Three Richmond community facilities are now harnessing the power of the sun with solar energy upgrades completed.
The three projects co-funded by the city and the federal governments Recreational Infrastructure Canada program were carried out at Minoru Aquatic Centre and South Arm and Stevestons community centres and pools.
At Minoru, the thermal solar collection and distribution system will pre-heat water for domestic hot water to supply the showers and sinks. The flexible solar collector tubes on the south face of the pool roof absorb heat from the sun year round. The distribution system transfers the energy into a large water storage tank and exports the stored heat until all the stored energy is used.
The South Arm thermal solar system includes solar collectors, located on the change room building at the South Arm outdoor pool, and a distribution system. The collectors absorb free thermal energy from the sun and the distribution system transfers it to pre-heat the seasonal outdoor pool and domestic hot water (showers and sinks).
While the Steveston facility boasts an array of 24 evacuated tube-style solar panels that have been installed on the roof of the centre.
The tubes, or heat collectors, also absorb free energy from the sun. By using a special fluid in the panels, the heat is efficiently transferred to hot water tanks through a heat exchanger. The system is designed to supply domestic hot water for the community centre in the winter and the outdoor pool in the summer.
The city is strongly committed to ensuring Richmond becomes a sustainable community, said Mayor Malcolm Brodie.
The journey to sustainability requires us to constantly search for new and more efficient ways to meet our energy needs. These solar projects show us that every step counts if we want to make a real difference.
Its anticipated that the projects, along with other initiatives by the city and community partners, will reduce corporate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Real time digital screens have been installed at the Minoru Aquatic Centre lobby and the South Arm Pool building to describe the systems and publicly display energy savings and GHG emission reductions.
The total estimated budget for the three projects is $585,000. The Government of Canada contributed nearly $195,000 to the program, with the remaining funding coming from the city.
With the energy savings from the three pools, Richmond will conserve enough natural gas to power more than 1,500 barbeques next summer (the natural gas saved would fill approximately 1,500 BBQ propane tanks per year) according to the city.
