technology that have produced savings for the centre.”
Dr Bob Hardwick has now been working with the Leisure Centre since 2006 when the building was handed over by a lease from Cromer Homes to Osprey Leisure Centre. Osprey have used many tactics to reduce energy costs since then including pool covers, lighting, air handling and water control. Collectively this has saved the centre over £60,000 p.a. in energy costs.
Dr Hardwick said “We are now confident that we have “lean energy” consumption at the centre, so now is the perfect time to invest in renewable energy from sources such as solar power and Heat Pumps.”
Dr Hardwick went on to say “The centre has old, oversized gas boilers, and they are next being replaced by a high efficiency Air Source Heat pump system. The Government is very keen to get us all to move away from gas and so the site will be paid a “Renewable Heat Incentive” (RHI) under the national scheme to support the installation costs. The installation is ground breaking, as it increases the amount of renewable energy supplied by this Heat Pump system to more than off-set, by a factor of 2, the costs of operating it.
The results of the system will be measured very carefully, and the energy savings, and RHI income will, we predict, reduce the current £60,000 annual energy bill at Osprey to under £20,000 p.a.
Nigel Williams Manager said “ Osprey Leisure Centre is now leading the way in energy efficiency in leisure centres in the South West . We have a great team at Osprey and I am looking forward to the future.”
If you would like to know more about Osprey Leisure Centre please call 01305 824378 or click on to the website at www.ospreyleisure.co.uk
Press enquiries to Julie Cleaver Popcorn Marketing 01305 774629 email [email protected]
