House Name: Smart Lifestyle Centre
Owners: Ergon Energy as part of the Magnetic Island Solar Suburb - a key component of the Townsville: Queensland Solar City project.
Address: 64-88 Horseshoe Bay Road, Horseshoe Bay, Magnetic Island QLD
Construction Type: Concrete walls, concrete slab floor, pitched metal roof, 1970’s era community building.
Climate Zone: Townsville is located in the Dry Tropics – there are two seasons: hot and humid (November to April), the wet season, and a warm to hot dry season with low humidity for the other half of the year.
Design / Build Process: Ergon Energy undertook a major retrofit of what was previously the Sport & Recreation Club building to create a community information centre and office space for Solar City energy assessors and support staff. The process particularly aimed to reduce energy consumed by the building and provide a naturally comfortable working environment as well as a demonstration site for the community.
Summary
Ergon Energy’s Smart Lifestyle Centre is an information dissemination point for the Magnetic Island Solar Suburb initiative, which is part of the Townsville: Queensland Solar City Project.
The building which is not unlike most modern Townsville homes in many ways – ie concrete block walls, concrete slab on ground and metal pitched roof and limited airflow inside the building, has been extensively retrofitted to improve its ability to provide a cool and comfortable living / working environment with significantly reduced energy consumption and only occasional air-conditioner use.
The building also underwent a range of energy efficient retrofits and the trialling of innovative solar technologies including solar panels, leading edge batteries and a solar concentrator. The site is now not only energy efficient but is considered not only carbon neutral but carbon negative!
Solar Cities Energy Assessors will be on hand at the Smart Lifestyle Centre on Sustainable House Day.
Roof
Reflective foil and bulk insulation (fibreglass) was fitted in the roof space.
The roof was painted with light coloured reflective roof paint.
Floor
Polished concrete floor.
Ventilation
4-blade ceiling fans were installed throughout.
The one large wall was opened right up with multistacking glass bifolding doors which are left open for most of the time.
Doors on the opposite wall to the bifolds were replaced with full length louvres to facilitate cross-ventilation through the reception and community information areas and the office areas.
Lighting
A number of skylights were installed for natural lighting.
Energy efficient fluorescent lighting was installed throughout.
Inverter Air-conditioning
Energy efficient inverter air-conditioners were installed.
Energy Efficient Hot Water
Heat pump hot water system replaced the electric storage hot water system.
Solar Panels
Three 1.5kW solar systems (36 panels) have the capacity to generate a total of 4.5kW of renewable energy from the sun and feed it back into the grid.
Innovative solar battery technology
The centre has installed as part of a leading edge trial, an innovative energy storage device - the RedFlow. A supersized battery, the RedFlow enables renewable energy created from solar panels during the day to be stored and then released to the grid during peak hour usage periods allowing solar power to supplement the usual electricity supply at this high demand period.
Solar Energy Storage Module
Another leading edge technology being trialled is the Solar Energy Storage Module that uses a compressor to create a cooling effect that chills a liquid medium and which in turn provides air conditioning and refrigeration to the centre. The resultant heat generated, which is wasted in other cooling systems, is used to heat water in the hot water system servicing the centre.
Building Monitoring
The building is fitted with monitoring probes in roof to ceiling and visitors to the centre can sit down at the computer to see measurements and graphs of the energy being created and used by the building.
Thematic Communication
The information displays used around the project utilise Thematic Communication principles to entice thoughtful responses and encourage behavioural change from visitors to the Smart Lifestyle Centre. Such as:
- Can you see the light? The Smart Lifestyle Centre is lit by fluorescent bulbs that use 80% less energy than incandescent bulbs....and they last longer too!
- You what....recycled a building? Instead of using resources and energy on a new building, the Smart Lifestyle Centre has been recycled.
- It that a fridge? It’s a new ERA in fridges. This prototype is a triple integrated system that runs our AC, our hot water system and our fridge. It’s run on off-peak power or solar power (super chiller).
- Say NO to carbon emissions. We use less energy than we generate thanks to the solar panels on our roof.
- Look up at the light coloured roof! Painting the roof white or a light colour reduces heat by up to 10%.
- Look around! Natural lighting brightens the Smart Lifestyle Centre.
- Feel that? Louvres and sliding doors provide natural breeze and ventilation.
Magnetic Island Solar Suburb
Magnetic Island is undergoing a sustainable energy transformation that will change the way we think about and use energy – now and into the future. Through initiatives carried out on Magnetic Island, Ergon Energy aims to reduce 'peak demand' and electricity usage, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save customers money and defer network investment.
The goal is to reduce household electricity usage by 25% within 4 years and with 700 home energy assessments completed (approx 40% of the population) the project is on track to achieve its efficiency targets.
When you drop into the Smart Lifestyle Centre you can find out more about how you can become more energy efficient in your home. There are a wide variety of brochures and residents can borrow books from the resource library or speak to a Solar Cities Energy Assessor for energy efficiency tips and advice.
For more information on how you can be part of the project, or to register for a free energy assessment (Magnetic Island residents only), you can email Ergon Energy's Solar City Community Engagement Manager
Julie Heath on
Julie.heath@ergon.com.au or phone 07 4758 1674 and speak to our team at the Centre. You can also visit the Smart Lifestyle Centre on Horseshoe Bay Road at Horseshoe Bay, open weekdays from 9am to 4pm.
(August 2009) (
