According to Rinnai UK’s Chris Goggin, all swimming pool and leisure centre operators should take advantage of the significant cost savings available on advanced continuous flow water heaters teamed with any system of renewables if they want to see their running costs take a dive.
The use of continuous flow gas fired condensing water heaters, can act as a highly efficient booster to any renewables heat store arrangement at any sized leisure complex resulting in slashed costs for operators.
Traditionally operators have relied on stored hot water for these sorts of complexes, which can be a very costly and inefficient method to use. There are many advantages in combining gas fired continuous flow water heaters with renewables technology like solar thermal, even in the UK, because the benefits can extend a lot further than just the summer months.
The use of solar collectors can deliver year-round benefits as they absorb solar irradiation which is constantly received from the sun. The solar collectors take this irradiation and transfer it into heat energy, when paired with a bank of energy efficient condensing continuous flow water heaters as a boost, "true" renewable gains can be achieved maximising the investment and efficiencies.
Even the most well-insulated thermal stores lose heat, causing the secondary heat source to cycle on and off, as the temperature drops. This maintenance of mandatory temperatures doesn't just waste energy - it's bad practice as it is negating renewable gains. When solar irradiation is reduced the stored water temperature drops and it must be brought up to 60°C to satisfy legionella prevention requirements. That is yet another drawback to stored hot water systems using wasteful secondary heat sources like electric immersion heaters, or constantly circling boilers - that would be eliminated with a continuous flow system.
So why not store free energy collected by an array of renewable technologies within a thermal store which is boosted by intelligent continuous flow water heaters? The Rinnai water heaters are smart enough to read and understand the renewable gains within the pre-heated water and apply the correct amount of energy to heat the water to the precise temperature - wasting nothing.
Find out more about our commercial condensing water heaters.
Swimming pools and leisure centres use a phenomenal amount of fuel and by so doing contribute to the carbon emissions the government is seeking to cut. With so many of these complexes run by the public sector, with their commitment to employing the most sustainable facilities management systems available, the solar/continuous flow solution is a perfect fit. Not only will they be cutting emissions drastically, but they will also be saving money on running costs.
A Rinnai unit used as a gas booster for solar systems maximises solar gain, as it only consumes energy when more hot water than the panels can cope with is needed. The rest of the time the unit is inactive. It is also the only booster that ensures never ending hot water – no matter the demand so people can shower any time of the day or night.
Rinnai’s technical department is readily available to help with the design and specification of a renewables heating system, contact us today.
